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Oregon 2009 Sesquicentennial Celebration
Chinese Oregonians:
Visiting Portland’s Classical Chinese Garden as a
Context for Examining the Story of the Chinese in Oregon
Submitted by: Robert Blackman, Western Oregon University
I. Overview: Oregon’s history is filled with brutal acts especially against minority groups
during tough economic times. The history of the Chinese Oregonians follows this pattern in
particular when looking at the events surrounding the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The
purpose of this lesson is to gain insights in regards to Oregonians reaction to Chinese immigrants
and to learn about how the Chinese coped with hostility and viewed those that were oppressing
them. The place of learning for this lesson will be outside of the classroom in a reflective
format while walking through Portland’s Classical Chinese Garden.
II. Subject Areas: History, Conflict Resolutions, Economics, and Geography.
III. Grade Level: 11.
IV. Oregon Social Science Analysis: SS.HS.AS.04 Analyze an event, issue, problem, or
phenomenon from varied or opposed perspectives or points of view.
V. Objective 1: During a visit to the Portland Classical Chinese Garden, students will
analyze the Oregonian reaction to Chinese immigrants during the time of the Chinese Exclusion
Act of 1882 by responding to prompts, completing a journal entry and participating in a
reflective discussion.
Objective 2: In an essay, students will analyze the effects of the Chinese Classical
Garden in contributing to social understanding, resolving conflict, healing historical wounds and
creating positive relationships between Chinese Oregonians and the rest of Oregon.
VI. Materials:
A. Fieldtrip to the Classical Chinese Garden with access to one of its meeting spaces,
cost of entry $3.75 per person. To schedule a school group tour, contact Katie Hill,
Volunteer and Group Tour Manager at 503.228.8131 ext. 1001 or
khill@portlandchinesegarden.org.
B. Information pamphlets and maps for the Chinese Classical Garden.
C. Online sources and excerpts and reading packets on the early days of Chinese
immigration, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and the years following it.
1. Online printable articles from The Oregon History Project
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/
News Article, Passage of the Chinese Bill, from the Willamette Farmer, April 1,
1882
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm
?doc_ID=0001A5C1-D413-1DBE-BB3880B05272FE9F
Chinese Vegetable Garden, Portland 1909
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm
?doc_ID=0007BB18-DB8B-1ECB-83B780B05272FE9F
Chinese Workers in Astoria Cannery
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm
?doc_ID=00055051-D654-1ECB-83B780B05272FE9F
Chinese Cannery Workers
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm
?doc_ID=000E3E58-BAC8-1DBE-BB3880B05272FE9F
Cannery Labor Contract http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/OHP-
Document-Seufert-Contract-with-Seid-Chuck-1908-PDF.cfm
Gin Lin Mining Trail
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm
?doc_ID=05B4D9E7-AFE2-2E72-B530F0B47EAE728F
The Snake River Massacre of Chinese Miners, The Chinese Murderers, article
from the Oregon Scout, April 20, 1888
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm
?doc_ID=5AAC99B2-DA97-A22B-5D8146345304E51C
Chinatown, 1890s
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm
?doc_ID=0006B478-C376-1E91-891B80B0527200A7
The Chinese Community
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/narratives/subtopic.cfm?subtopic_ID
=198
Chinese Street Vendor
http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm
?doc_ID=0003A32A-C91A-1E91-891B80B0527200A7
2. Book sources
Many Faces: An Anthology of Oregon Autobiography. The Oregon Literature
Series, vol. 2. Edited by Beckman, S.D. (1993). OSU Press: Corvallis, OR.
Dodds, G.B. (1986). The American Northwest: A History of Oregon and
Washington. Forum Press: Wheeling, IL.
Lansing, J. (2003). Portland: People, Politics, and Power, 1851-2001. OSU
Press: Corvallis, OR.
D. Map and Information on Suzhou, China
1. Map Handout of the Pacific Rim,
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/mapcenter
2. Suzhou information (Portland’s sister city).
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/suzhou.htm
E. Writing instruments and journals.
F. Tea.
G. Reflection Question Sheet (see below).
VII. Presentation Steps:
A. Anticipatory Set: Students will be presented with the purpose of the lesson and the
details of the fieldtrip within the context of a unit on immigration or race relations.
They are not just going to the garden to see plants and have tea, but rather they will
be using that place filled with the culture of China to peer back into the complexity
and struggles of the past. This preparation is key. Create a packet using the links and
sources in the materials section or find sources of one’s own. A sample packet might
include, 2-3 readings, the Pacific Rim Map and the Suzhou, China information.
B. Once they arrive at the garden students will be asked to travel through as individuals.
They will be given the garden’s brochure, reading packets and questions sheets. The
questions sheets should be adapted to coincide with whichever readings are chosen.
They will be asked to walk through as individuals and find a spot to answer the
questions and reflect in their journals. (40 minutes).
C. After their time of reading, reflection and writing students will come back together
with teacher and guide from the Garden to discuss what they are understood from the
readings and to share about their reflections from the garden (30 minutes).
D. To conclude their experience students will have tea in the tea area and continue to
discuss the experience in table groups (30 minutes).
VIII. Assessment:
A. Formative assessment will take place through discussions and sampling journal
reflections.
B. Summative assessment through a portion of the unit exam where students are asked to
compare and contrast over time the perspectives and actions of Oregonians and
Chinese Oregonians in a small essay question with at least three explicit examples
from each perspective while describing the effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act of
1882 and the establishment of the Classical Chinese Garden.
IX. Adaptations:
A. Have reading packets with fewer excerpts and questions for students with reading and
writing IEPs.
B. Allow students to draw or even paint out their reflections in the garden.
X. Extensions:
A. Explore further the lives of Chinese Oregonians through different eras up to the
present.
B. Explore further the specific factors that led to the development of the Chinese
Classical Garden.
C. Explore further the connection to Suzhou, the economic conditions of Portland’s
sister city and how this relationship came to be.
D. Explore further the stone craftsmanship of the garden.
E. Explore further the artistry and history of Chinese gardens.
F. Explore further the botany of the garden and that of China.
Portland Classical Chinese Garden
Reflection Questions
Instructions:
After wondering through the garden for about ten minutes, choose a quiet
place where you can be alone. For the next forty minutes read through your packet
of book excerpts, online articles, primary sources, maps and information. Answer
the following analytical and reflective questions in your journal. If you wish, feel
free to draw them or write out your reflections in a poem. After forty minutes join
the class in our chosen discussion area.
How does it make you feel to be in this garden?
What does the Chinese Classical Garden communicate to you about the
craftsmanship and artistry of Chinese Culture?
From your readings, provide examples of how Chinese people were treated
in Oregon from the 1850s to the 1920s?
What were the circumstances that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882?
What kinds of jobs did Chinese Oregonians perform throughout this era?
What kinds of things did the Chinese do to endure hostility and survive?
How would you have reacted if you were a Chinese person living in Oregon
at the end of the 19th Century to the treatment you received?
This garden is not just a monument to Oregon’s Chinese heritage, but also
reflects a partnership with Portland’s sister city of Suzhou, China. Imagine
that you are from Suzhou and are writing an email home. Imagine too that
your great-great uncle had come from Suzhou to Portland to work in 1881,
dying at the hands of Oregonians. From the beauty of this garden write to
your family about what has and has not changed in Oregon in regards to life
for people of Chinese decent.
