Beyond exclusion: A historical examination of Chinese international student protests during the Chinese Exclusion Era (1882-1943)

Yu Wang

This study investigates three key protests by Chinese international students during the Chinese Exclusion Era (1882-1943), highlighting their opposition to anti-Asian racism. These protests include the 1906 protests at the University of California, which addressed student entry difficulties; the 1909 nationwide protests sparked by the Elsie Sigel murder; and the 1923 protests at Columbia University against the play The Flower Candle Wife for its harmful portrayal of Chinese culture. The previously overlooked Chinese student activism occurred during a historical period when the Sino-U.S. Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program made China a significant source of international students to the United States, even as the Chinese Exclusion Act restricted immigration. By examining these students' experiences through three interconnected lenses, such as U.S. imperial ambitions, the construction of Asian American identity, and their participation in transnational networks, this project uncovers the complex interplay between education and immigration policy, U.S.-China relations, and the shifting global landscape. Despite facing prejudice, these Chinese students actively challenged stereotypes through protests, fostered a sense of belonging in America, and contributed to the development of a broader Asian American identity. Not only did they defiantly resist the internal logic of imperialism and oppression, similar to their peers in other territories under U.S. imperial expansion, but their resistance to racism also deserves recognition as a crucial part of the comprehensive narrative of U.S. minority student struggles prior to the Civil Rights Movement.

About Yu Wang

Yu Wang is a Ph.D. candidate in the History of Education program in the College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Having served as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Asian American Studies for several years, she began her scholarly journey by exploring the experiences of Asian immigrants and later expanded her research to include American Indian and African American Studies. She is committed to examining American educational history through an intersectional lens, focusing on U.S. imperial expansion, the power dynamics among immigrants and ethnic minorities, and the interplay of transnational political, economic, and cultural forces. Prior to commencing her doctoral studies in the United States, she earned a Ph.D. in Modern Chinese Literature from East China Normal University and published two literary biographies, along with a number of academic articles in China.