Transpacific Imaginaries: Chinese Canadian Engagement with China, 1858–1947.
This article focuses on how Chinese Canadians actively engaged with their imagined connections to China as both a source of hope and a practical resource to secure their place in Canada. These connections were embodied in the belief that the circumstances of Chinese in Canada were intrinsically link...
| Publicado en: | Canadian Historical Review Vol. 107; no. 2; pp. 207 - 233 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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University of Toronto Press
Jun2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=194976726&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 194976726 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00083755 CHR jtl: Canadian Historical Review issn: 00083755 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jun2026 vid: 107 iid: 2 pid: 678 pub: University of Toronto Press artinfo: ui: 194976726 10.3138/chr-2025-0023 ppf: 207 ppct: 26 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 302KB tig: atl: Transpacific Imaginaries: Chinese Canadian Engagement with China, 1858–1947. aug: au: Wang, Letian affil: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada su: Chinese Canadians Institutional racism Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 (Canada) Citizenship Equal rights China Canada sug: subj: China Canada Chinese Canadians Institutional racism Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 (Canada) Citizenship Equal rights keyword: Chinese Exclusion Act racism transpacific -racisme Chine Loi d'exclusion des Chinois Sino-Canadiens transpacifique ab: This article focuses on how Chinese Canadians actively engaged with their imagined connections to China as both a source of hope and a practical resource to secure their place in Canada. These connections were embodied in the belief that the circumstances of Chinese in Canada were intrinsically linked to the fate of China. On the one hand, they continuously sought support from China to combat institutional racism in Canada; on the other, Canada's anti-Chinese laws were interpreted as stemming from China's weakness. Therefore, the strengthening of China was perceived as being integral to Chinese Canadians' struggle for equal rights in Canada. Importantly, the strategic invocation of ties with China arose from the fact that Canadian institutions remained largely inaccessible to Chinese Canadians in their efforts to challenge anti-Chinese legislation; thus, they looked across the Pacific for support. This orientation differed from nationalism, but it reveals the agency and aspirations of Chinese Canadians to secure their place in Canada through the means available to them. Notably, the significance of imagined ties with China gradually receded after 1947, when Chinese Canadians were finally granted citizenship rights in Canada. Le présent article décrit la participation active des Sino-Canadiens à des connexions imaginaires avec la Chine à la fois comme source d'espoir et ressource pratique pour se tailler une place au Canada. Ces connexions étaient incarnées par la conviction d'un lien intime entre la situation des Chinois du Canada et le sort de la Chine. D'une part, les Chinois cherchaient constamment le soutien de la Chine pour lutter contre le racisme institutionnel au Canada, et d'autre part, les lois canadiennes anti-chinoises étaient interprétées comme découlant de la faiblesse de la Chine. Par conséquent, le renforcement de la Chine était perçu comme faisant partie intégrante de la lutte des Sino-Canadiens pour l'égalité des droits au Canada. Fait important, l'invocation stratégique des liens avec la Chine provenait du fait qu'au sein de la lutte contre la législation anti-chinoise les institutions canadiennes demeuraient largement inaccessibles aux Sino-Canadiens, qui, par conséquent, cherchaient un appui de l'autre côté du Pacifique. Cette orientation différait du nationalisme, mais révélait l'agentivité et les aspirations des Sino-Canadiens à se réserver une place au Canada par les moyens à leur disposition. Notamment, l'importance des liens imaginaires avec la Chine a graduellement diminué après 1947, lorsque les Sino-Canadiens se sont finalement vu accorder des droits de citoyenneté au Canada. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Canadian Historical Review is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Canadian Historical Review holder: University of Toronto Press dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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