Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco

by Judy Yung

  The War of Resistance: 1931

  As far as the Chinese and Chinese Americans were concerned, World War II started on September 18, 1931, with the Mukden Incident. On that fateful day, the Japanese army used a mysterious explosion that destroyed a few feet of track on the South Manchurian Railway line as a pretext to attack Mukden. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, too preoccupied with fighting the Communists, chose not to resist. General Ma Zhanshan and his troops, contravening Chiang's orders, took matters into their own hands and fought back heroically. But to little avail, for within a short time, the Japanese had occupied Northeastern China. The incident angered Chinese throughout the world, who had anxiously watched Japan's every move to expand into Manchuria since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-9 5.

  Chinese communities in the United States responded immediately to China's crisis. On September zz, only a few days after the incident, CSYP carried on its editorial page the declaration "Chinese Should Declare War on Japan Now." The Chinese Six Companies wired both the Nanking (Nationalist) and Canton (Communist) governments, urging them to stop their in-house warfare and work together to defeat the Japanese. The Six Companies also sent telegrams of protest to the League of Nations and President Herbert Hoover, asking them to intervene. Outraged by Japan's naked aggression, Chinese Americans put aside their political differences to work together in any way possible to help resist the Japanese and save China.4

  Taking the initiative, the Chinese Six Companies called a meeting of all Chinatown organizations on September 24, at which time the AntiJapanese Chinese Salvation Society was founded. The society immediately started working toward three goals: a boycott of Japanese products, a propaganda campaign to keep overseas Chinese and Americans informed of war conditions in China, and a fund-raising drive to send money to General Ma's troops. The Chinese Six Companies directed all other fund-raisers in the community to defer to the war.5 Under banners that read, "Down with Japanese Imperialism" and "All Chinese Must Unite to Fight the Japanese," hundreds of people marched through Chinatown to protest the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. The parade was followed by a rally at the Great Star Theater on Jackson Street, where community representatives gave patriotic speeches. A manifesto was read at the mass meeting: "If the world will not help China get justice, the Chinese government is urged to adopt the necessary extreme measures to regain and protect home and country. It is the sense of the Chinese at the patriotic rally that the world must uphold the Kellogg pact and force Japan to withdraw her troops from Manchuria."6 So incensed were Chinese Americans by Japan's aggressive act that within three months of the Mukden Incident, and despite the depression, they sent over $625,000 to support General Ma's army.'

  Then on January z 8, 19 3 z, Japanese troops attacked Shanghai, bombing, burning, and killing soldiers and civilians alike. Against Chiang's orders, General Tsai Ting-kai's Nineteenth Route Army resisted, fighting valiantly against superior forces for thirty-four days before retreating. Sharing the popular Chinese sentiment of support for Tsai (who hailed from Guangdong Province, the same place as most Chinese im migrants in the United States), overseas Chinese communities responded with further financial aid. In the next six months, over $750,000 was raised in the United States alone, most of which went to Tsai's army and to the refugee relief effort in Shanghai.8 Still Chiang retained his stubborn military stance: "First reunification, then resistance." Refusing to fight the Japanese, he relied instead on a powerless League of Nations to solve the problem while he continued to battle the Communists.

  Frustrated but undeterred by Chiang's policy and by the rest of the world's inaction, overseas Chinese communities persevered in trying to save China, though they themselves were grappling with the depression, racial discrimination, and political dissension. At issue were blood ties and Chinese nationalism, as well as the belief that only through a stronger China could they hope to improve their status in America, where they were treated as unwanted aliens. In the words of Zuo Xueli, a woman who spoke at an anti-Japanese war rally in San Francisco,

