Speaking Chinese: A major Challenge in the Construction of Identity and the Preservation of the Peruvian Chinese Community (1870–1930)

Abstract

Abstract The arrival of around 100,000 Chinese male workers, in Peru between 1849 and 1874 as indentured labor created particularly difficult conditions for the emergence and development of a Chinese community. Arriving without women, the majority of the Chinese founded families in Peru. To conserve a blood link with their Chinese identity, many sought to marry young mixed blood Chinese-Peruvian girls. However, to make up a Chinese community, a Chinese education was considered essential for the transmission and preservation of cultural values and language. There were several attempts to create a Chinese school for the children of the Emperor’s subjects, first by the church in 1882 and later by Chinese officials as early as 1885, following the model of San Francisco and Havana. This article examines the historical development between 1870 and 1930 of the efforts the Chinese community in Peru made in setting up Chinese language education and community associations and the institutions that supported the development.