Author: Bernard P.Wong

Publisher: Chopmen Enterprises

Year: 1979

Call Number: F128.9C5W872c

Introduction: There are 435,062 Chinese in America. They live mostly in urban areas and are engaged in ethnic niches comprising restaurants, laundry, garment factories and gift shop. Since their first arrivals in the 1850’s, the Chinese in America have experienced diverse adaptive strategies for survival which include the following: working as menial laborers; entering non-competitive business to avoid conflicts with the white entrepreneurs; geographical dispersion and formation of ethnic niches; concentrating in Chinatown in major urban areas such as San Francisco, New York and Chicago. This book is written in the believe that there is a need for a specific description about the economic adaptation of the Chinese in America. The Chinese community in New York City is particularly important for an understanding of the economic adaptation of the Chinese in America. It is one of the most important Chinese population centers. Of the two most important Chinese communities, New York’s and San Francisco’s, the former is highly dynamic and fast growing. In its initial stage, New York’s Chinatown had only a population of 120. The population swelled to 36,502 in 1960. Today(1979) its population is estimated to be around 90,000. From 1960 to 1979, the population has increased 200 percent. Further, it has been estimated that 7 out of 12 Chinese who landed in San Francisco will sooner or later end up in New York City. Moreover, the adaptive strategies of the Chinese in New York are representative of the Chinese survival strategies in America. Thus, an understanding of the Chinese in New York will help understanding of the Chinese in New York will help understanding the Chinese and the various Chinatowns in U.S. This book deals with the economic niches of the Chinese in New York City, the intricate processes by which their ethnic businesses are maintained, and the cultural identity this economic adaptation engendered. The emphasis is on the management of the resources ( economic, social and ethnic) within the contexts of the Chinese community of the New York and the U.S. society. In his analysis, the author uses and intergrates concepts and theories from a variety of disciplines in the Social Sciences. It should be of interest to sociologists, economists, anthropologists, sinologists as well as laymen who are interested in the non-white ethnic groups, especially the Chinese-Americans.