  It is the sacred duty of the Chinese in America to resist Japan and save China. Everyone, man and woman, has a responsibility in the rise and fall of a nation. To promote our interests, we must (i) enhance the international status of the Republic of China; (z) abolish all unequal treaties and develop the industries and businesses of overseas Chinese; and (3) publicize the valiant contributions made by our forefathers to gold mining and railroad construction in the United States in order to dispel discrimination against the Chinese in America.... With China facing such a crisis, if we don't take immediate steps to defend and preserve our country, then I fear the future standing of the Chinese in America will be even lower than the blacks. If we can unite and resist Japan, recover our lost territory, and defeat Japanese imperialism, our allies will look at us with respect.9

  In response to the 9-18 and i-z8 incidents (as the Japanese attacks of September 18, 1931, and January z8, 193 z, came to be called by the Chinese), young and old, rich and poor, Chinese-born and Americanborn, men and women-all gave what they could to the war effort. They donated their hard-earned savings, boycotted Japanese products, participated in protest parades and rallies, and supported aviation clubs and schools (to train pilots for the Chinese air force). Fund-raisers for the war effort and refugee relief became the mainstay of political and social activities.10 When General Tsai Ting-kai came through San Francisco in 1934 as part of an American tour to rally support for China, he was greeted at the train station by a crowd of four thousand and given a hero's welcome. His patriotic fans, gathered at the local playground to hear him speak, cheered themselves hoarse as the general denounced Japanese aggression and beseeched their continued support. Six Chinatown restaurants hosted a banquet reception in his honor, and that evening firecrackers crackled while all the shops in Chinatown were illuminated to show their appreciation of the general's valor."

  Japan, though, was intent on continental expansion and domination. On July 7, 1937, without issuing a formal declaration of war, Japan invaded China. Claiming that Japanese soldiers who had left their night posts to relieve themselves had been captured by the Chinese, Japanese army divisions took over the Lugougiao railway station, outside Peking, and engaged Chinese troops in battle at the Marco Polo Bridge. By August, Japanese troops were in control of Peking and Tientsin. By the end of the year, they had taken Shanghai, Hankow, Canton, and Nanking, leaving a bloody trail of rape, pillage, and plunder. Chiang Kaishek and the Nationalist Party had no choice but to declare war on Japan and form a united front with the Chinese Communist Party. It would be a protracted war against a military force far superior in technology and brutal in its policy of sanko seisaku ("the three alls"-kill all, burn all, destroy all). It would cost the country some $5o billion in property damage and over ten million lives. And once again, as in past national crises, overseas Chinese responded to the call to rescue their homeland.

  The 7-7 incident (as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of July 7, 1937, was called) put an immediate end to any remaining political dissension among Chinese Americans and infused the ongoing anti-Japanese war effort in the United States with a new sense of urgency. This time, in light of the united front in China and the dire circumstances at hand, all political factions put aside their differences to participate. "War fever was heightened by a fervor for solidarity and unity," the Chinese Digest said. "For the first time in the community's history every group, faction, clique, society, association, and lodge joined hands and fraternized with each other. It provided a spectacle never before witnessed."12 On August zi, the Chinese Six Companies in San Francisco called a meeting of representatives from ninety-one community groups to organize a new national campaign for the war effort. In the spirit of "country and victory first," the Chinese War Relief Association (CWRA) was established to coordinate the fund-raising efforts of some three hundred communities throughout the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. B. S. Fong, president of the Chinese Six Companies, was elec
ted chairman to lead the campaign.13 Most significantly, representatives from women's organizations were allowed into the inner sanctums of the Chinese Six Companies to participate in CWRA deliberations as equals for the first time.

