Lucie 1979

Free, Indentured, Enslaved: Chinese Prostitutes in Nineteenth-Century America
Author(s): Lucie Cheng Hirata
Source: Signs, Vol. 5, No. 1, Women in Latin America (Autumn, 1979), pp. 3-29
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3173531 .
Accessed: 27/01/2015 03:49
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
.
The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Signs.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 140.112.77.14 on Tue, 27 Jan 2015 03:49:41 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Free, Indentured,Enslaved: Chinese
Prostitutesin Nineteenth-Century
America
Lucie Cheng Hirata
In societies undergoing rapid industrialization,prostitutionserves a
double economic function.It helps to maintainthelabor forceof single
youngmen,whichis in the interestof the capitalistswho would other-
wise have to pay higherwages to laborerswithfamiliesto support. In
addition, prostitutionenables entrepreneurs to extract large profits
fromtheworkof women under theircontroland thusaccumulatecon-
siderable capital for other investments.Further,in multiracialareas,
prostitutesof minorityor colonized groupscan also providecheap labor
themselves. Chinese prostitutesin the nineteenth-centuryAmerican
West performedall threefunctionsas freeagentsand as enslaved and
indenturedworkers.
Afterthe formalabolitionof black slavery,the capitalistmode of
productionpredominatedin nineteenth-centuryAmerica.However,as-
pectsofslaverypersistedin varyingdegreesamong racialminorities,for
example, in contractlabor and in Chinese prostitutionin California.
Whiteprostitutionon theAmericanfrontierquicklymoved froma pre-
capitalistformoforganizationto one characterizedbyeithera partner-
ship betweenmadam and prostitutesor a relationshipof employerand
This paper is partofa researchprojecton "Asian AmericanLabor beforeWorldWar
II" organized by the Asian American Studies Center at UCLA. I am indebted to Edna
Bonacich, Alex Saxton,Gerald Surh, Peg Strobel,Don Nakanishi,and threeanonymous
reviewersfortheirhelpfulcommentson an earlierdraft.Special thanksto GaryOkihiro,
who gave editorialassistance;to Paul Nakatsuka,who extractedpartofthe data fromthe
census manuscripts;and to the Mormon Temple Libraryin Los Angeles, the Bancroft
Library,the Libraryof Congress,and the National Archivesforpermissionto use their
collections.I wish also to acknowledge a grantfromthe UCLA Academic Senate which
made thisresearch possible. Partsof thisessay are summarizedand incorporatedin my
"Chinese ImmigrantWomen in Nineteenth-CenturyCalifornia,"in WomenofAmerica,ed.
C. Berkinand M. B. Norton (Boston: Houghton MifflinCo., 1979).
[Signs:Journaloj WomeninCultureand Society1979, ol. 5, no. 1]
? 1979 byThe Uni%ersityot Chicago. 0097-9740/80/0501-0001$02.14
3

ChineseProstitutes
wageworker.Chinese prostitution,in contrast,remained a semifeudal
organization until the twentieth century. While sexual prejudice
obscuredtheexploitativenatureof prostitutionas a business,a sense of
racialsuperiorityat firstled whitesto condone Chinese femaleslavery.'
In addition,thelinkagesbetweentheemigrantsocietiesinChina and the
Chinese communityin Californiahelped to perpetuatetheprecapitalist
relationsin prostitution.Chinese prostitutionalso providedChinese en-
trepreneursone of the few opportunitiesto accumulate capital in a
hostilesociety.
This paper willexamine the social historyof Chinese prostitution
withinthe contextof conditionsin nineteenth-centuryChina and the
economic developmentof California.It willfocuson Chinese prostitu-
tionas an economic institutionand on the Chinese prostituteas a par-
ticularclassoflabor,earningdirector indirectprofitsfora complexweb
of individuals.Furthermore,itwillseek to explicatethedouble oppres-
sion by race and sex and the lethalexploitationof Chinese prostitutes
bothas partoftheworkingclassin Americaand as sacrificialvictimsfor
the maintenanceof patriarchyin semifeudalChina.
ConditionsLeadingtotheImportationof
WomenforProstitution
Victimizedbypopulationpressure,landlordoppression,and foreign
imperialism,manypeasantfamiliesinnineteenth-centuryChina livedon
the edge of subsistence.2In a numberof communities,particularlyin
Fujian and Guangdong,whereemigrationtodistantlandswas feasible,a
large proportionof themale populationlefthome in searchofemploy-
ment.3
In timesof naturaldisasterand war, familiesoftenresortedto in-
fanticide,abandonment,mortgaging,or sellingof children.4Females,
whoselaborwas lessvaluablethanthatofmales,werefrequentlythefirst
victimsof extremepoverty.Furthermore,in patriarchaland patrilineal
Chinese society,thefamilythatraiseda girlwould notbenefitfromher
labor and she could nevercarryon the ancestralline.
1. Later on, when anti-Chinesesentimentgrew into a widespread movement,the
slaveryaspect of Chinese prostitutionwas emphasized in anti-Chineserhetoric(see, e.g.,
CaliforniaSenate,ChineseImmigration[Sacramento:StateOffice,1878] [hereafterknownas
CaliforniaSenate]).
2. F. Wakeman,Strangersat theGate(Berkeley:Universityof CaliforniaPress,1966),
pp. 117-56; K. Hsiao, Rural China (Seattle: Universityof WashingtonPress, 1967).
3. T. Chen, EmigrantCommunitiesin SouthChina (New York: Instituteof PacificRe-
lations,1940); Hsiao.
4. Hsiao, pp. 311-411; A. Smith,VillageLifein China (New York: Greenwood Press,
1899), pp. 258-316; P. Ho, Studieson thePopulationofChina (Cambridge,Mass.: Harvard
UniversityPress,1959), pp. 58-62.
4 Hirata

Autumn1979 5
One remunerativesolution for relievingthe familyof its female
memberswas prostitution:the familydid not have to provide forthe
girl'supkeep and hersale or partofherearningscould help supportthe
family.The importanceofthisforthesurvivalofthefamilyisseeninthe
report of a Qing dynastyofficial,that ten familymemberswere de-
pendent fortheirsustenanceupon everyprostitutein Canton.5
The discoveryof gold in 1848 along theSacramentoRiverbrought
thousands of immigrantsfrommanycountriesto California.6Mining
was an exclusivelymale activity;fewof the men broughtfamilieswith
thembecause,amongotherreasons,mininginvolvedmovingfromplace
toplace seekingthemostproductivesite.Amongthefirstfemalearrivals
wereprostitutesofvaryingracialand nationalorigins.7In San Francisco,
where miners fromnearby sites congregated during the winterand
where immigrantsgathered before theywen,tinto the miningareas,
prostitutionbecame a lucrativebusiness.It was notuncommonforsuc-
cessfulprostitutestouse theirearningstofinancetheminersor toinvest
in otherpursuits.8The tremendoussexual imbalance(shownin table 1)
and thelackofalternativeemploymentmade prostitutiona majoroccu-
Table1
Sex Ratio of Chinese and Total Population
in California,1850-1970
Chinese* Total*
1850 ............. 39,450t 1,228.6
1860 ............. 1,858.1 255.1
1870 ............. 1,172.3 165.4
1880 ............. 1,832.4 149.3
1890 ............. 2,245.4 137.6
1900 ............. 1,223.9 123.5
1910 ............. 1,017.0 125.4
1920 ............. 528.8 112.5
1930 ............. 298.6 107.6
1940 ............. 223.6 103.7
1950 ............. 161.9 100.1
1960 ............. 127.8 99.5
1970 ............. 107.0 96.9
SoULRCES.-Ratiotor Chinese from 1860 to 1960 based on Calitornia De-
pal-tmentot IndustrialRelations,Callformiano/Japanese,Chinese,and filipino
Ancestry(San Francisco:StateOffice,1965); 1970 data based on U.S. Bureau of
the Census,HistoricalCen.u . oj tiheLUnted State,Bicentennialed. (Washington.
D.C.: Gosernment PrintingOffice,1975).
*Males per 100 temales.
tThere wereonlytwoChinese somen in 1850.
5. D. Chen, Zhong-guofu-niisheng-huo-shi(Shanghai: Shang-wu,1928), p. 296.
6. J. Borthwick,TheGoldHunters(New York: Book League, 1929).
7. D. Smith,RockyMountainMiningCamps(Lincoln: Universityof Nebraska Press,
1967).
8. Ibid.
signs

