White Jade Tiger

by Julie Lawson

  White Jade Tiger

  White Jade Tiger

  by Julie lawson

  Copyright © 1993 by Julie Lawson

  Eighth printing 2006: over 30,000 copies sold

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

  Editor: Guy Chadsey

  Cover Art: Judy McLaren

  Cover Design: Christine Toller

  Production Editor: Rick Behnke

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Lawson, Julie, 1947-

  White jade tiger / Julie Lawson.

  First published: Victoria, B.C.: Beach Holme Pub., 1993.

  ISBN-10: 1-55002-653-4

  ISBN-13: 978-1-55002-653-5

  1.Chinatown (Victoria, B.C.)-History-Juvenile fiction. 2. Victoria (B.C.)--History-Juvenile fiction. 3. Chinese-British Columbia-History-Juvenile fiction. 4. Canadian Pacific Railway Company--History--Juvenile fiction. I. Title.

  PS8573.A94W5 2006 jC813’.54 C2006-901506-6

  We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program and The Association for the Export of Canadian Books, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishers Tax Credit program, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

  Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credit in subsequent editions.

  J. Kirk Howard, President

  Printed and bound in Canada

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  Author’s Note

  White Jade Tiger is a work of fiction for young readers, not a scholarly account. However, it is based on actual events which took place in the Fraser Canyon during the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, 1880-1885. Every attempt has been made to ensure historical accuracy, and if any errors have been made, they are my fault entirely. To aid the flow of the story, the construction schedule of the railroad and certain events were moved forward in time. For instance, the riot in Lytton took place in May, 1883, not in September 1882, although the events did happen as described. Also, the Yale Sentinel article describing the deaths of Chinese workmen was printed in February 1883, not September 1882 as in the story.

  Racist terms such as Chinaman, Celestial and John were commonly—and consistently—used during this time period, by the daily press and politicians as well as by ordinary citizens. These terms are used by some characters in the story, in the context of those times.

  Chinese workers subsisted mainly on a diet of rice and ground salmon. Because of a lack of fresh meat and vegetables, they were constantly suffering from vitamin deficiency. Scurvy was widespread, particularly during the winter of 1882-83, and deaths from scurvy continued well into 1883.

  The William Irving was the largest sternwheeler ever to travel on the Fraser. The descriptions are accurate, although for the purposes of the story I allowed the William Irving to provide through-passage from Victoria to Yale.

  The long, narrow alley that connects Fisgard Street and Pandora Avenue in Victoria was known to the Chinese as Fan Tan Xiang (Fan Tan Alley). Several fan-tan gambling clubs operated there during the 1910s. The gambling den that Jasmine enters in 1881 is my invention, although it is possible that such a place did exist in that location. In the 1880s, several opium factories operated in Chinatown. The opium business was legal until 1908.

  The class field trip is written from the point of view of young people discovering Victoria’s Chinatown for the first time, and responding to certain aspects of Chinese culture. It is not meant to be a definitive description of Chinese culture.

  In 1990, Via Rail discontinued its regular passenger run on the Canadian, which followed the CPR tracks through the Fraser Canyon. Although there has been some track realignment and most of the bridges have been replaced, much of the original grade is still used by trains carrying freight through the canyon.

  About the romanization of the Chinese language. For place names in the present I have used pinyin (e.g. Beijing and Guangdong) since that is the system used today. The early Chinese in North America spoke southern Chinese dialects such as Cantonese or Toisanese. I have therefore used Cantonese for names and common expressions such as gung hey fat choy, Gim Shan, lai see rather than convert these to pinyin. This choice was made largely for convenience—both my own and that of my readers.

  The idea for White Jade Tiger originally came from a picture I found of a white jade plaque carved in the form of the White Tiger, a mythical animal identified with the West. This amulet is actually from the Han Period (206 BC-AD 221), although in the story I date it somewhat earlier to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). From the earliest times, jade was recognized in the Far East as a precious stone endowed with symbolic and magical powers. The magic associated with the white jade tiger in the story, however, is of my own making.

  Historical Note

  The first Chinese came to British Columbia from California in 1858, drawn by the gold of the Fraser and Cariboo. As early as 1860, taxes against them were being proposed and debated. Anti-Chinese feeling grew steadily throughout the 1860s and 70s, and in 1878 the Legislature passed a Bill to exclude Chinese from all public works. For politicians seeking election, an anti-Chinese stand was imperative.

  However, all British Columbians wanted the railway—the Canadian Pacific Railway that would unite Canada from sea to sea. And if it couldn’t be built without the Chinese, then they would grudgingly accept the Chinese.

  Thousands of Chinese came to work for the CPR between 1880 and 1885. At the peak of railway construction in the Fraser Canyon, some 8000 Chinese were employed. During the five year period, an estimated 1500 died.