  In the eight years of war that followed, Chinese throughout America remained steadfast in their commitment to save China. Under the leadership of the CWRA in twenty major cities, a total of $zo million was raised for China through door-to-door solicitation, Rice Bowl parties, bazaars and parades, and war bond sales. Clothing, medical supplies, ambulances, airplanes, gas masks, and mosquito nets were also sent to China. In this sustained fiend-raising effort, the Chinese in San Francisco were the most active of all, raising $5 million-one-fourth of the total amount.14 Within a week after the CWRA was formed, contributions amounting to $30,000 were raised, $15,000 of which came from Joe Shoong of the National Dollar Stores. His employees set the example of pledging one month's salary to the war relief budget; other Chinatown businesses quickly followed suit. Other fund-raising efforts ranged from selling flowers and shining shoes to the mounting of large benefit performances and arranging for the donation of gate receipts from the International Exposition at Treasure Island." Quotas were often set, such as a $30 minimum from each working adult during one fund-raising campaign, or $2..5o per person during a drive for winter clothing." Although most people were more than willing to give, others, who either did not have the funds or who resented being coerced, refused and were punished by means of boycotts, imposed fines, and other strong-arm tactics.l" "The CWRA," an announcement in CSYP warned, "can obtain the names and addresses of non-contributors and send people after them."18 On at least two occasions, individuals who had refused to cooperate were denounced and paraded through the streets of Chinatown.19

  In addition to fund-raising activities, Chinese Americans mounted a propaganda campaign to keep all Americans informed of war developments in China and to appeal for widespread financial and political support. While foreign-born Chinese kept the Chinese immigrant population informed and involved through Chinese newspapers, street broadcasts, parades, and rallies, the American-born made a special effort to reach out to mainstream America, as well as the English-language press and government officials in Washington, D.C., encouraging them to contribute to China's war fund and to take action against Japan. Everyone, especially labor organizations, was encouraged to boycott Japanese products. Chinatown stores that did not comply were fined $500, and individuals, $ 5 or more.20 Chinese Americans in port cities such as Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, and San Francisco organized waterfront picket lines to protest the sending of scrap iron and war supplies to Japan. Over two hundred Chinese American aviators also volunteered for service in China, several dozen of whom are known to have died in battle.21

  Women's Role in the War of Resistance

  Even more so than with past nationalist causes, immigrant and American-born women were visibly active in war relief work. They were concerned about the grave developments in China and especially outraged by reports of Japanese atrocities against women and children. News from China constantly reminded them that their motherland was under brutal attack and that the national crisis demanded the contribution of every son and daughter. Xiang Dingrong, a provincial party representative, reportedly said at an anti-Japanese rally in Hangzhou, "There is an old saying, `Every man has a responsibility in the rise and fall of a nation.' Actually, the fate of a country should not rest only on men. I would change the saying to, `Every woman has a responsibility in the rise and fall of a nation."122 This slogan became the rallying cry for women's participation in the war effort both in China and overseas.

  For the duration of the war, women were called upon to emulate the legendary woman warrior Hua Mulan and the revolutionary heroine Qiu Jin and to shoulder the same responsibilities as men if they were to prove themselves worthy of equal rights. The Chinese press in the United States played heavily on the themes of nationalism and feminism in an attempt to link Chinese American women to the fate of their sisters in China and to arouse them to action, as exemplified in the following Chinese Times editorial:

  We must understand that the Chinese Women's Movement and the liberation of the Chinese people are inseparable. Chinese women make up half of the country's population. United they represent a great force. Women who love their country and who don't want to sell out should organize and mobilize this force, answer to the call of their leaders, and use whatever knowledge and abilities they have for the war effort. By contributing to country and humanity, women can thus prove they are as valuable as men. When women have fulfilled their responsibilities to national salvation, society will naturally give wide support to the women's movement. 23

  Echoing the revolutionary war cry of 19 1r, the message was for women to put nationalist concerns before feminist ones and, once again, to prove themselves worthy of equal rights. The lessons of history should have warned them that there were no sure guarantees. Chinese women did not gain suffrage or equal rights after the 1911 Revolution. Rather, they followed the pattern set by Hua Mulan, who, on returning from battle, donned feminine attire and resumed the traditional role of a woman. Now, however, fired by Chinese nationalism, women chose to ignore the past and allow themselves once again to take up the fight.