ChineseProstitutes
pationforwomen.This relationshipbetweena surplusofmales,limited
employmentopportunitiesforwomen,and thedemand forprostitution
in developingareas is well documentedbyBoserup.9
The demand forprostitutionin San Franciscowas partiallymetby
Chinese women fromHong Kong, Canton, and itssurroundingareas.
Canton, opened up as a treatyport under the guns of Westernim-
perialism,and Hong Kong, ceded to the Britishafterthe Opium War,
were the firstcitieswhere a large number of foreignersarrived,and
fromthemthe earlyChinese prostitutescame.10
Only a fewwomen crossed the Pacificon theirown in search of
bettercompensationfortheirlabor in prostitution.Usuallythe family,
not the girl,arranged the sale. Girlsoftenaccepted theirsale, however
reluctantly,out of filialloyalty,and mostof themwere not in a position
to oppose their families'decision. In addition, the shelteredand se-
cluded lives that women were forced to live made them particularly
vulnerableto manipulation,and manywere trickedor lured intopros-
titution.
An importantbut unexplored facetof therelationshipbetweenpa-
triarchyand prostitutionin the Chinese case is itsrole in perpetuating
Chinese sojourningabroad and in itssupportof themigrantlabor sys-
temin America.The Chinese patriarchalfamilysystemdiscouraged or
even forbade"decent" women fromtravelingabroad. In addition,the
anti-Chinesesentimentand violence in Californiawas often cited by
immigrantChinese merchantsas a major reason fornotbringingtheir
families.'1These two factorsdiscouraged the emigrationof Chinese
women,who would have made possiblea stableChinese communityin
America. The failure of the Chinese to formfamiliesthatwould re-
produce the work force locally prolonged the use of the Chinese by
Americanemployersas a migrantlabor force.
Further,the patriarchalsystemrequired the preservationof the
relationshipbetweenthe men who wentabroad to seek workand the
familiestheyleftbehind. It was commonpracticefortheemigrantmale
to marrybeforehisdepartureto insurethata wifebe at home to fulfill
his filialduties and with luck to give him a male descendant. These
marriedwomenintheemigrantcommunitiesof China and Hong Kong,
as notedbyChen Ta and Watson,were under morewatchfuleyesthan
theircounterpartsin nonemigrantcommunities.12The relativeswere
9. E. Boserup, Women'sRoleinEconomicDevelopment(London: Allen& Unwin,1970).
10. Y. Wu, Er-shi-nianmu-duguai-xian-zhuang(Hong Kong: Guang-zhi, 1903), pp.
238-43; X. Chen, Dan-mindiyan-jiu(Shanghai: Shang-wu,1946), pp. 124-28; U.S. Con-
gressJointSpecial Committeeto InvestigateChinese Immigration,Report(Washington,
D.C.: GovernmentPrintingOffice,1877), p. 286 (hereaftercited as U.S. Congress); 0.
Gibson,ChineseinAmerica(Cincinnati:HitchcockPrinters,1877), p. 134.
11. Zhong-guoko-shanghui-guan,"Letter,"Tung-ngaisan-luk(February8, 1855).
12. T. Chen; J.Watson,EmigrationandtheChineseLineage(Berkeleyand Los Angeles:
Universityof CaliforniaPress, 1975).
6 Hirata

Autumn1979 7
charged withthe dutyof keeping thewomen of the emigrants"pure,"
and in returntheemigrantswereobliged to send theirearningsto sup-
porttheirfamilies.This arrangementpermittedthepreservationofthe
Chinese familyat home and the perpetuationof the Chinese emigrant
laborer's sojourning role in America. The emigrants,whenever they
could affordit,returnedto China to sirea child. If thechildwas a boy,
he eventuallyjoined his father in America. This arrangement re-
circulated Chinese labor in the migrantlabor system;and the home
villagesof China reproduced the labor force,in termsof procreation
and child rearing,forworkin America.
Chinese prostitutionwas an integral part of that arrangement.
While patriarchyprohibitedthe emigrationof "decent" women,it did
not forbidthe emigrationof prostitutes.The emigrationof Chinese
prostituteshelped to stabilizeand preservethe familybecause Chinese
emigrantmalescould therebyavoid liaisonswhichmightlead to perma-
nentrelationshipswithforeignwomen.On theotherhand,theearnings
of Chinese prostitutesin America helped to support theirfamiliesin
China. One such prostitutesent back as much as $200 or $300 after
seven monthsin San Francisco.13
The phenomenonof Chinese sojourningand theuse of Chinese as
migrantlabor could not be attributedto poverty,patriarchy,and pros-
titutionalone. Equally,ifnotmore important,was the racisthostilityof
whitesociety.In addition,like the European colonistswho oftenmade
sure thattheAfricanlaborer'swifeand childrendid notfollowtheman
to his new workplace,14Americancapitalistspaid low wages to Chinese
men to deter their women from crossing the Pacific. (The same
phenomenon is observed in WesternEurope today.15)Some whitesin
Californiaadvocated the importationof more Chinese laborersand not
theirwomen so theywould not establisha permanentpopulationhere;
others advocated the importationof more Chinese prostituteswho
could meet the sexual demands of Chinese men and thus lessen the
threattheyperceived to whitewomanhood.16Similarargumentswere
lateradvanced bywhitesin Australiavis-a-visJapanese prostitutes.17
Despite these mutual economic and social advantages, profitwas
undoubtedlythe major reason forthecreationand maintenanceof the
trafficin prostitution.Two distinctperiods of Chinese prostitutionin
Californiacorrespondedwithtwotypesofrelationsin profitmaking:(a)
13. Wang Ah-so's letterto her motherin Orientalsand TheirCulturalAdjustment,ed.
Fisk University,Social Science Institute(Nashville,Tenn.: Fisk UniversitySocial Science
Institute,1946), p. 34 (hereaftercited as Fisk University).
14. Boserup, p. 76.
15. S. Castles and G. Kosack,ImmigrantWorkersand ClassStructurein WesternEurope
(London: Oxford UniversityPress, 1973).
16. "Editorial,"OutWest(1911), pp. 355-56; U.S. Congress,pp. 141,652.
17. R. Evans," 'Soiled Doves': Prostitutionand Societyin Colonial Queensland,"Hec-
ate 1 (July 1975): 6-24.
Signs

ChineseProstitutes
the initialperiod of freecompetition,duringwhichthe prostitutewas
also theownerof herbodyservice;and (b) a period of organized trade,
duringwhichtheprostitutewasa semislaveand otherindividualsshared
thebenefitsof her exploitation.
PeriodofFreeCompetition:TheSelf-employedProstitutes
and SmallEntrepreneurs
The brief period of free competition(ca. 1849-54) was charac-
terizedbyindividualinitiativeand enterprise.Like theirwhitecounter-
parts,a numberof Chinese prostitutesduringthisperiod were able to
accumulate sufficientcapital to leave the profession.Some returnedto
China as relativelyaffluentmembersof thebusinesscommunity.Others
remained in America and eithercontinued in prostitutionas brothel
ownersor investedin otherbusinesses.
AmongthefirstChinese femaleresidentsinAmericaallegedlywasa
twenty-year-oldprostitutefromHong Kong who landed in San Fran-
cisco late in 1848.18A freeagent servinga predominantlynon-Chinese
clienteleduringa period of affluence,she accumulatedenough money
to buy a brothelwithintwo years and retiredthe widow of a wealthy
Chinese man.19
Other free-agentprostitutesduring this initialperiod emigrated
under differentcircumstances.A popular social novel in the late Qing
dynastyperiod toldof a Cantonese prostitutebroughtto San Francisco
by her Americanparamour when she was eighteen.Afterseven years,
she returnedto Hong Kong with approximately$16,300, married a
Chinese laborer,and opened a storespecializingin foreigngoods.20
This period of freecompetitionamong owner-prostitutesdid not
last long. Few Chinese prostitutescould affordthe transportationex-
pensesor had thebusinessknow-howtotakeadvantageofthesituation.
Still,the affluenceof the male residentsand the extremeimbalanceof
the sexes suggestedthata considerablesum ofmoneycould be made in
thebusiness.That prospectattractedChinese entrepreneurs,who orga-
nized various aspects of the business; specialization occurred and a
monopolydeveloped by 1854 under the controlof the Chinese secret
societies.
ThePeriodofOrganizedTrade
In contrastto thefirstphase,thesecond periodofChinese prostitu-
tion in California(ca. 1854-1925) was characterizedby a widespread
18. C. Gentry,MadamsofSan Francisco(New York: Doubleday & Co., 1964).
19. S. Wu,Mei-guoHuo-qiaobai-nianji-shi(Hong Kong: bytheauthor,1954); Gentry;
C. Lee, DaysoftheTongWars(New York: BallantineBooks, 1974); Borthwick.
20. Y. Wu, pp. 238-43.
8 Hirata

