Letter from C. A. Nelson, Vice Principal, American-Chinese School, Mei Wa Kong, Canton, China to the Immigration Officer, San Francisco, California

Chinese women immigrants faced not only racial prejudice but also false assumptions about their gender roles. The first anti-Chinese legislation enacted into American law—the 1875 Page Act—aimed not only to prevent Chinese contract workers but also Chinese prostitutes from entering the United States. The law reflected a popular prejudice, lasting well into the 20th century, that most Chinese women were brought to America for prostitution. When 27-year-old Wong Lan Fong and her new husband, Yee Shew Ning, traveled to the United States, they were aware of such prejudices and took measures to emphasize their respectability and economic status. They delayed their departure for the United States until they had enough money to travel in first class. They also submitted a letter from the clergyman who performed their wedding ceremony, attesting to their good character. Immigration officials seized further evidence when they confiscated the couple’s wedding photograph as proof of their marriage. The couple’s strategy worked. They were detained on Angel Island only one day before being allowed to land. Some 70 years later, their granddaughter, American historian Erika Lee, was conducting research for her book on Chinese immigration at the National Archives in San Bruno, California, when she discovered her grandparents’ wedding photograph in her grandmother’s immigration file.