  Throughout those years and well into the next century, Legislation against the Chinese persisted, as did anti-Chinese feeling on the part of many citizens. In spite of such discrimination, the Chinese presence continued to grow, becoming an integral and enriching thread in the fabric of Canadian society.

  Chapter 1

  Jasmine, run! Cords of panic tightened around her chest. Her heart raced with fear.

  Run! Don’t look back! The warning came too late. Piercing yellow lights sprang out of the blackness. A white shape leaped towards her. She tried to scream but the sound strangled in her throat. Then, total darkness. Pressure. Rising terror. As if she were buried alive.

  Run! She struggled to break the paralyzing hold gripping her body. If only she could move, if...

  “Aieee!” The scream jolted her awake. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was or even who she was. And who had screamed? Surely that hadn’t been her voice.

  For a long time she lay awake, trying to make sense of the recurring nightmare. The voice was becoming clearer. Someone was reaching out to her, and getting closer all the time.

  “Two for me, one for the bowl.” Jasmine Steele knelt on the damp gr
ound, happily picking her first crop of strawberries.

  The strawberries had been her project right from the start. “You won’t have to do anything,” she promised, knowing how her parents hated gardening. “I’ll do everything myself.” And she had, from buying the plants to keeping out the deer. All her digging, planting, weeding and watering had resulted in perfect strawberries, plump, juicy and sweet. Perfect tens, she thought, treating herself to another one. Just like today.

  So what if she’d had the nightmare again. By morning there was never anything left of it, nothing she could remember. And so what if it was raining. The rain brought out the smells of summer—wild roses, freshly-cut grass, and the best-ever strawberries. She popped another one into her mouth. Only three weeks until summer holidays, her last summer as a regular kid. In seven months she’d be a teenager. And today, this perfect ten day, was Thursday. She brushed off her jeans, picked up the bowl and hummed her way into the house.

  “Ta da!” She placed the strawberries on the table, bowed, and with a “Hold the applause!” raced off to the phone.

  “Who are you phoning?” her mother asked. “Can’t it wait till after breakfast?”

  “Krista and Becky. I’ve got to remind them about something.”

  “You’ll be seeing them in ten minutes.” With an exasperated sigh, Heather Steele poured herself another cup of coffee. “Just wait,” she said to her husband. “As soon as she gets off the phone she’ll remind me about tai chi and tell me she’ll be late for supper. Every Tuesday and Thursday, for the last six months, she’s said the same thing.”

  Martin Steele laughed. “I’m not going to bet against that one.” He bit into a strawberry. “Mmmm. These ripened beautifully.”

  “They wouldn’t dare not to,” Heather said. “Not with Jasmine growing them.”

  “What else can we get her to plant this summer? Corn? Peas?” His mouth watered at the thought. “She’d grow a terrific garden.”

  Heather agreed. “She’ll do anything, once she sets her mind to it.”

  Jasmine bounded back and slid into her chair. “Don’t forget, Mom, I’ve got tai chi after school so I’ll be late for supper.” She poured herself a heaping bowl of corn flakes and buried them in strawberries.

  “How’s Krista? And Becky? Have you got their day organized?”

  “Uh-huh. We’re practicing our play at recess and lunch. And I reminded them about the hot dog notice. Have you filled mine out?”

  “It’s in your pack.”

  “If you’re going shopping we’re out of chocolate chip cookies and there’s only two apples left.” She spread peanut butter on a piece of toast, covered it with slices of apple, then added a layer of strawberries. “Yurn! Do you want a bite, Dad?”

  “Heavens no,” he said. “It looks disgusting.”

  “You have no taste,” she teased. “And don’t turn up your nose at something till you’ve tried it. Ever heard that before?”

  “Isn’t it time you left for school?”

  “Don’t worry. Everything’s under control.” She bolted down the rest of her toast and shoved her lunch and homework inside her pack. Then she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, gave her mother and father a peck on the cheek and raced to the door. “Bye! And don’t eat all the strawberries.”

  “Be careful,” her mother called after her. “The roads are slippery.”

  No problem, Jasmine thought as she tore down the road. Nothing can go wrong today, not on tai chi Thursday. But what about next month, when the classes were finished?

  Well, she’d just have to practice on her own. And there were so many other things she planned to do: swim in the river, camp on the beach, have sleep-overs at least once a week, help her mom work on the quilt so it would be finished for her birthday. And this summer, since she was almost thirteen, she was allowed to take the bus into Victoria. She and her friends could go to movies and malls and do all the city things they couldn’t do in Sooke. And maybe she’d plant a vegetable garden, since the strawberries were such a success.

  “Hey, Krista! Becky!” She spun around the corner where her friends were waiting. “Is it too late to plant seeds for corn and stuff like that?”

  “I don’t think so,” Krista said. “Why?”

  “I’ve got this great idea for a garden. Do you want to help? We could grow pumpkins too and make a scarecrow....”

