This blog post is long-form edition of RBSC’s blog series spotlighting items in the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection and the Wallace B. and Madeline H. Chung Collection.
Early Entrances into Maritime Labor
The history of Chinese men working in the maritime industry in Canada stretches back to the initial arrival of the community to these shores in 1788. That year, 50 Chinese carpenters arrived in Yuquot as part of the Meares Expedition, hired for their skills in nautical repairs and as shipwrights.[1] As trans-Pacific connections developed between Asia, Oceania, and North America, Chinese sailors remained a part of the maritime workforce along the North American Pacific Coast. However, by the late 1800s they were more often assigned to the most grueling roles. Anglo-American culture had stereotyped Chinese as unreliable due to their lack of English, or because of their “superstitions” about weather or bad luck omens.[2]
Depicts six Chinese men in white jackets, possibly cooks and stewards, standing on the deck of the Iroquois. Unknown Photographer. 1920-1929. “Iroquois Crew.” UBC RBSC Wallace B. and Madeline H Chung Collection. CC-PH-00126. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0217393.
With steamship travel increasing in the 1880s, out-of-sight Chinese firemen (also called coal stokers or boilermen) worked in the engine rooms enduring oppressive heat, while cooks, stewards, and cabin boys toiled above in the crowded, tight kitchen galleys and passageways. On Canadian Pacific (CP) steamships, Union Steamship Company vessels, and other lines associated with Robert Dollar’s shipping empire, Chinese seamen were indispensable, but usually laboured in these segregated, unseen roles. Aboard the CP Empress liners, for example, they prepared their own Chinese meals in separate kitchens, resided in isolated quarters near the “Oriental Steerage Class” passengers, and were relegated to the back of the ship—both physically and metaphorically.[3]
Crew of an unknown vessel with one Chinese man. Unknown Photographer. 1910. “Crew Aboard a Steamship.” UBC RBSC Wallace B. and Madeline H Chung Collection. CC-PH-00128. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0217720.
Despite these hardships, Chinese mariners—from engine-room firemen to “tea boys”—built social and cultural connections across the British Empire, of which the BC coast was only one hub. Chinese sailors were also a common sight on Japanese imperial lines, such as Nippon Yusen Kaisha, that sailed for North America. While initially predominantly Cantonese, soon men from Zhejiang, Fujian, and other coastal areas joined crews around the world. This network of nautical workers also extended to the United States, which had its own Pacific ambitions and growing maritime empire.
Global Connections: From Liverpool to Hong Kong
As the 20th century dawned, the world of Chinese sailors continued to expand, linking British ports such as Liverpool to colonial hubs like Hong Kong. Liverpool’s docks, for example, became a focal point and safe haven for Chinese seamen post-World War I. The Blue Funnel Line, headquartered in Liverpool and one of the most active shipping companies in BC Chinese migrant traffic, hired many of these men to work onboard their vessels.[4]
Migration is never a simple equation; through shipping White settlers to North America, Blue Funnel brought Chinese sailors to the UK, fostering a small multicultural maritime community in Europe. Organizations such as the UK-based Dragons and Lions group now preserve the legacies of mixed-race descendants from this era, whose ancestors suffered separation when the British government turned against these Chinese sailors, even after some served during both World Wars.[5]
A group of Chinese seamen outside a Chinese hostel in Liverpool, sign on the left indicates it as a meeting place of the Tsung Tsin Society for Hakka speakers. Bert Hardy. May 1942. “Chinese Hostel, Liverpool.” Picture Post. 1136. Getty Images via The Guardian. Accessed Jan 16 2025.
Hong Kong, a key node in this global web, was where many Chinese mariners found work, retired, or kept families and businesses ashore. Others joined secret societies, mutual aid associations or sailors’ institutes.[6] Some even joined criminal gangs to make some money on the side through smuggling.[7] Here also, many were radicalized into political involvement.[8] The Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen, recognizing the potential power of sailors to smuggle subversive documents world-wide, formed the Lianyi Society 聯義社, also known as the Chinese Seamen’s Association, in 1910.[9] It then coordinated the spread of revolutionary ideology, fundraised, and even transported contraband weapons across the often otherwise-exclusionary borders of empires.
