Between Two Worlds: Chinese Immigrant Children and the Production of Knowledge in the Era of Chinese Exclusion

Abstract

H istory through the eyes of its youngest creators is revealing in that it offers perspectives rarely considered and stories seldom told. The experiences of children provide a unique window into the past. Migrant children, with their experiences crossing borders and bridging chasms between cultures, have been especially influential in moving, constructing, and reconstructing knowledge. Simone Lässig and Swen Steinberg remind us of the importance of examining the history of “knowledge on the move” and especially of “the role of young people in migration, including their part in initiating the process of relocation and contending with the challenges posed by migration.” Lässig and Steinberg have argued for a broad definition of knowledge that includes scientific and scholarly as well as social and everyday knowledge. Similarly, this article considers the importance of everyday knowledge, especially through family history, cultural understanding, and practical knowledge about surviving and adapting in an often hostile world. Chinese immigrant childrenwho traveled to the United States during the Chinese Exclusion Era played a significant role in moving knowledge across geographic