  All the way to school they tossed out ideas, too excited to mind the drizzly rain. By the time they wheeled into the bike-racks they had a garden of huge proportions, complete with a goldfish pond and frogs that croaked all night.

  “Do you want to come over?” Becky asked, when 3:00 finally came.

  “Can’t. It’s—”

  “Tai chi!” Krista looked at Becky and laughed. “You should know by now.”

  “You should join,” Jasmine said. “It’s great.” “

  You should take karate with us.”

  “No way.” Jasmine grinned.

  “If we all started like, tai chi, you’d switch to karate,” Becky said. “You’re such a non-conformist. Right?”

  “Yeah! And proud of it! See you tomorrow—and don’t forget about the garden.” Jasmine tucked her long black braid inside her hood and headed for her bike. The morning drizzle had turned into a regular West Coast downpour, making the roads more slippery than ever. Ignoring the puddles, she sped off to her tai chi class.

  “Keep your self-control,” the teacher was saying. “Don’t give in to anger. Remember, tai chi must never be used against another person unless you’re in danger. Then, look for a weak spot, maybe the way the person is standing. Take advantage of that weakness. Catch the person off balance.”

  Jasmine hung onto every word. “Inner strength is being aware of your own power and energy and having control over it. To have inner strength you must concentrate on your lower stomach, because that’s where your power is centred. And remember that tai chi is yin and yang working in harmony. The spiritual side is in balance with the physical side.”

  As she went through the patterned motions, Jasmine thought about her inner strength. She was sure she had it. She could feel it, flowing through her body with every breath.

  “Let your arms open as if you’re holding the whole world in front of you. Curve your arms downwards and scoop up all this space. Keep your back straight, knees bent. Lift the energy up to your chest.”

  Jasmine dropped her elbows and rotated her wrists, directing the energy into her lower stomach. She was concentrating so hard she didn’t hear the door open or see her teacher walk towards it. She jumped when he tapped her shoulder. “Your dad’s here. He wants to talk to you.”

  She skipped towards the door, eager to show her father the new moves. But the look on his face stopped her abruptly. “Dad? What’s—”

  “Your mom,” he said in a choked voice. He put his arms around her, drawing her close. “There’s been an accident.”

  Somehow, Jasmine left her class, walked down the stairs and got into the car. “She was driving home,” her father was saying. “The roads were so slippery, she skidded on a curve, crashed into a tree...”He paused, fighting to control his ragged breathing. “When they got her out she was unconscious but still alive. But...she didn’t make it to the hospital.”

  Jasmine stared fixedly through the rain-streaked wind-shield, barely hearing her father’s words. They fluttered through some distant part of her consciousness like fragments of paper, ripped apart, swept away. What was he talking about? Her mother, dead? No! It was a mistake! She wanted to scream, shout, smash—pound everything back into place, the way it was.

  “It can’t be,” she repeated numbly. Her body throbbed with an overwhelming hurt. She was out of her depth, sinking slowly, with nothing to hold onto, no hope of touching bottom, not even a shred of inner strength to keep her afloat.

  And that night, the dreams began.

  Chapter 2

  Bright Jade sat alone by the pool, staring at the moon’s refle
ction. She tried to capture the image of the Moon Lady, but the wind kept stirring the water, breaking the reflection into ripples.

  She looked up at the sky, where the moon hung like a silver coin. Although she still couldn’t see the Moon Lady, she could see the hare, pounding out the elixir of immortality at the foot of a cassia tree.

  Bright Jade sighed. Everlasting life! How could one attain it? The moon was so far away, yet here it was at her feet—a clear reflection now, not distorted by the wind. If she could just reach over, fall into the pool and land on the moon....

  She knew the time was coming. Even though the Emperor believed his reign would last ten thousand years.

  The mighty Emperor, she thought bitterly. Qin Shi Huangdi, the Son of Heaven, so obsessed with eternal life he sent six thousand boys and girls to the Eastern Sea to search for the Islands of the Immortals. Did they find the magical islands? Or the elixir that was said to grow there? No one knew, for the children were never seen or heard from again.

  Then there were the thousands buried beneath the stones of the Great Wall. Young men and old, brothers, husbands, fathers and sons whose sweat was mixed with the mortar that held the stones together; dead men denied a proper burial, whose souls were doomed to an eternity without rest; dead men whose bones were part of the Great Wall itself, the longest graveyard in the world.

  Bright Jade shivered. She was the Emperor’s favourite. All the more reason he would insist she accompany him to the Celestial Kingdom, where he would continue to reign long after his body was dead.

  The thought of that kingdom made her shudder. Hundreds of thousands of peasants had laboured a lifetime, creating a universe deep within the earth, a universe complete with rivers and ocean, moon and stars. Inside this world lay the burial chamber where the Emperor would rule, surrounded by his treasures: jewels, gold, jade, and the beautiful women who entertained him.