The 1922 Hong Kong Seamen’s Strike demonstrated the immense collective power of Chinese laborers, disrupting service by most major Pacific shipping companies, like Canadian Pacific. The strike’s influence reached far beyond Asia, as British Columbia’s newspapers anxiously speculated about similar uprisings, creating ripples of fear in the Canadian trade establishment about potential labor unrest on their shores.[10] We will most likely return to this critical event in future blogs.
This photograph of staff from the 34th voyage of the Empress of Japan lists all the white members by name and title, from the Chief Steward to the hairdresser and assistant storekeeper. All the Chinese members, the “first boys,” are unnamed. Most likely the Chinese cooks are not even shown. Sai Wo Studio. Hong Kong. 1935. “Catering Department R.M.S. Empress of Japan.” UBC RBSC Wallace B. and Madeline H Chung Collection. CC-PH-00329. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0216646.
The Grip of Exclusion Tightens
While history around Chinese Exclusion has focused mostly on its impact on migrants who intended to stay in Canada for longer terms, these laws also often explicitly target the freedom of movement of Chinese sailors. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, immigration policies in Canada and the United States increasingly show a deep discomfort of the role of Chinese seamen in foreign trade.[11] After 1900, laws tightened further. The 1906 British Merchant Shipping Act, introduced language requirements that sought to exclude South Asian and Chinese mariners, the so-called “coolie and lascar” sailors.[12] Later, U.S. legislation, such as the 1917 Asiatic Barred Zone Act and the 1924 Johnson-Reed Immigration Act, imposed steep head taxes, mandatory photo IDs, confinement aboard boats at anchor, or even bond requirements on Asian seamen.[13]
Chinese Sailors at a hostel in Liverpool. Men lived in crowded, dirty conditions in unmaintained buildings in ports around the world, often close to the urban core or red light district. This transient, male-only environment is one that echoes with that of Chinese men in labour camps and SRO hotels, the so-called “bachelor society.” Bert Hardy. May 1942. “Interior Chinese Hostel, Liverpool.” Picture Post. 1136. Getty Images via The Guardian. Accessed Jan 16 2025.
By 1925, the British Special Restriction (Coloured Alien Seamen) Order compounded these restrictions by requiring non-white sailors to register and carry identity documents, with the goal to drive away as many Chinese, South Asian, and Black sailors from their international fleet. This was important in a Canadian context, as all the Canadian Pacific’s Empress liners were British-owned and registered. The Chinese Nationalist government also introduced measures in the 1930s and 40s mandating overseas Chinese to register if they wished to remit earnings home or re-enter China. These overlapping policies subjected Chinese sailors around the world to constant surveillance and financial strain.
Navigating Vancouver’s Waters
By this time, Vancouver’s port had been a crucial transit point for Chinese sailors navigating trans-Pacific routes since becoming the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1887. The city’s Chinatown became a sanctuary for mariners who jumped ship, using shared clan and hometown connections to integrate into Chinese communities across the province.[14] From the 1870s to the 1970s, thousands of sailors disembarked illegally this way in North American ports like Vancouver, Halifax, and New York, often evading strict immigration policies.[15]
This very rare CI 46 Certificate was carried by Luke Ko, born to the prominent Ko Bong family of Victoria, in the 1930s. His photo was on the other side. It forms part of The Paper Trail Collection at UBC RBSC, where you can learn more about his life. Dominion of Canada. Department of Immigration and Colonization. Chinese Immigration Service. Victoria, BC. 18 Jan 1932. “C.I.46 Certificate of Luke Ko Bong.” UBC RBSC Paper Trail Collection. RBSC-ARC-1838-DO-0459r. Courtesy of the Ko Bong Family.
The Canadian Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923 added layers of bureaucracy for Chinese mariners.[16] Shipping companies were required to list all Chinese crew members on special ledgers, with heavy fines imposed on the company for any absentees. Despite this, sailors found ways to subvert these measures, purchasing fraudulent identity documents to remain in Canada or assuming the identities of Chinese Canadians who had paid the head tax or were locally born. The stories of these “paper sons” exemplify the resourcefulness of Chinese mariners in circumventing exclusionary laws.
