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April 30th, 2023
 Years ago, I remember often walking to Golden Gate Park with my grandfather. We spent a lot of time together because he and my grandma were my caretakers while both my parents worked. But in all those times, he never shared about his immigration story. As I learned his story and traumatic events, I can see why.
In 1923 (the next picture), he was 17, newly married, but had to leave his wife and everything he knew to board a steamship for the 33 day, 7000 mile journey to the U.S., a foreign land with foreign tongues and laws that excluded Chinese. Nevertheless, given the poor and war-torn conditions of the Delta Pearl region of my grandfather’s home, the opportunity to go to San Francisco, “Gold Mountain” as it was called, gave hope. Thousands of Chinese had already gone there and come back to China, bringing needed relief to the poverty. The sacrifices and hardships were worth the tremendous sacrifices.
His story of immigration is common to many Chinese who immigrated here. For example he was detained and interrogated in Angel Island’s prison-like environment immediately after debarking from his long trans-pacific voyage. The return home had perils too, pirates awaiting returning Chinese men who carried earned savings with them. Yes, my grandfather was robbed by pirates on his return trip to China, which meant he sadly lost four years worth of savings (He was held for ransom in a cave and escaped in the middle of the night with only his underwear). These immigration stories are more than just narratives in isolation; they unfold aspects of the Gospel rarely highlighted and that’s why I’ve told this story to thousands over Zoom, in classrooms, and of course, in Chinatown. Yet, I’ve never written down his story, until now…
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For the first time ever, my grandfather’s story is captured on our 