Autumn1979 9
organizationofthetradewitha networkofspecializedfunctionsextend-
ing across the Pacificto Canton and Hong Kong. The persons chiefly
responsibleforthistradeweretheprocurerswhokidnapped,enticed,or
boughtChinese women; theimporterswhobroughtthemintoAmerica;
thebrothelownerswholivedbytheirexploitation;theChinesehighbind-
ers who collectedfeesforprotectingthemfromotherhighbinders;the
police who collectedmonies forkeepingthemfrombeing arrested;and
the whiteChinatownpropertyownerswho leased theirland and build-
ings forexorbitantrents.
The process by whichbrothelsin San Franciscoobtained theirin-
mateswas complex. The ownerof a brothelrecruitedworkerseitherby
takinga tripto Canton or Hong Kong or by securingthem through
an agent or importer.A West Coast newspaper reported that agents
of California brothels regularlywent about China buying girls and
youngwomen.These agentsreceiveda regularcircularor"pricecurrent"
from San Francisco givingthem informationconcerningthe state of
the marketand the maximumpriceswhichcould be paid to derive an
acceptable profit.21
Luring and kidnapping were the most frequentmethods of pro-
curement,particularlyafter1870. When theagentsdid notfindenough
femalestofilltheirorders,theysentsubagentsintoruraldistrictstolure
or kidnap girlsand youngwomenand forwardthevictimstothematthe
shippingports.22Quite frequentlythoseindividualswho did the luring
were returnedemigrantsfromthatcommunity.The baitsused included
promisesof gold, marriage,jobs, or education.23Sometimesthevictims
wereinvitedto see thebigAmericansteameranchoredatthedocks,and
whiletheywere enjoyingthe tour,the boat would sail offto San Fran-
cisco.24More often,kidnappingwascarriedoutbyforce,and thevictims
were sometimesdaughtersof relativelywell-to-dofamilies.25
A number of women came to San Francisco under a contractual
arrangementsimilarto that described in the Chinese contractcoolie
system.26The contractinvolvedbodyservicefora specifiedtime,and if
the prostitutesucceeded in fulfillingthe termsof service,she could,
theoretically,getout ofthebusiness.Families,ratherthanwomenthem-
21. EurekaWestCoastSignal (January 6, 1875).
22. C. Holder, "Chinese Slaveryin America,"NorthAmericanReview165 (1897): 285-
94.
23. C. Shepherd, "Chinese Girl Slavery in America,"MissionaryReview46 (1923):
893-98; FiskUniversity,pp. 31-35; U.S. IndustrialCommission,Report,21 vols.(Washing-
ton, D.C.: GovernmentPrintingOffice,1901), 15:783-90 (hereaftercited as U.S. Indus-
trialCommission).
24. Shepherd, pp. 896-97.
25. C. Dobie, San Francisco'sChinatown(New York: Appleton-CenturyPublishers,
1936), p. 69.
26. Z. Chen, "Shi-jiu shi-ji sheng-xingdi qi-yue Hua-gong-zhi,"Li-shiYan-jiu 79
(1963): 161-79.
Signs

ChineseProstitutes
selves, participatedin these transactions.Most Chinese women, who
could not read or write, could easily be duped into affixingtheir
thumbprintto any document by the agent or partywho was the ben-
eficiaryof thecontract.
In theorganizationof thetrade,importationwas a separateactivity
from that of procurement.Importers received the women fromthe
recruitingagents,arranged fortheirpassage, and handed themover to
the brothelowners upon arrivalin the United States. Althoughother
secretsocietieswere knownto have engaged in the trafficof women,27
the Hip-Yee Tong was clearlythe predominantimporterduring the
thirdquarterof the nineteenthcentury.It was estimatedthatbetween
1852 and 1873, the Hip-Yee Tong alone imported6,000 women,28or
about 87 percentof the totalnumber of Chinese women who arrived
duringthatperiod.The Hip-Yee Tong chargeda $40 feetoeach buyer,
$10 ofwhichweresaid to have gone towhitepolicemen.29The Hip-Yee
nettedan estimated$200,000 between 1852 and 1873 fromthe import
business.30
The trafficin womenbecame moredifficultafterthepassage of the
code whichallowed thecommissionerof immigrationto preventcertain
classes of people, including"lewd or debauched" women, fromimmi-
gratingto California,31and theenactmentof thePage Actof 1875. The
immediateeffectivenessof theselawsin reducingthenumberof female
arrivalsis unclear,but the statutesdid subjectwomen to close scrutiny
both in Hong Kong and San Francisco and eventuallymade it more
expensive to importwomen. These added expenses took the formof
bribeswhichhad to be paid to various U.S. consulate and customsof-
ficials.
The Americanconsulatein Hong Kong was chargedwiththeinitial
examinationof Chinese women to determineiftheywere "lewd or de-
bauched." If theconsul'sofficewas convincedoftheirgood character,it
would stamp the women's arms and send themto the harbor master,
who would do the same. Only then would the women be allowed to
purchaseticketsand board thesteamer.32The certificatewiththewom-
an's photographissued by the consulate was mailed to the collectorof
customsat San Francisco.Women withoutappropriatedocumentation
wererefusedlandingand oftenhad towaitmorethantwenty-fourhours
beforetheywerecleared.33This procedurewas subjectto abuse bycor-
27. R. Parkand H. Miller,Old WorldTraitsTransplanted(New York: Harper & Bros.,
1921), p. 164; R. Lee, TheChinesein theUnitedStatesofAmerica(Hong Kong: Hong Kong
University,1960).
28. Gibson (n. 10).
29. AltaCalifornia(December 14, 1869).
30. Gibson.
31. StatutesofCaliforniaand Amendments,1873-74 (Sacramento: State Office,1875).
32. AltaCalifornia(August 27, 1873).
33. U.S. Congress,pp. 387-920.
10 Hirata

Autumn1979 11
ruptconsularofficials,who could be convincedofa woman'sgood char-
acter withmoneyor could refuseto certifya woman's good character
withoutmoney. It was discovered in 1879 that Consul Bailey's office
received$10-$15 foreverywoman shipped to the UnitedStatesduring
histenurein Hong Kong.34
Americanson thisside of the Pacificalso benefitedmateriallyfrom
thesenew statues.As noted bythe U.S. Supreme Court,the 1873 code
was subject to a varietyof abuses: "It is hardlypossible to conceive a
statutemore skillfullyframed,to place in thehands ofa singleman the
power to prevent,entirely,the vesselsengaged in a foreigntrade,say
withChina, fromcarryingpassengers,or to compel themto submitto
systematicextortionof thegrossestkind."The commissioner,notedthe
Court, could arbitrarilydesignate immigrantsas paupers, idiots,con-
victedcriminals,or prostitutesand denythementranceon thatbasis.35
These regulationsbenefitedwhite lawyersas well as the customs
inspector.Some lawyerscolluded withthe Chinese importersin obtain-
ing habeas corpus decrees to allow the landing of Chinese women
headed for the brothels.36Althougha number of these women were
legal immigrants,some probablysoughtthe help of Americanlawyers
because U.S. customsofficersweredissatisfiedwiththeirdocumentation.
The Chinese Exclusion Actof 1882 allowed onlywomenwho were
nativeborn, married,or born overseas to domiciled merchantsto im-
migrateto the United States.Accordingly,enterprisingChinese devel-
oped elaboratearrangementsto continuethetrafficin women.Chinese
agentsin the United Statesinstructedagentsin China to coach theemi-
grantwomenin respondingtoquestionsbytheimmigrationauthorities.
These coaching papers,circulatedin Hong Kong and Canton,included
eighty-onequestionson subjectsrangingfromstandardpersonaldetails
to the geographyof San Francisco.37
Each successivelaw placing additional restrictionson Chinese im-
migrationprovided more opportunitiesfor corruption.People soon
foundthatU.S. immigrationinspectorsand interpreterscould easilybe
persuaded to accept bribes to render favorable decisions and inter-
pretationsof the law.38As the rulesbecame more severe,theinvestiga-
tion of the immigrants'statustook longer to complete,and the immi-
grantswere subjectedto greaterindignities,pain, and suffering.Begin-
ningin 1891 and particularlyafter1910, Chinese menand womenwere
detained at Angel Island whilewaitingto be cleared. Moststayedatleast
34. M. Coolidge, ChineseImmigration(New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1909), p. 419.
35. U.S. Congress,p. 1165.
36. U.S. IndustrialCommission,p. 762; Gibson, pp. 146-54.
37. U.S. Senate, ChineseExclusion(Washington,D.C.: GovernmentPrintingOffice,
1902), pp. 470-72 (hereaftercited as U.S. Senate).
38. H. Lai, "The Chinese Experience at Angel Island,"East/West10 (1976): 7-9; R.
Dillon,TheHatchetMen (New York: Coward-McCann, 1962), p. 290.
signs

