Sunset Magazine – April 1904, Vol. XII
Since the publication of Edward Said‘s Orientalism in 1978, much academic discourse has begun to use the term “Orientalism” to refer to a general patronizing Western attitude towards Middle Eastern, Asian and North African societies. In Said’s analysis, the West essentializes these societies as static and undeveloped—thereby fabricating a view of Oriental culture that can be studied, depicted, and reproduced. Implicit in this fabrication, writes Said, is the idea that Western society is developed, rational, flexible, and superior – Wikipedia
Sunset Magazine – April 1904, Vol. XII – CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE
Yes, “they” are coming to California by rail, but not as tourists.
The first Chinese were hired in 1865 [sic] at approximately $28 per month to do the very dangerous work of blasting and laying ties over the treacherous terrain of the high Sierras. They lived in simply dwellings and cooked their own meals, often consisting of fish, dried oysters and fruit, mushrooms and seaweed. – Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
From Sunset Magazine article – California Netherlands – April 1904 CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE
In the late 1800’s, thousands of Chinese and Japanese workers were brought to work in the fruit orchards and sugar beet fields. They were the first farmworkers, to form associations and strike for improved wages and conditions. But their victories were short-lived.
The growers were able to play them off against anglos and other immigrant workers, especially during the depression years of the 1870’s and early 1900’s – when Asian workers were blamed for taking away jobs from “Americans.” The result was racist laws excluding the Chinese (1882) and Japanese (1920) from the U.S. – Farmworkers’ Website – The Struggle in California