During World War I, Chinese mariners began to appear in more visible roles, above deck on Canadian Pacific’s Empress ships. Some became closer friends and coworkers to senior officers, like the Chief Stewards, Ships’ Surgeons, and Head Purser (Paymaster.)[17] These closer connections and better jobs sparked a backlash from white sailors’ unions and exclusionists, especially in British Columbia.[18] Debates in Canada’s House of Commons during the 1930s centered on whether the company should be penalized for hiring Chinese sailors over white Canadians while they received a large government subsidy.[19] While a 1937 recommendation to cut federal aid for Canadian Pacific failed, it highlighted the entrenched racism these workers faced.[20]
Acts of Resistance
Despite these challenges, Chinese sailors fought back. Beyond the 1922 Hong Kong Seamen’s Strike, there are many smaller examples of collective action. Sailors staged walk-offs, work slowdowns, or shared political and immigration information with Chinese migrants en-route to their new lives. The Lianyi Society (Chinese Sailors Society), working with popular Cantonese opera troupes, smuggled letters from revolutionaries and literature to communities around the world.[21]
Later, during World War II, 83 Chinese seamen in Halifax were detained for seven months after demanding hazard pay for navigating the treacherous North Atlantic warzone.[22] In February of 1942, 14 more Chinese seamen from Hong Kong escaped the Nova Scotian port after being rescued from a torpedoed ship and brought to the immigration station ashore, costing their employer 21,000 CAD in forfeited bonds under the Exclusion Act provisions.[23] That same year, two dozen Chinese crewmen in Vancouver sued their employer for false imprisonment when they were handed over for immigration detention after walking off the boat for higher wages.[24] Although these efforts often ended in deportation or legal defeat, persistent acts of resistance underscore Chinese sailors’ determination to assert their rights.
Lee Ah Ding (left) and Yee Chee Ching, Chinese seamen from a British freighter, try typical American food for the first time. Chinese sailors were denied shore leave in the USA even during wartime, until diplomatic negotiations loosened restrictions slightly. It is unclear if Canada also relaxed its harsh laws. United States Office Of War Information, Gruber, Edward, photographer. First Chinese seamen granted shore leave in wartime America. New York, USA. Sept 1942. Photograph. US Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017693642/.
Sustaining Community and Culture
The contributions of Chinese sailors extended far beyond their roles aboard ocean liners, the merchant marine, or international trade. Traveling through global waters, they brought news and goods to isolated Chinese workers in canneries, sawmills, and mining communities along British Columbia’s northern and central coast.[25] Cooks on coastal ferries, steamers, and mail ships, like famous author Wayson Choy’s father, endured long hours away from family with the hope of saving.[26] Often they worked alongside their “cousins and uncles” from the same village clan, and when one retired, either to the village in China or to a Canadian Chinatown, they sought to replace them with another relative in need of work.
Two Chinese cooks and crew with three white children from Rivers Islet, BC on steamer to Metlakatla BC (a Tsimshian village). Chinese coastal ferry workers were a critical part of maritime connections between isolated settlements along the vast Pacific coast. Unknown Photographer. ca 1908. “Fred Grant and family on the S.S. Coquitlam” UBC RBSC Wallace B. and Madeline H. Chung Collection. CC-PH-11350.
Post-War Transitions and Decline
After World War II, changes in the maritime industry and immigration policies transformed the lives of Chinese sailors. The American Chinese Exclusion Act ended in 1943, with the Canadian Chinese Exclusion Act following in 1947, though strict quotas and restrictions remained in both countries. Many young men fleeing the Chinese Civil War joined ships to escape turmoil, hoping to find new opportunities abroad. Despite their willingness, these working-class men were often passed over as precious quota spots were filled by wealthy and educated elites, unless they had a family member in Canada who could try to help them come.