ChineseProstitutes
threeor fourweeks,whileotherswaitedunder veryausterelivingcon-
ditionsformonthsor even yearswhiletheircases were beingfoughtin
thecourts.39
As importationbecame increasinglycomplex and expensive, the
Hip-Yee Tong graduallylost its monopolisticcontrolover the traffic.
Because of theincreasingcomplexityand costsof importingprostitutes,
the price fortheirdeliveryskyrocketed.After1870, forexample, girls
who originallysold for$50 in Canton now brought$1,000 in San Fran-
cisco.40And in the 1890s itwas reportedthatas much as $3,000 in gold
was paid fora singleChinese femalein San Francisco.41
Still,theimportationofwomencontinuedprimarilybecause itpro-
vided large profits.In the 1890s a shoe manufacturerand tong leader,
Fong Ching,alias LittlePete,was wellknownfor,among otherthings,
his ingenuityin importingwomen forprostitution.Besides bribingcus-
toms officialsand paying both whiteand Chinese men $30 each for
bearing falsecharacterwitnesses,he used fairsand expositionsheld in
Chicago, Atlanta,and San Francisco to importwomen. For example,
during the MidwinterFair in Golden Gate Park he importedover a
hundred women ostensiblyto performat the fair.They ended up in
brothelsafterspendingonlya brieftimeat thefair.San Francisconews-
papers reportedthatLittlePete netted$50,000 throughhis femaleim-
ports.42
Othermethodsemployedbythetongstoland Chinesewomenwere
smugglinginwomenattiredas boys,hidingtheminbucketsofcoal, and
concealing them in padded crates billed as dishware.43The cost of
smugglinga woman into the United States may have been as high as
$2,500.44When customsofficialsat San Franciscobegan enforcingthe
law, women were brought in through Portland,Oregon, Canada, or
Mexico.45
Eventually,however,facedwiththedwindlingsupplyof femalesin
China,46thenearlyprohibitivecostsand difficultiesofprocurementand
importation,and thelossofprostitutesfrombrothelsin San Franciscoto
othercitiesand miningtowns,the tongswere forcedto look fortheir
supply locally. Whereas local Chinese women were supplementaryto
39. Lai.
40. A. McLeod,PigtailsandGoldDust(Caldwell,Idaho: Caxton Printers,1948), p. 18.
41. U.S. IndustrialCommission,p. 763.
42. Dillon, pp. 319-21.
43. U.S. Congress, p. 599; C. Wilson, ChinatownQuest(Stanford,Calif.: Stanford
UniversityPress, 1950), p. 87; D. Gray,WomenoftheWest(Millbrae,Calif.: Les Femmes
Publishing,1976), p. 69.
44. U.S. Senate, p. 124.
45. Holder (n. 22).
46. The establishmentoforphanages and children'swelfareorganizationswas partly
responsibleforthe decline (see Ho [n. 4], pp. 58-62).
12 Hirata

Autumn1979 13
overseas recruitmentpreviously,after 1882 they became the major
sourceofnewsupply.47Itwasreportedthat,injust one weekinFebruary
1898, eightwomen were kidnapped forprostitution.48
TheLifeand EconomicsofProstitution
Afterthe women had been transportedto Chinatown,theywere
housed in temporaryquartersknownas "barracoons"to awaittheirdis-
tribution.One barracoonreputedlyheld up to 100 women.49Those who
had been importedforspecificcustomersleftwhen theirowners paid
thepassage fareand the$40 fee.The otherswerecarefullydressedand
displayed before the bidding.50Well-to-doChinese in San Francisco
purchased the cream of this lot as concubines or mistresses.The re-
mainderfellintotwocategories:thebestwentintohigher-classbrothels
reservedonlyfortheChinese,whiletherestweresold toinferiordens of
prostitutionwhichserveda raciallymixed clientele.51
The distinctionbetweenhigher-and lower-gradebrothelswas one
of bothclassand race. Chinese men generallyfeltthatthemostdegrad-
ingthinga Chinese womancould do was to have sexual relationswitha
white man.52 However, because of their comparativelylow fees of
twenty-fivetofiftycents,thelower-classprostituteswerevisitedbywhites
and Chinese alike, while higher-classprostituteshad an exclusively
Chinese clientele.Thus, thelower-gradeprostitutestendedtoattractthe
poorestlaborers,teenage boys,sailors,and drunkards.They wereoften
mistreatedby theirowners as well as theircustomers.A few brothel
owners,forexample, occasionallyeven beat some of them to death,53
and whitemen oftenforcedthemto engage in aberrantsexual acts.54
Prostitutesin miningcamps servedboth Chinese and whiteclientsand
were oftenmore harshlytreatedthan theircounterpartsin San Fran-
cisco.55
The lower-gradeprostituteslived in rooms usuallynot largerthan
4 x 6 feet,oftenfacinga dimlylitalley.56"Brightcottonhangingshung
47. Alta California(January 31, 1875); San FranciscoBulletin(March 28, 1876); Y.
Zhang,San-zhouri-ji(n.p., 1896), chap. 5.
48. Dillon.
49. McLeod, p. 178.
50. Holder (n. 22), p. 292.
51. Dobie (n. 25), p. 195.
52. Dobie, pp. 242-43; CaliforniaSenate, p. 213.
53. Dobie, p. 61; A. Genthe,PicturesofOldChinatown(New York: Moffat,Inc., 1909),
p. 52.
54. CaliforniaSenate, pp. 28, 99, 176; Dillon, p. 46.
55. SacramentoBee (June 5, 1876); S. Lyman,ChineseAmericans(New York: Random
House, 1974), p. 94.
56. U.S. Congress, p. 192.
Signs

ChineseProstitutes
inthedoorwaysleadingofffromthemainroomorweresometimesused
to break a largerroom up into smallercompartments."57These rooms
were sparselyfurnished,usually withonly a bamboo chair or two,a
washbowl,and hard bunks of shelves covered with mattingand set
againstthewall.The door,normallytheonlyopeningtotheoutside,was
invariablycoveredwithbarsor a heavyscreenbehindwhichthewoman
would stand and call to passersby.58
The prostituteswho onlyservedChinese generallylivedin upstairs
apartmentsand had more or less long-term,regular customers.Very
oftentheprostitute'sclientwas also her owner.It is notalwaysaccurate
to characterizethemas prostitutes,forsome mayhave been concubines
while others may have lived in polyandry.59These higher-classpros-
tituteswere oftenattractiveand expensivelyadorned. Although they
may have appeared to be well treated,theywere neverthelesschattel,
"one day loaded withjewels, thenextday to be strippedand sold to the
highestbidder,ifitwere the desire of theirmasters."60
Neitherlower-nor higher-classprostitutesreceivedregularwages,
butthelatterweresometimesasked toentertainat partiesgivenbytong
leaders and Chinese merchants,and theywere permittedto keep the
jewelry,silk,and cash giftsgiven to them by theircustomers.This is
perhaps how some prostituteswereable to send moneyto theirparents
in China.61
The exploitativerelationsbetween the prostitute-workerand the
procurerand brothelowner are clear. The capitaloutlay-kidnapper's
fee,passage, bribes,legal fees-was minisculecompared withtheprofits
fromthe woman's labor as a prostitute.For example, the cost of her
passage would havebeen around $50 ifshe traveledinthesame manner
as theChinese male laborers,and at the most$150 ifshe had comfort-
able accommodations,no doubt extremelyrare.62The kidnapper'sfee
was once reportedat $185.63And althoughwe do nothave data on the
exact amountofbribesand legal fees,itseems safeto saythatthesedid
not usuallyexceed $100, thoughtheybecame increasinglylargeras re-
strictionson Chinese immigrationgrew.
The mostprofitablewayofimportinga woman,fromtheprocurer's
pointofview,was to lure thewomantogo withhimor hervoluntarilyto
57. Dobie, p. 243.
58. McLeod, pp. 182-83; U.S. Congress,p. 192.
59. Cases of polyandryamong the Chinese in San Franciscoand Ca!ifornianinterior
towns were reported by Henry K. Sienkiewicz,"The Chinese in California,"California
HistoricalSocietyQuarterly34 (1953): 307.
60. McLeod, p. 183.
61. Fisk University,p. 34.
62. J. Kemble,"AndrewWilson'sJottingson CivilWar California,"CaliforniaHistori-
cal SocietyQuarterly32 (1953): 209-24; 303-12.
63. Holder (n. 22), p. 292.
14 Hirata

Autumn1979 15
America.In one suchcase,theprocurer,afterpaintinga glowingpicture
of life in California and paying $98, obtained the consent of a girl's
motherto permither daughterto emigrate.Upon arrival,the procurer
sold thegirlfor$1,950, a netprofitofatleast$1,700. This girlcontinued
tobringin profitsforherownerbylaboringtwoyearsand averagingno
lessthan$290 per month.Attheend of thetwoyearsshe was resoldfor
$2,100.64The brothelowner's grossincome fromher labor as a pros-
tituteand fromher resale was about $9,060; even ifshe was keptat a
higherstandardof livingand ifwe deduct thecostofher purchase,the
brothelowner'snet profitwas no less than$5,000 in twoyears.
Besides kidnappingand luring,Chinese womenenteredAmerican
brothelsundera systemofcontractmentionedbefore.Althoughthiswas
on thesurfacetheleastexploitativeformof Chinese prostitution,itwas
in factdevised to mask those featureswhichpermittedthe procurers,
importers,and brothelownerstoderiveconsiderableprofitswithoutany
real advantage to the prostituteor indenturedworker.The contracts
were drawn up in appealing terms: theyofferedthe contracteefree
passage to America,an advance of over $400, and a limitedperiod of
laborofabout fourand a halfyears.The contractsystemseemed all the
more attractiveconsideringthatfemaleswereoftensold forabout $400
at the time.
In reality,though,thecontractsystemofferedverylittleadvantage
overtheoutrightsale or slavesystemand was,ina numberofways,more
brutal because it raised false hopes. First,the lengthof a prostitute's
career,as noted before,was about fouror fiveyears.Thus, as faras the
brothelownerwasconcerned,a prostitutewas usefulonlyforabout four
years, the period of the contract.Second, the termsof the contract
specifiedthat the person must work a minimumof 320 days, failing
which the contractperiod could be extended to one additional year.
Third, the contractprostitutewould have less incentiveto run away
because of her limited period of labor. Fourth, her familywas dis-
couraged fromredeemingherbecause therepurchasepriceincludedan
exorbitantinterest.65And finally,evenaftera womanhad servedouther
contract,therewere cases in whichshe continuedin servitudeand was
not released.66The followingis a translationof one such contract:67
The contracteeXinJinis indebtedto her master/mistressfor
passage fromChina to San Franciscoand willvoluntarilyworkas a
64. U.S. IndustrialCommission,p. 783; Shepherd (n. 23), pp. 892-95; Fisk Univer-
sity,pp. 31-35.
65. U.S. IndustrialCommission,p. 783; G. Leong, ChinatownInsideOut (New York:
BarrowsMussey,1936), p. 231; Wilson(n. 43).
66. Alta (April 14, 1870); CaliforniaSenate, p. 99.
67. S. Wu (n. 19), p. 92; McLeod (n. 40), p. 177.
Signs

