In Search of the Lost History of Chinese Migrants and the Transcontinental Railroads

2017

Authors:
Shelley Fisher Fishkin
Rock Hushka , Shawn Wong
Publisher: University of Washington Press

In this pointed and resonant project, internationally acclaimed artist Zhi Lin refocuses on the forgotten Chinese laborers in America from an iconic moment in US history. In the nineteenth century, thousands of men migrated from China to seek fortunes in the gold mines of California; instead they found work building the transcontinental railroads. The contributions of these workers are largely overlooked in the history books, their names and stories lost. Zhi Lin's works address this absence and are inspired by his own experiences as an immigrant.