Chinatown: The Semi-Permeable Construction of Space and Time

Abstract

Chinatown: The Semi-Permeable Construction of Space and Time By Mario Pulido O ften times, when historians look back at a time for research, understanding the space in which that time occurs is significant to the context of the situation of the given space socially and in its geopolitical context. Understanding context gives historians a better perspective on how the people they are studying were and how they behaved or thought. Primary documents are typically the vehicle in which the historian uses to travel to the period they are studying and can often place it down to the most specific details such as what a typical day in the life of that society is like. Many theories around concepts such as race and identity are present in these places during time. In turn, these theories and concepts make the study that much more tedious and sometimes even easy to miss or are overlooked. Often, a primary document such as a newspaper also serves as the perfect arena for proving the grounds of these theories or disproving them. One such space where a number of social construction theories come into play is the community of Chinatown in San Francisco towards the end of the 19 th century. The focus of this analysis will revolve around the year of 1891 in Chinatown. Among the different events happening in Chinatown in 1891, the events around the city of San Francisco as a whole make a great subject to study. The method in which I arrive to San Francisco in 1891 is the newspaper the San Francisco Bulletin. In reading the San Francisco Bulletin, I place myself in the context of local life in San Francisco and can understand the situation socially and in its geopolitical context. The essence of this paper ties in strongly with the idea that even space, time, and borders are racialized, given the fact that it occurs in Chinese Exclusion Era San Francisco. The San Francisco Bulletin depicts San Francisco in the week of August 3, 1891; as any local newspaper does, first putting the gossip of the locals as well as informing local events. However, the articles are clearly written from the perspective of an era that marginalized and vilified Chinese immigrants where, within a three day span, Chinese citizens/non-citizens were the topic of at least one article each day. Ironically, common events such as world news or local sports were in the norm along with articles that are today considered hateful. For example, a heated baseball game occurred on August 3, 1891, in which part of the article states, “Those who attended yesterday's ball game undoubtedly got the worth of their money. For fourteen innings the Sacramentos and the San Franciscos strove for the mastery, the score at the end of the ninth inning being 9 to 9.” 1 It is interesting that at the same time this game is going on, in the same day, things such as digging a mile down for natural gas makes it in the newspaper. 2 What is more interesting about all of this is that the hierarchy of importance at the time included local events, sports, and news on the status of Chinese immigration and Chinese citizens/non-citizens. The articles are typically arranged with most of the material being local culture such as travel or events happening in the area. These specific articles are seen with the heading named “Pacific Coast Items.” This section of what is important to the average