ChineseProstitutes
prostituteat Tan Fu's place for four and one-halfyears for an
advance of 1,205 yuan (US$524) to pay thisdebt.68There shallbe
no intereston themoney,and XinJinshallreceiveno wages.Atthe
expirationofthecontract,XinJinshallbe freetodo as she pleases.
Untilthen,she shallfirstsecurethemaster/mistress'spermissionif
a customerasks to take her out. If she has the four loathsome
diseases, she shall be returnedwithin100 days; beyondthattime
theprocurerhas no responsibility.Menstruationdisorderislimited
to one month'srestonly. If XinJinbecomes sickat any timefor
more than fifteendays, she shall work one monthextra; if she
becomes pregnant,she shall workone yearextra. Should XinJin
runawaybeforeher termisout,she shallpaywhateverexpense is
incurred in findingand returningher to the brothel.This is a
contractto be retainedby the master/mistressas evidence of the
agreement.Receiptof 1,205 yuan ($524) byAh Yo. Thumb print
ofXinJinthecontractee.Eighthmonth11thdayofthe12thyearof
Guang-zu (1886).
Thus far,a totaloffoursuchcontractshavebeen discovered,theearliest
dated 1873 and thelatest1899.69
A fourthway in which Chinese women entered San Francisco
brothelswasthroughoutrightpurchase; in thiscase thewomenwereno
more than slaves. Initially,the average capital outlay for a woman
broughtover in thiswayamounted to no more than$600: the purchase
price,thecostof passage, and theexpenses associatedwithimportation.
But as immigrationrestrictionsbecame more severeand thecomplexity
of the importationsystemgrew, the cost of buying and importinga
prostitute likewise increased. The purchase and importation of a
seventeen-year-oldprostitutenamed Tsoi Ye illustratesthis process.
Tsoi Ye was sold in Hong Kong in the 1880s fora littleover $400. She
was resold by the procuressto a tong man for$882, who in turn en-
trusteda Chinese sailorto bringherover.Aftershe was landed success-
fully,she was resold to a brothelfor$1,800 in gold.70Despite the high
cost,itisclearthatbrothelownersfounditprofitabletopurchasewomen
at such pricesdue to theirpotentialearningsas computed above.
If the kidnapped woman was sold during the laterdecades of the
nineteenthcentury,the importercould receive between $1,000 and
$3,000. If, however,the importerwas also a brothelowner, the kid-
napped womanwould laborin hisor herbrothel.Fromtheinformation
on hand, we are able to venture some conservativeestimatesof her
68. Although not specified in the contract,I suspect that the currencyused was
Mexican silverdollars. One Mexican dollar was equivalentto approximatelyUS$0.48 in
the mid-nineteenthcentury.
69. The other threecontractscan be found in CaliforniaSenate, 1877, p. 128 and
135, and U.S. IndustrialCommission,p. 771.
70. U.S. Senate, pp. 227-28.
16 Hirata

Autumn1979 17
earnings. The lowestgrade of prostitutesreceived twenty-fiveto fifty
centsper customer.Accordingto the literatureon prostitutionin gen-
eral,an average full-timeprostitute-workerreceivesfourto tencustom-
ersper day,71and theaveragecareerlifeofsucha prostituteisestimated
at fourtofiveyears.72This meansthat,atan averageofthirty-eightcents
per customer and seven customersper day, a lower-gradeprostitute
would earn about $850 per year and $3,400 afterfouryears.73Since
womeninlower-classbrothelsweregenerallykeptat subsistencelevels,74
thecostof maintainingthemprobablydid notexceed $8 per monthor
$96 per person each year.75The profitsforthe owner of a prostitute,
then,even one of the lowergrade,were considerable.
Ifa lower-gradeprostituteearned an average of$850 a year,and if
we assume thatthe average brothelin 1870 contained nine prostitutes
(see table 2), the owner's gross annual income would have been about
$7,650. In 1873, Chinese owned only7 percentof the 153 major pieces
ofpropertyinChinatown,and as lateas 1904,theyownedonly8 percent
of the 316 major parcelslisted.76Whitelandlords,manyof whomwere
prominentcitizensof San Francisco,owned most of the real estate in
Chinatown,and theyextractedhigh rentsfrombrothelowners,often
double or treblethe renttheyreceivedfromwhites.77Accordingto the
Bureau of Labor Statistics,theaveragerentalpermonthofa flatconsist-
ing of three to six rooms in San Francisco was $14.78 The Chinese
brothelownersprobablyhad to payno less than$28 per monthor $336
a year.Iftherentand maintenanceofthewomenare deducted fromthe
grossincome,theownerwould stillhave receivedan annual profitofno
less than $6,000. Even ifwe added other expenses such as protection
feespaid to thepolice and taxesextortedbythetongsfrombrothelsnot
owned by theirmembers,the profitwhichthe brothelowner received
would stillcompare veryfavorablywiththe less than$500 average an-
nual incomeof otheroccupationsin whichhe or she mightengage.79
Other commentators'estimatesof the income of brothelownersmake
this look conservative. For instance, Cameron, a contemporarySan
71. K. Xie,Mai-yinzhi-duyuTai-wanchang-jiwen-ti(Taipei: Da-feng, 1972), p. 352.
72. W. Sanger,TheHistoryofProstitution(New York: Eugenics,1939); McLeod, p. 183.
73. The contractsexamined indicatethata prostitutehad toworka minimumof320
days per year. An absence of more than fifteendays would subjecther to a penaltyof
having to work one additional month,and menstruationdisorder was limitedto one
month'srestper year.
74. Dobie (n. 25), p. 243.
75. B. Lloyd,Lightsand ShadesofSan Francisco(San Francisco,1876).
76. Dillon (n. 38).
77. E. Robbins, "Chinese Slave Girls,"OverlandMonthly,n.s., 51 (1908): 100-102;
CaliforniaSenate, pp. 106, 155, 197.
78. California Bureau of Labor Statistics,BiennialReports,1887-1888 (Sacramento:
State Office,1888), p. 104.
79. U.S. Bureau of the Census,HistoricalStatisticsoftheUnitedStates:ColonialTimesto
1970 (Washington,D.C.: GovernmentPrintingOffice,1975), p. 165.
Signs

ChineseProstitutes
Table2
Number and Size of Chinese Brothelsin
San Francisco,1860-80
Size 1860 1870 1880
1 ................. 3 2 13
2 ................. 13 2 19
3 ................. 9 4 29
4 ................. 20 12 14
5 ................. 7 18 7
6 ................. 13 13 3
7 ................. 6 10 6
8 ................. 6 20 1
9 ................. 8 15 0
10 ................. 3 10 2
11 ................. 2 15 1
12 ................. 1 12 1
13 ................. 0 7 0
14 ................. 0 2 0
15 ................. 0 5 1
16-20 ............... 0 10 3
21-25 ............... 1 2 0
26-30 ............... 1 0 1
31-35 ................ 1 0 0
Total ............... 94 159 101
M size of brothel .... 5.9 9.0 4.3
SoL'RCES.-Computed tromunpublishedcensus manuscriptsforSan Franciscofor
1860, 1870, and 1880 (available fromthe National Archives).
Franciscoreformer,statedthatthe average Chinese prostituteusually
made betweenfiveand sixdollarsper day; one prostituteestimatedthat
she made $278 permonth,whileanotherclaimedtohavemade $318 per
month.80
The exploitationof Chinese prostituteswas notlimitedto sex alone
but also included theirlabor as semiskilledworkers.Many sources in-
dicate that in the daytime,when business was slack, women in the
brothelssewed buttonholesand pantaloons and workedon shirts,slip-
pers,men's clothing,and women's underwear.81The workwas farmed
out by sweatshopswhichsubcontractedwiththe manufacturers.Since
thesefemaleoperativesprobablydid notreceivepaymentforthisextra
work, the brothel owners and sweatshipowners reaped a handsome
profit.82
There were stillotherformsof exploitation.Besides thetax levied
on brothelowners who were not tong members,the tongsimposed a
weekly tax of twenty-fivecents on every Chinese prostitute.If any
woman refusedto pay, theypromised to use "harsh measures" to col-
80. U.S. IndustrialCommission,p. 786; Leong (n. 65); Fisk University,p. 36.
81. CaliforniaSenate,pp. 146, 154; U.S. Congress,pp. 211,1169; Dobie (n. 25),p. 243.
18 Hirata

