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Wu, Jingyi

University of British Columbia

The Chinese began to migrate to British Columbia, Canada, in the 1850s to escape natural catastrophes, population pressure, civil war, and foreign intervention in China as well as to look for a better future. By the first decade of the twentieth century, the Chinese community in Vancouver had grown to be the largest and most dynamic in Canada. As there emerged a small group of Canadian-born Chinese and immigrant children who had been brought to Canada at an early age, Chinese schools began to appear in Vancouver to teach the Chinese language and help maintain Chinese culture and traditions. Earlier historians have focused on the educational functions of overseas Chinese schools but taking Vancouver Chinese Public School as a case study, this thesis offers an analysis of their other important functions, not only for their students but also for the local Chinese community. By examining the history of Vancouver Chinese Public School from 1917 to 1967, this thesis explores how the Nationalist government sought to influence the Chinese in Vancouver through the School, both to shape the idea of “homeland” and to justify the status of the Kuomintang as the ruling party of China. Based on local Chinese newspapers as well as a range of documents and publications produced by Chinese schools, this study seeks to present the history of the Chinese in Vancouver through their lens and words.

Text

2024-06-20

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88495

Asian Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/