White Jade Tiger
by Julie lawson
Copyright © 1993 by Julie Lawson
Eighth printing 2006: over 30,000 copies sold
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Editor: Guy Chadsey
Cover Art: Judy McLaren
Cover Design: Christine Toller
Production Editor: Rick Behnke
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Lawson, Julie, 1947-
White jade tiger / Julie Lawson.
First published: Victoria, B.C.: Beach Holme Pub., 1993.
ISBN-10: 1-55002-653-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-55002-653-5
1.Chinatown (Victoria, B.C.)-History-Juvenile fiction. 2. Victoria (B.C.)--History-Juvenile fiction. 3. Chinese-British Columbia-History-Juvenile fiction. 4. Canadian Pacific Railway Company--History--Juvenile fiction. I. Title.
PS8573.A94W5 2006 jC813’.54 C2006-901506-6
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Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credit in subsequent editions.
J. Kirk Howard, President
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For Patrick
Author’s Note
White Jade Tiger is a work of fiction for young readers, not a scholarly account. However, it is based on actual events which took place in the Fraser Canyon during the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, 1880-1885. Every attempt has been made to ensure historical accuracy, and if any errors have been made, they are my fault entirely. To aid the flow of the story, the construction schedule of the railroad and certain events were moved forward in time. For instance, the riot in Lytton took place in May, 1883, not in September 1882, although the events did happen as described. Also, the Yale Sentinel article describing the deaths of Chinese workmen was printed in February 1883, not September 1882 as in the story.
Racist terms such as Chinaman, Celestial and John were commonly—and consistently—used during this time period, by the daily press and politicians as well as by ordinary citizens. These terms are used by some characters in the story, in the context of those times.
Chinese workers subsisted mainly on a diet of rice and ground salmon. Because of a lack of fresh meat and vegetables, they were constantly suffering from vitamin deficiency. Scurvy was widespread, particularly during the winter of 1882-83, and deaths from scurvy continued well into 1883.
The William Irving was the largest sternwheeler ever to travel on the Fraser. The descriptions are accurate, although for the purposes of the story I allowed the William Irving to provide through-passage from Victoria to Yale.
The long, narrow alley that connects Fisgard Street and Pandora Avenue in Victoria was known to the Chinese as Fan Tan Xiang (Fan Tan Alley). Several fan-tan gambling clubs operated there during the 1910s. The gambling den that Jasmine enters in 1881 is my invention, although it is possible that such a place did exist in that location. In the 1880s, several opium factories operated in Chinatown. The opium business was legal until 1908.
The class field trip is written from the point of view of young people discovering Victoria’s Chinatown for the first time, and responding to certain aspects of Chinese culture. It is not meant to be a definitive description of Chinese culture.
In 1990, Via Rail discontinued its regular passenger run on the Canadian, which followed the CPR tracks through the Fraser Canyon. Although there has been some track realignment and most of the bridges have been replaced, much of the original grade is still used by trains carrying freight through the canyon.
About the romanization of the Chinese language. For place names in the present I have used pinyin (e.g. Beijing and Guangdong) since that is the system used today. The early Chinese in North America spoke southern Chinese dialects such as Cantonese or Toisanese. I have therefore used Cantonese for names and common expressions such as gung hey fat choy, Gim Shan, lai see rather than convert these to pinyin. This choice was made largely for convenience—both my own and that of my readers.
The idea for White Jade Tiger originally came from a picture I found of a white jade plaque carved in the form of the White Tiger, a mythical animal identified with the West. This amulet is actually from the Han Period (206 BC-AD 221), although in the story I date it somewhat earlier to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). From the earliest times, jade was recognized in the Far East as a precious stone endowed with symbolic and magical powers. The magic associated with the white jade tiger in the story, however, is of my own making.
Historical Note
The first Chinese came to British Columbia from California in 1858, drawn by the gold of the Fraser and Cariboo. As early as 1860, taxes against them were being proposed and debated. Anti-Chinese feeling grew steadily throughout the 1860s and 70s, and in 1878 the Legislature passed a Bill to exclude Chinese from all public works. For politicians seeking election, an anti-Chinese stand was imperative.
However, all British Columbians wanted the railway—the Canadian Pacific Railway that would unite Canada from sea to sea. And if it couldn’t be built without the Chinese, then they would grudgingly accept the Chinese.
Thousands of Chinese came to work for the CPR between 1880 and 1885. At the peak of railway construction in the Fraser Canyon, some 8000 Chinese were employed. During the five year period, an estimated 1500 died.
Throughout those years and well into the next century, Legislation against the Chinese persisted, as did anti-Chinese feeling on the part of many citizens. In spite of such discrimination, the Chinese presence continued to grow, becoming an integral and enriching thread in the fabric of Canadian society.