Autumn1979 19
lect.83 These harsh measures included whipping, torture by fire,
banishmentto brothelsin theminingregions,and finally,shootingand
killing the victim.84Blackmailing Chinese prostituteswas another
method employed by the tongs to extortmoney. Members of a tong,
noted one report,"went around among Chinese prostitutesand told
themthata new chiefof police had come in, and unless he receiveda
handsome present,would shutup thehouses. They collectedfromone
and a halfto fivedollars fromeach one, and itwas divided among the
membersof thatsociety."85
Owners of brothelssometimesalso owned opium dens and gam-
blingjoints.86A numberof prostituteswere addicted to opium and/or
gambledexcessively.87The ownersoftenencouraged theseaddictionsso
that the loans needed to feed them would increase the prostitutes'
debts.88Desperate women committedsuicidebyswallowingrawopium
or drowningthemselvesin thebay.89
The best thingthat could happen to these women was to be re-
deemed and married. Occasionally a white male fell in love with a
brothelinmate and marriedher afterhaving paid the owner.90How-
ever, mostof the men who marriedprostituteswere Chinese laborers.
Chineseworkingpeople did notattachthesame stigmatoprostitutionas
whitesdid. One reason mighthave been thatprostitutesin China were
generallynot seen as "fallenwomen"but as daughterswho obeyed the
wishesof the family.Althoughprostitutionwas not consideredan hon-
orable profession,particularlyamong thegentry,womenwho wereable
to getout of itwere usuallyaccepted in working-classsociety.Further-
more,the factthattherewas such a shortageof Chinese women in San
Franciscoduringthisperiod would have tended to relax the sex mores
thatmen mighthave held.
Apparently,quite a fewwomen in San Franciscowere able to leave
the brothels,although not withoutstruggle,and oftenat tremendous
risk.Throughout the mid-nineteenthand theearlytwentiethcenturies,
reportsof such instancesabound.91Typically,a woman ran away to a
mission,the police station,or her lover,withthe hiredtongsoldiersin
pursuit.The lengthsto whichthe tongswould go in recapturinga run-
83. Alta (March 26, 1873).
84. Alta (December 4, 1870); U.S. Congress,pp. 110, 211.
85. CaliforniaSenate, p. 213.
86. Ibid., pp. 164-66.
87. M. Stabler,"A BitofBlue China,"OutWest,n.s.,3(1911): 256-59; U.S. Congress,
p. 96.
88. U.S. Congress,p. 96; CaliforniaSenate, p. 99.
89. California Senate, pp. 99, 180; Alta (July 6, 1876); Y. Fu, You-liMei-li-jiaguo
tu-jingYou-ji-lei,vol. 5 (n.p., 1889).
90. San FranciscoChronicle(April 1, 1877).
91. "BancroftScraps," an unpublished collectionof newspaper clippings(Bancroft
Library,UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley),vols.6-9 (1862-81); Wilson(n. 23).
Signs

ChineseProstitutes
awayprostituteindicatedher value to her owner.The tongsoftenkid-
napped theescaped womanor even used theAmericancourtsto gether
backbyfilinga chargeoftheft,claimingthewomanhad absconded with
some clothesor jewelry. Afterthe police had located the woman, the
tongswould hirewhitelawyersto arrange forher bail and thenreturn
her to the brothel.92If thattacticfailed,theyplaced public announce-
mentson Chinatownwalls,warningotherswho mightassisther escape
and offeringrewardsforher capture.
The tongsalso offeredrewardsforthe capture of the prostitute's
male accomplice; sometimessuch rewardsran into the thousands,de-
pendingon thevalue ofthewoman. Ifthemaleaccomplicepaid thesum
asked forthe woman's redemption,thenthe couple was leftalone, but
veryoftenthe man could not pay the exorbitantamount thatthe tong
required. There are storieswhichtellof such men and women fleeing
the San Franciscoarea in disguise or hidden in wooden boxes.93How-
ever, the tong networkof informersreached even into rural com-
munities.Telegraphs betweenChinese men in Marysville,Downieville,
San Francisco,and other places reveal thatsuch a systemoperated at
leastduringthe 1870s.94
As furtherinsuranceagainsttheescape of a prostitute,tongsgave
the local police a retainerfee. Until 1877, a Special Police Force was
engaged ina quasi-officialcapacityas peace officersinChinatown.They
received no set wages but derived theirincome fromthe Chinese resi-
dents. Normally,the "ChinatownSpecials" collectedfiftycentsa week
fromeach prostitute,95and theyadmittedthatwheneverthere was a
crackdown on prostitution,their income was reduced.96 Tongs also
made paymentsto CityHall to secure itsagreementnotto interfere.97
As mentionedbefore,a prostitute'swork life in the brothelswas
normallyfourtofiveyears,notsurprisingintheabsence ofsound medi-
cal care. The abundance ofChinese advertisementsof"secretformulas"
forcuringsyphilisand gonorrheaduringtheperiodtestifiestotheprev-
alence of such diseases.98Althoughsome doctorsblamed the Chinese
prostitutesfor spreading the diseases to the whitepopulation, it was
pointedout byother physiciansthatthese illnesseswere equally,ifnot
more,prevalentamong whiteprostitutesin San Francisco.99
93. San FranciscoBulletin(June 11, 1878).
94. CaliforniaChineseChatter(San Francisco:Dressier,Inc., 1927).
96. Ibid., p. 158.
97. Ibid., p. 113.
98. BancroftLibraryhas in itscollectionof Chinese immigrationpamphletsadver-
tisementsforsuch secretformulae("Chinese ImmigrationMiscellaneous,"unnumbered
boxes, BancroftLibrary,Universityof California,Berkeley).
20 Hirata

Autumn1979 21
When a woman was no longerprofitableas a prostitute,she might
work as a cook or a laundry woman for the brothel.100If she was
hopelessly ill, she would be left to die by the brothel owners.10'
Although,in general, the remainsof the Chinese male laborers were
shipped back to theirplace of nativityforburial, fewcared about the
remainsof these workingwomen. The Alta reportedin 1870 thatthe
bodies of Chinese women were discarded and lefton the streetsof
Chinatown. 102
Chinese prostituteswere mostlyyoungwomenbetweentheages of
sixteenand twenty-five.The year 1870 stood out as a watershedin that
therewereproportionatelymoreyoungerprostitutesinthatperiodthan
in either 1860 or 1880. Table 3 shows thatclose to 46 percentof the
women were under twentyyearsof age in 1870, whichwas 12 and 23
percentage points higher than the 1880 and the 1860 aggregates,re-
spectively.Since a great majorityof the Chinese prostituteswere of
child-bearingage, a natural question arose as to the mobilityof their
children.
The childrenof prostitutes,particularlyfemaleones, were likewise
exploited by the brothelowners. Table 4 shows the number,place of
nativity,and residenceof Chinese childrenlivingin San Francisco.The
data reveala significanttrend:in the 1860 census,proportionatelymore
children lived in brothels than outside brothels; in 1870, an even
numberof childrenlived in brothelsand outside; and finally,in 1880,
the situationwas reversedwithmanymorechildrenlivingoutside than
inside.The overrepresentationof girlsover boysin thebrothelsforall
threedecades was probablydue to theowner'spracticeofretaininggirls
to do household chores and his or her intentionto recruitthem into
prostitution.It is probablysafeto saythatnative-bornchildrenlivingin
brothelswere almostinvariablythe childrenof prostitutes.But mostof
the childrenof prostitutessomehowmanaged to escape the clutchesof
the brothel.In 1880, nearlythirtyyears afterthe firstlarge-scaleim-
portationof prostitutes,onlyseven of the 435 prostitutesin San Fran-
cisco were nativeborn (table 3). In general,childrenmoved away from
the brothelsand intothe widersociety(table 4).
Some of these childrenwere placed into missionhomes and with
familiesof Chinese Christians.103Othersmighthave returnedto China
or moved to the American interior.For those who remained in San
Francisco,theoccupational distributionof native-bornChinese females
inthe 1880 manuscriptcensusgivesa clue as totheirdestinations.Ofthe
250 U.S.-born women who were not classifiedas prostitutes,227 were
100. U.S. IndustrialCommission,p. 778; Gray(n. 43), p. 69.
101. San FranciscoChronicle(December 5, 1869).
102. Alta (October 9, 1870).
103. M. Slingerland,ChildWelfareWorkinCalifornia(New York, 1915), pp. 98-99.
Signs

Table3
Age and Nativityof Chinese Prostitutesin San Francisco,1860
1860 1870
Foreign U.S. Foreign U.S. Foreign
Born Born % Born Born % Born
15 and
under ....... 8 0 1.4 16 1 1.1 18
16-20 ......... 122 0 21.9 637 0 44.7 125
21-25 ......... 105 0 18.9 416 0 29.2 129
26-30 ......... 165 0 29.7 215 0 15.1 86
31-35 ......... 64 0 11.5 70 0 4.9 32
36-40 ......... 64 0 11.5 34 0 2.4 20
41-45 ......... 19 0 3.4 14 0 1.0 8
46-50 ......... 6 0 1.1 18 0 1.2 8
51 and over .... 3 0 .6 5 0 .3 2
Total ........ 556 0 100.0 1,425 1 100.0 428
SOURCES.-See table2.