In the 1950s and 1960s, shipping companies like the President Lines depicted here tried to update their fleets to reflect the sleek modernist tastes of the time. This American company had strong traffic from Chinese Canadians post-Exclusion as an affordable way for elderly bachelors to retire in China, or for families to come to North America for reunification. Eventually, passenger service on these boats was supplanted by air travel and the company pivoted to shipping. Palmer Picture. ca 1950. “Chefs and Servers in a Dining Area.” UBC RBSC Wallace B. and Madeline H. Chung Collection. CC-PH-11365.
The decline of trans-oceanic steamship routes further reduced opportunities for Chinese mariners. With travelers increasingly turning to air travel, shipping moved away from passenger traffic and towards shipping containers, reducing the need for cooks on vessels. Travel to China also steeply declined following the Korean War embargoes, although ties to Hong Kong remained strong. By the 1960s and 1970s, Chinese sailors in Canada were primarily employed as cooks and stewards on BC Coastal Ferries. Relatives, former classmates, and friends would vouch for new arrivals; this ability to support one another is a contributing factor to why Chinese cooks had a virtual monopoly over coastal vessels until the 1970s. For some, this was their first job in Canada, and a way to learn English and culinary skills that would allow them to open their own businesses; a path to the middle class. Programs like the 1960 Chinese Adjustment Statement provided amnesty for those who had entered Canada illegally, many of whom were former sailors.
Conclusion: Contemporary Parallels
Today, Canada’s ports continue to host crews from around the world, many of whom endure exploitative working conditions reminiscent of earlier eras. Most ships visiting Vancouver operate under “flags of convenience”—registered in countries with lax labor and safety standards—leaving their multinational crews vulnerable. Most modern sailors come from countries previously colonized by European powers. Advocacy groups continue to work to improve conditions for these modern mariners, offering legal aid, welfare visits, and essential supplies.
The history of Chinese sailors in Canada’s maritime industry reveals a story of perseverance and adaptability amid systemic racism and exploitation. Their labor was instrumental in connecting Canada to the global economy, yet their contributions remain underrecognized. By examining their struggles and achievements, we not only honor their legacy but also shed light on the ongoing challenges faced by seafarers worldwide.
If inspired to assist, consider supporting organizations dedicated to improving the welfare of sailors visiting Canadian ports, ensuring their dignity and rights are upheld in the modern era.
Footnotes
[1] You can learn about this history at the Chung Lind Gallery
[2] For example, this story about the Batavia in The Vancouver Daily News Advertiser
Thu, Aug 09, 1888 ·Page 3
[3] The Chung Collection holds many versions of blueprints of the Empress of Asia. Some show annotations which indicate the quarters of Chinese workers and passengers, located in segregate settings near the stern.
Canadian Pacific Railway Co. 1945 “Empress of Russia and Empress of Asia general arrangement plans” RBSC-ARC-1679-CC-OS-00119
[4] Records related to Blue Funnel line can be found at UBC RBSC and City of Vancouver archives. Their ship names are commonly seen on the General Register of Chinese Immigration and head tax certificates. The Liverpool Maritime Museum holds some of the company records in their archives.
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/records-of-blue-funnel-line-ocean-steam-ship-company
[5] https://dragonsandlions.co.uk/
[6] Kwok-Fai Law, Peter. “The Political Pragmatism of Steamship “Teaboys”: Reassessing the Chinese Labor Movement, 1927–1934.” Twentieth-Century China 46, no. 3 (2021): 287-308. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/tcc.2021.0025.
[7] Headlines about drug smuggling from sailors are common in BC and other North American ports through the 1970s. It is also a trope in some Hong Kong cinema films.
[8] Glick, Gary W. 1969. “The Chinese Seamen’s Union and the Hong Kong Seamen’s Strike of 1922.” Masters Thesis. History Columbia University. New York City, USA.