  Given the national emergency, women from all walks of life were encouraged to enter the public sphere and contribute to the war effort, but only in subordinate or auxiliary roles. According to Madame Chiang Kai-shek:

  We women are citizens, just as much as are our men ... our line of usefulness may be different but each must do what best can be done to contribute our share to rescue our nation from defeat and slavery. While during war time the men are the fighters, it is the women who bear the brunt of carrying on at the rear.24

  She instructed women to combine the principles of the New Life Movement, which promoted the Confucian ethics of propriety, loyalty, integrity, and honor, and the Christian values of clean living, education, and charitable activity, with war work. Although hundreds of women did fight heroically at the front lines, thousands more were mobilized to serve behind the lines in China, raising funds for military spending, sewing and providing supplies for the soldiers, caring for the wounded, refgees, and war orphans, contributing to production, and doing propaganda work.25 Back in the United States, Chinese women's activities in war work were also limited to female tasks such as fund-raising, conducting propaganda campaigns among women, and engaging in Red Cross work, all under the male-dominated leadership of the CWRA. Nevertheless, as in China, national salvation work drew Chinese American women into new public activities, giving them an opportunity to develop leadership skills, learn to work cooperatively, and gain confidence and respect as active participants in a political movement. In this sense, it brought them closer to the promise of women's emancipation in the overall process of social change.26

  ORGANIZATION AND MOBILIZATION

  Soon after the Mukden Incident, women's organizations formed across the country-in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, and Portland-to support the war effort. One of the earliest and most outspoken groups was the Chinese Women's Association in New York. As early as October 14, 1931, it fired off letters to newspaper editors who had been advocating that the United States take a "handsoff policy" with respect to the war in China. Calling this stance "immoral" and "cowardly" in view of the intense human suffering caused by Japanese war atrocities, the women argued that the United States should uphold the pledge it had made in the Nine-Power Treaty27 and the Kellogg-Briand pact: to help settle all international disputes by peaceful means. Then, in a letter dated February 18, 1932, the association appealed to "Chinese womanhood in the U.S.A." to boycott Japanese products, publicize China's just cause, and help raise $25,000 for the relief of war victims. Arguing that women must unite against the Japanese, the letter concluded: "With Manchuria already under the complete domination of Japan; with Shanghai and other cities being bombarded, killing thousands of civilians-m
ostly women and children; with China's millions still in the aftermath of a devastating flood, it is high time that the Chinese Womanhood should rise as ONE in order to put an end to these inhuman atrocities and wanton massacres."28 Within a year, the Chinese Women's Association raised $ 3 0,000 for the war effort by sponsoring a parade and street festival, a week-long charity bazaar, and a fundraising campaign that lasted nine days. When General Tsai Ting-kai came to New York to thank the Chinese community for their support, the Women's Association independently sponsored a testimonial dinner in his honor, which was attended by an enthusiastic crowd of two hundred members and friends.

  More numerous and diverse than Chinese women in New York, Chinese women in San Francisco contributed to the war effort by participating in one or more of seven women's groups organized on the basis of nativity, class, age, and cultural and political orientation. Whereas middle-class immigrant women belonged to the Funu Ju Ri Jiuguo Hui (Women's Patriotic Club) and Funu Xinyun Hui (New Life Association), working-class immigrant women participated in the activities of the Funu Zhanqu Nanmin Chouzhen Hui (Women's War Zone Refugee Relief Committee) and Funu Xie Hui (Women's Council). The Women's Patriotic Club and Women's Council were politically left of the New Life Association and Women's War Zone Refugee Relief Committee and tended to be more autonomous and critical of Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist Party. As for American-born women, the young ones were attracted to the Chinese YWCA, while business and professional women in their thirties were drawn to the Square and Circle Club. Fidelis Coteri stood apart as an organization of well-to-do matrons in their fifties. Although all these organizations performed gendered tasks dictated by the CWRA, each group's choice of activities reflected the class and cultural background of its members. Middle-class immigrant women, for example, concentrated on door-to-door solicitation and propaganda work in the Chinese language; working-class immigrant women favored sewing projects; and American-born women organized dance and fashion show benefits, volunteered for Red Cross work, and did outreach in the non-Chinese community.