Autumn1979 23
Table4
Chinese Childrenin San FranciscobySex, Nativity,
and Place of Residence, 1860-80
Live in Brothels Live Outside
Male Female Total Male Female Total
1860:
U.S. born .......... 5 23 28 0 0 0
Foreignborn ....... 3 12 15 7 2 9
Total ............ 8 35 43 7 2 9
1870:
U.S. born .......... 98 74 172 71 57 128
Foreignborn....... 34 48 82 79 34 113
Total ............ 132 122 254 150 91 241
1880:
U.S. born .......... 24 26 50 203 198 401
Foreignborn....... 11 27 38 89 114 203
Total ............ 35 53 88 292 312 604
Sot RCES.-See table 2.
housewives,while the rest were students,apprentices,housekeepers,
and seamstresses.Althoughcertainlynot all native-bornwomen were
offspringof prostitutes,a number of them clearlywere. It is not in-
correctto say, therefore,thatthe daughters of some indenturedand
slave prostitute-workersmanaged to become wage laborersand house-
wives.
ExtentandDistributionofChineseProstitutesinSan Francisco
The exactnumberofChineseprostitutesinCaliforniaand San Fran-
ciscoduringthenineteenthcenturyisnotknown.Althoughseveralcon-
temporaryestimatesare available,theirtremendousvariationindicates
low reliability.Fortunately,we are not solely dependent on impres-
sionisticaccounts.The recentlyreleased manuscriptcensuses for 1860,
1870,and 1880 containsocialand demographicinformationon individ-
uals whichmakesitpossibleto estimatethenumbersand to constructa
statisticalprofileof Chinese prostitutesforthesedecades.
A tabulationof the census schedules of 1860 revealed that there
were 2,693 Chinese residentsin San Francisco,654 or 24 percentof
whom were women. Eight of these were laundry/washerwomen;five,
gardeners; five,fisherwomen;three,laborers; four,storekeepers;two,
clerks; and one, a tailoress; the remainder had no occupation listed.
Signs

ChineseProstitutes
Eliminatingfromthelastcategory(a) thosewomenlivingin households
witha man withor withoutchildren,(b) thoselivingin householdswith
more than one man, and (c) girlsunder twelveyearsold, we have 556
womenwhose occupationsmightbe said to have been prostitution.This
figurerepresents85 percentof the Chinese female population in San
Francisco,and itis probablya reasonable estimate.
Since "prostitution"was used as an occupational categoryin the
1870 and 1880 census manuscripts,we have simplyfollowedthe des-
ignation of the census taker to identifyChinese women engaged in
prostitutionduring those two decades. Obvious distortionsmay arise
fromthisprocedure.Althoughthecensusenumeratorwas instructedto
recordwhatwas reportedto himor her bythe interviewee,a language
problemcould lead to guessingby thecensus worker.It is also reason-
able to assume thatthe census takerwas probablybiased towarddes-
ignatinga woman a prostitutebecause of popular racistbeliefsor an
inabilityto distinguishbetweenconcubinage and prostitution.On the
otherhand, the intervieweewas probablyinclinednotto statethatshe
worked as a prostituteeven ifshe reallydid. Since thesebiases run in
opposite directions,theytend to neutralizeeach other.
A tabulationfromthe 1870 census schedulesyielded2,018 Chinese
womeninSan Francisco,ofwhom 1,426or 71 percentwererecordedas
prostitutes.Fromthesefigures,we can see thatwhilethe percentageof
womenin San Franciscoengaged in prostitutiondeclinedrelativeto the
totalChinese femalepopulation,theactual numberof prostitutesmore
thandoubled.
Between 1870 and 1880, Chinese prostitutionbecame one of the
salientissues in the anti-Chinesemovementin California.During the
twolegislativehearingson Chinese immigration,one conducted bythe
CaliforniaStateSenate in April1876 and theotherbytheU.S. Congress
inOctoberofthesame year,numerousindividualstestifiedon theextent
of Chinese prostitutionin San Francisco.104These estimates con-
tradictedone another and revealed the witnesses'politicalbiases and
self-interests.Because of those contrastinginterests,the estimatesof
Chinese prostitutesin San Franciscodifferedwidely,rangingfrom200
to 2,700. In neitherhearingsdid witnessesor legislatorscitethecensus
figures.
A tabulationof the manuscriptcensus for San Francisco in 1880
yielded 2,058 Chinese women, of whom 435 or 21 percent were re-
corded as prostitutes.Although this figurewas probably an under-
estimate,other sources suggestthatit was not too farafield.The San
Franciscopolice testifiedin thecongressionalhearingsof 1876 that,as a
resultof severalraids on Chinese prostitutiona fewmonthsbeforethe
104. CaliforniaSenate; U.S. Congress.
24 Hirata

Autumn1979 25
hearings,many prostitutesleftthe cityfor inland towns.105Later, in
1885, the San FranciscoBoard of Supervisorsreportedthattherewere
567 professionalprostitutesin Chinatown.106
From the statisticspresented,we see the dramaticincrease in the
number of prostitutesbetween 1860 and 1870, and the dramaticde-
crease in both the numberand percentageof prostitutesbetween 1870
and 1880. These figuressuggestthattheheydeyofChinese prostitution
in San Franciscowas around 1870, and itsprecipitousdecline occurred
just before 1880.
AlthoughChinese prostitutesserveda raciallymixedclientele,they
were physicallyconcentrated in a few blocks in Ward Four, where
Chinatownwas located. Outside of Chinatown,in 1860, some brothels
were found in three other wards, but in 1870, Chinese brothelswere
found in only one other ward. Data on the distributionand size of
brothels(table 2) clearlyconfirmsthatthe yearsaround 1870 were the
heydeyof organized prostitution.There were more prostitutes,more
and larger brothels,and a heavier concentrationof brothelsin a very
smallarea. The data also suggestthe idea thatthiswas theperiod when
smallbusinesseswere consolidatedor liquidated bybig enterprises.
Decline of Organized Prostitution
Severalconvergingfactorsaccountforthedeclineofoganized pros-
titutionin San Francisco.First,the femalesupplyin South China dwin-
dled, makingfamilieslesswillingtosellor mortgagetheirdaughtersand
increasingthe difficultyof procuringprostitutes.Second, the Chinese
ExclusionActof 1882 greatlyreduced thenumberof prospectivepros-
titutesand made theirimportationharder. The decline in the annual
numberof Chinese women immigrants-froman average of 304.6 be-
tween 1854 and 1882 to an average of 107.6 between 1883 and 1904-
testifiestotheeffectivenessoftheExclusionAct,107despitetheingenious
evasive methodsdevised by the importers,tongs,and brothelowners.
The skyrocketingvalue of prostitutesin America and the increase in
kidnapping in California after the 1880s also reflectthe decline in
Chinese women enteringthe United Statesforthepurpose of prostitu-
tion.
Local conditionsin San Francisco and Californiaafterthe 1880s
similarlyled to thedecline and eventualdemise of thisorganized phase
106. San Francisco Board of Supervisors,SpecialCommitteeReporton Chinatown(San
Francisco, 1885), p. 9; CaliforniaBureau of Labor Statistics,BiennialReports,1887-1888
(Sacramento: StateOffice,1888), p. 108.
107. Coolidge (n. 34), p. 502.
Signs

