Eat a Bowl of Tea

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a series of legislative acts and social policies were enacted to restrict immigration from China and limit the rights of those who had already immigrated. The California Gold Rush of the 1850s led to an influx of Chinese immigrants into the US, which was often referred to as the Golden Mountain. Initially welcomed for their labor, Chinese workers soon faced growing resentment as competition for jobs increased. The passage of the Page Act in 1875 effectively prohibited the immigration of Chinese women, who were universally and unfairly suspected of being sex workers. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 suspended the immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years and declared existing Chinese immigrants ineligible for citizenship. The passing of the Magnuson Act in 1943 restored immigration from China, though the quota was established to limit immigration to 105 Chinese citizens per year.

These laws significantly impacted Chinese American immigrant communities. Widespread discrimination against Chinese Americans led to the creation of Chinatowns in major cities across the US as protective enclaves where immigrants could find some measure of security and community. Eat a Bowl of Tea demonstrates the closeness and importance of the Chinatown community in New York City. The novel also shows the drawbacks of these communities, such as the relative lack of women. In addition to the explicit ban on women in the 19th century, the quota system meant that single women rarely immigrated in the 20th century, leading to male-dominated Chinatowns.