[9] In 1910 Lianyi was founded in San Francisco. Soon after a hub in Yokohama in a tailor shop. By 1915 central offices were in Shanghai, then Hong Kong, then Guangzhou. Operations ceased in 1927. The union used fake corporations to obscure their operations. (Huang Langzheng 黃郎正, “Brief Account of the Chinese Ocean Seamen Union 聯義社之概述” Kwangtung Culture Quarterly 廣東文獻季刊. Iss. No. 2. June 1, 1973
[10] For example: The Vancouver Sun Tue, Feb 28, 1922 ·Page 11; The Vancouver Sun
Sun, Jul 23, 1922 ·Page 12
[11] Canadian Head Tax in 1885 had no provision for Chinese Sailors, so their status was a gray area. In 1902 there was an attempt to land a Chinese crew of 30 in Victoria to staff a Seattle Ship on way to Russian Far East, which the government blocked through an administrative order (The Vancouver Semi-Weekly World, Dec 26 1902 Pg.5.) From 1882-1902, it was also a gray area for Chinese sailors in USA Exclusion laws. From 1903-1917 shipping lines to USA had to post 500 dollar bond forfeited if Chinese sailors hopped ship.
[12] Urban, Andrew. 29 Oct 2018. “Restricted Cargo: Chinese Sailors, Shore Leave, and the Evolution of U.S. Immigration Policies, 1882-1942.” Online Article. Rutgers University. New Jersey, USA. Accessed Jan 17 2025. https://t2m.org/restricted-cargo-chinese-sailors-shore-leave-and-the-evolution-of-u-s-immigration-policies-1882-1942/
[13] Urban, Restricted Cargo. 2018
[14] The Montreal Star Mon, Jul 11, 1910 ·Pg. 4
[15] Pegler-Gordon, Anna. 2021. Closing the Golden Door: Asian Migration and the Hidden History of Exclusion at Ellis Island. 1st ed. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. doi:10.5149/9781469665740_pegler-gordon.
[16] Library and Archives Canada. Statutes of Canada. “An Act Respecting Chinese Immigration, 1923.” Ottawa: SC 13-14 George V, Chapter 38. Sec. 25
The text of the Act allowed for Chinese sailors to land and then ”re-ship” with other outbound employment, but days after it was enacted this freedom was repealed by Order in Council (E.C.1275) and cash bond instated.
[17] Some would pool together money for an engraved plaque when these men moved to other boats or retired after long service. (Victoria Daily Times Jan 3 1933 Pg.8)
[18] Survey of Race Relations. 1924-1927 “Testimonial meeting on the Oriental, I.W.W. Hall, Cordova Street” Stanford University. Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. Box: 24, Folder: 16. Accessed Jan 17 2025. https://purl.stanford.edu/bd797xr7521
[19] Letter to Editor supporting Chinese sailors (Vancouver Sun Feb 10 1937 Pg 4)
Criticism of letter above: (Vancouver Sun Feb 13 Pg 4)
[20] House of Commons Journals, 18th Parliament, 2nd Session : Vol. 75 Pg.81-82
[21] A comprehensive history of Lianyi Society was published by Huang Langzheng in Hong Kong in 1971 titled 聯義社社史. The Lianyi Society overlapped with Hong Kong’s 八和會館opera union. There is an interesting connection through Red Boat travelling operas 紅船 , which link sailors, opera, kung fu, and secret societies.
[22] Meredith Oyen, “Fighting for Equality: Chinese Seamen in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939–1945” Diplomatic History, Volume 38, Issue 3, June 2014, Pages 526–548, https://doi.org/10.1093/dh/dht106
Mention also of this incident in William Lyon Mackenzie King’s journals.
[23] Regina Leader-Post, Feb 21, 1942 ·Page 19
[24] The Vancouver Province Oct 21, 1942 ·Page 8
[25] Christenson, Neil H. “All the Princesses’ Men: Working for the British Columbia Coast Steamship Service 1901-1928” Masters Thesis. Eastern Washington University. Spring 2022. EWU Digital Commons. Accessed Jan 17 2025.
[26] Choy, Wayson. “Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood.” Toronto: Penguin Books, 2000.
This path was also true for writer Fae Myenne Ng, as recounted in Ng, Fae Myenne. “Orphan Bachelors: A Memoir : On being a Confession Baby, Chinatown Daughter, Baa-Bai Sister, Caretaker of Exotics, Literary Balloon Peddler, and Grand Historian of a Doomed American Family.” New York: Grove Press, 2024.