New Sampan Article: The First Chinese Restaurants in Springfield

"The most interesting feature of Chinese life to me was that on board their boats, or sampans, as they are called....Upon these boats live whole families of three and even four generations."

--The Fall River Daily Herald, November 20, 1888

For about two yearsr, I've been contributing to Sampan, the only bilingual Chinese-English newspaper in New England. It's published in print as well as online, available in both Chinese and English. I've previously written over 40 articles for Sampan, and you can find links here. 

My newest article, The First Chinese Restaurants in Springfield, is now available in the new issue of Sampan. Springfield was one of the first cities in Massachusetts where Chinese arrived in the 1840s, primarily fueled by the desire for education. In 1901, the first Chinese restaurant in Springfield opened: the Canton, and by 1915, there would be at least 8 Chinese restaurants in the city. They were largely successful, but faced some backlash around 1917 when I union tried to prevent other Chinese restaurants from opening. Check out my article for the full story on these restaurants.

What is a "sampan?" The newspaper's site states, "A sampan is a popular river boat in traditional China. This small but useful vessel, by transporting cargo from large boats to the village ports, creates a channel of communication among villages." And like that type of boat, Sampan delivers news and information all across New England, and "acts a bridge between Asian American community organizations and individuals in the Greater Boston area."

Sampan, which was founded in 1972, is published by the nonprofit Asian American Civic Association, "The newspaper covers topics that are usually overlooked by the mainstream press, such as key immigration legislation, civil rights, housing, education, day-care services and union activities. These issues are crucial to the well-being of Asian immigrants, refugees, low-income families as well as individuals who are not proficient in the English language."

There is plenty of interest in Sampan which will appeal to all types of readers, from restaurant reviews to historical articles, from vital news stories to travel items. In these current days when racism and prejudice against Asians and their restaurants is high, it's more important than ever that accurate information about the Asian community is disseminated and promoted. We need to combat the irrational prejudices that some possess, and support our Asian communities just as we would support any other element of our overall community. We are all important aspects of a whole, and we need to stand together.

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