ChineseProstitutes
of prostitution.These included the more balanced sex ratio of the
Californiapopulation (see table 1); the availabilityof other sources of
supply;themoveofChinese laborfrommigranttostationaryindustries;
the desire of capital to maintaina stable,cheap labor force;thechange
fromsojourningto settlementor return;the increasedalternativesfor
women'slabor;'08intra-tongconflictsand thestrugglebetweenthetongs
and the allied forcesof the Chinese consulate and the Six Companies;
the enforcementof codes directed against Chinese prostitution;the
arrivalofwhiteVictorianwomenand theestablishmentofwhitefamilies
in California;and finally,the crusade of the whitemissionariesforthe
abolitionof Chinese prostitution.
The Six Companies, led byChinese merchants,had theirfinancial
basis in Chinese laborers and trade. They supplied labor, collected
membershipfees,servedas bankersforthe immigrants,and sold pro-
visionsto thelaborers.'09The secretsocieties,whichcontrolledthegam-
bling,opium,and prostitutionbusinesses,challengedthetraditionalau-
thorityof the Six Companies and competed withthe merchantsforthe
laborers'dollars. Their opposition sharpened during the 1880s, partly
because theincreaseinlocal kidnappingrelatedtoprostitutionalienated
the Chinatownelites,who had familieswiththem.110The more money
laborersspentin San Franciscotong-controlledbusinesses,theless they
had to spend in the merchants' shops or to send home to their
families.1" Since manyemigrantcommunitiesin China depended on
remittances,the Chinese consulateand the Qing governmentwere also
concerned.112In addition,the merchantsknewthatAmericanfamilies
would not patronize the growing number of legitimaterestaurants,
stores,and curio shops in Chinatownifitwas seen as a vice district.113
The fiercecompetitionamong secretsocietiesforthe controlof gam-
bling, opium, and prostitutionduring the last few decades of the
nineteenthcenturyalso contributedto theirdecline.1l4
Moreover,theheydayof Chinese prostitutionin San Franciscocor-
108. V. Nee and B. Nee, LongtimeCaliforn'(New York: Pantheon Books, 1973); J.
Hooks, Women'sOccupationsthroughSevenDecades (Washington,D.C.: Women's Bureau,
1947); B. Liu, Mei-guoHua-giao shi(Taipei: Li-ming,1976).
109. S. Lyman, "Conflict and the Web of Group Affiliationin San Francisco's
Chinatown,1880-1910," PacificHistoricalReview43 (1974): 473-99.
110. Dillon (n. 38); I. Light,"FromVice DistricttoTouristAttraction,"PacficHistori-
cal Review43 (1974): 367-94; Liu; Lyman,"Conflictand theWeb of Group Affiliation."
111. Q. Liang,Xin-da-luyou-jijie-lu(Shanghai: Zhong-hua, 1936), p. 110.
112. T. Chen (n. 3); Hsiao (n. 2); G. Li, Huan-youdi-qiuxin-lu(n.p., 1877); D. Li,
"Zao-qi Hua-ren yi-Meiji An-ji-litiao-yueqian-ding,"Lien-hoShu-YuanXue-bao3 (1964):
1-29; Liu.
113. Light.
114. E. Gong and B. Grant,TongWar! (New York: Brown,Inc., 1930); Dillon (n. 38);
C. Reynolds,"Chinese Tongs," AmericanJournalofSociology40 (1935): 610-23; C. Lee (n.
19).
26 Hirata

Autumn1979 27
responded withthe period of mountingagitationagainstChinese labor
in general. And although prostitutesconsistedof no more than 6 per-
centof the Chinese population in California,theywere singledout for
attackby the politicians.Chinese prostitutionnot only threatenedthe
healthof whitemen, claimed those politicians,but Chinese prostitutes
serving as slave labor took away sewing and other jobs from white
women.115Between 1866 and 1905, at leasteightCaliforniacodes were
passed, all aimed at restrictingthe importationof Chinese women for
prostitutionand the suppression of Chinese brothels.Althoughwhite
prostitutionwas equallyifnotmoreprevalent,thesewereadditionaland
specificlaws directedonly against the Chinese. Chinese prostitutes,if
caught,weresentencedto a fineof $25 to $50 and a jail termofat least
fivedays.'16
Both theChinese consulateand theSix Companies saw prostitution
as one of themajorcauses fortheanti-Chinesemovementin California.
Further,bothwereconcernedabout theeconomiclossand imageof the
Chinese, so theyactivelycollaboratedwiththe Americanauthoritiesin
identifyingand deporting Chinese prostitutes."17In reality,however,
since Chinese prostitutionwas not the reason for the anti-Chinese
movement,theiractiondid notthwartthehostility;buttheireffortsdid
bringabout a temporarydecline in theorganized traffic.
The increasingarrivalofwhitewomenimmigrantstoSan Francisco
throughoutthe second halfof the nineteenthcenturytransformedthe
cityfroma frontiersocietywitha fluid,predominantlymale population
to a more stablesocietywithfamilies.Smithaccuratelypointedout that
the statusof prostitutesdeclinedwiththeadventofthe Victorianladies
from the East Coast concerned with the preservationof the family,
whose Puritanmoralityled themto crusade againstprostitutionin gen-
eral and Chinese prostitutionin particular."18In 1873, the interestsof
the Victorianladies in San Franciscofound expressionin theWomen's
OccidentalBoard. Reportedlyalarmedbytheimmoralityofthetrafficin
women and the sinfulnessof the prostitute'ssexual activity,Margaret
Culbertsonand her successorDonaldina Cameron setout to rescue the
Chinese slaves.'19 Although clergymenlike Gibson and Loomis also
crusaded against prostitution,Cameron was alwayssingled out as the
bravestand cleverestsavior of Chinese females.She was said to have
rescued approximately 3,000 girls during her forty-yearcareer,'20
althoughCameron herselftestifiedin 1898 that,twenty-threeyearsafter
115. CaliforniaSenate; U.S. Congress; U.S. Senate.
117. Gibson (n. 10); Liu (n. 108).
118. D. Smith(n. 7).
119. Robbins(n. 77); Wilson (n. 23); Gray(n. 43), pp. 67-74.
120. Gray,p. 74.
Signs

ChineseProstitutes
the establishmentof the Mission Home, about 600 girlshad been res-
cued.121
Missionariesthoughtthateveryslavegirlor prostitutewould rather
liveat 920 SacramentoStreet,butChinesewomendid notalwaysprefer
thisalternative,particularlyifthebrothelownerdid notmistreatthem
too badly.122Mostwomenwho ran awayfrombrothelsto seek thepro-
tectionof the Missionor the police citedcruelty,such as floggingand
beating,as thereason fortheirescape.123The Missionestablishedstrict
rulesfortheactivitiesand behavioroftherunawaysand trainedthemin
"motherhood" and "industrialskills."The rule against idle hands ex-
tended to cooking,cleaning,and maintainingthe Mission,and even to
the use of the women in hard labor. Cameron was knownto have con-
tractedwithfruitgrowersin NorthernCaliforniaforthe labor of Mis-
sion residents.She oftensenttwentyor thirtyChinese womenfromthe
home to workfromfourto eightweeksin thefields.It is notdifficultto
see whymanyprostitutesrefusedto run awayto the MissionHome, or
whya numberof women who had been "rescued" bythe missionaries
laterescaped fromtheirsaviors.124
There can be no doubt, however,thatas a resultof the effortsof
Cameron and otherslikeher,manyprostitutesbecame wivesand lived
normalfamilylives.A fewofthesewomenbecame Christiansandjoined
in missionarywork. Many whitewomen, perhaps includingCameron
herself,were motivatedbya sense of moralsuperiority.The morethey
saw Chinese women as helpless, weak, depraved, and victimized,the
more aroused was theirmissionaryzeal. Saving the Chinese slave girls
seemed to have become the "whitewoman's burden."125
Conclusion
Rotenbergobservedthat"theheavyemphasison the'sinful'nature
of the prostitute'ssexual activityhas obscured her role as a worker."126
This paper has argued thatprostitutionis a formoflabor. In thecase of
theindividualowner-prostitute,she is a freeagent,in possessionof her
own sexuality,offeringitin the marketin exchange fora fee fromher
clients.But theprostitutecan be ruthlesslyexploitedbyotherswho own
121. U.S. IndustrialCommission,p. 788.
122. Wilson.
123. Alta (July 31, 1873).
124. Wilson,pp. 85, 125; Alta (May 28, 1876).
125. Gray(n. 43).
126. L. Rotenberg,"The WaywardWorker:Toronto's Prostituteat the Turn of the
Century,"in Womenat Work,ed. J. Acton, P. Goldsmith,and R. Shepherd (Toronto:
Canadian Women, 1974), pp. 33-69.
28 Hirata

Signs Autumn1979 29
her sexuality and/or expropriate her earnings. The institutionof
Chinese prostitutionwas characterizedby many layersof exploitative
relations.Men and women, Chinese and white,reaped benefitsfrom
theiroppression. The developmentof Chinese prostitutionas a large
enterprisein nineteenth-centuryCaliforniawas relatedto bothmaterial
and ideological conditionsin the twocountries;to the need forcheap
labor in Californiaand theeconomicunderdevelopmentof China; and
towhiteracismand Chinese patriarchy.
DepartmentofSociology
UniversityofCaliforniaatLosAngeles

Lucie 1979

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

En vedette

En vedette (19)

Similaire à Lucie 1979

Similaire à Lucie 1979 (20)

Plus de 凱弘廖

Plus de 凱弘廖 (9)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Lucie 1979

Lucie 1979

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

En vedette

En vedette (19)

Similaire à Lucie 1979

Similaire à Lucie 1979 (20)

Plus de 凱弘 廖

Plus de 凱弘 廖 (9)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Lucie 1979

Plus de 凱弘廖

Plus de 凱弘廖 (9)