Hartford History

Hartford's Chinese Community

The growth of the Chinese population in Hartford cannot be characterized as a mass migration. Rather, it was a gradual one. While others came to Connecticut to escape political turmoil and persecution, the Chinese migration began on the basis of education.

The foundation of the Chinese movement to Connecticut was laid in 1847. A young Chinese student named Jung Hung (pronounced Rong Hong) and two other students left China to enroll at the Monson Academy in Massachusetts. Previously, Hung studied the English language at a Christian educational society in Macao (located near southeast China) and received the equivalent of an elementary school education. In 1850, Hung graduated from the academy and entered Yale University in Connecticut. Aside from minimal financial aid provided by community organizations, Hung paid for his college education by working two jobs while enrolled at school. Four years later (1854), Jung Hung became the first Chinese student to graduate from an American university. He then returned to China to serve in the government. Hung became one of the strong proponents of Western learning for Chinese students.

In 1872, following Hung's recommendation, the Ching government of China created the Chinese Educational Mission in Hartford. China, which badly needed an infusion of technological and scientific knowledge, agreed to send thirty students every year as part of the educational pact. Hung convinced government officials that it would be beneficial for China to study advanced industrial techniques in order to update the Republic's methods of production. The Ching government had a vision that it could utilize the education learned by its students in America and translate it into increased industrial productivity in their country. Therefore, as a result of the ratification of the Burlingame Treaty (which gave Chinese students educational privileges), 120 students ranging from age 10 to 16 were sent to Hartford between 1872 and 1874.

Beginning in the early 19th century, China created partnerships with various schools in the New England area, with the approval of the American government. These partnerships have led to a strong link between China and Connecticut. Yale has become one of the top centers for Chinese education in the entire nation. It offers thirty-three Chinese classes, outdistancing almost all other colleges in that language.

Word of the plan to send Chinese students to America spread throughout Mainland China in the 19th century. Chinese families were generally not receptive to the idea of sending their children across the ocean to a foreign world. The students themselves were also not excited about the prospect of leaving home and travelling to a new culture with foreign values, languages, and food. Most of the students were male, and in China, the son was the child expected to work for the family. (This cultural trait has changed somewhat since.) Therefore, families who sent a child received stipends from the government. Since Chinese women were not given an equal education in their homeland, some female students were grateful for the chance to learn in Connecticut.

Currently, there are just over 11,000 Chinese people living in Connecticut. The growth rate of the Chinese in Connecticut has fluctuated over the last century due to various different factors. In 1882, the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited Chinese workers from entering the U.S. for ten years. The act also denied the Chinese the right to become citizens in America. Therefore, from 1882 until 1943, the Exclusion Act made a strong impact on the immigration of Chinese to America. The nation's Chinese population dwindled from 107,488 in 1890 to 77,504 in 1940. This trend was true for Connecticut as well.

Ultimately, the Chinese concluded that the U.S. had reneged on its promise, made by way of the Burlingame Treaty, to give Chinese access to educational facilities.

The Chinese wanted their students to attend military institutions, such as the Naval Academy and West Point. This was too much for the American government. It was willing to let the Chinese study here, but not willing to let them learn military tactics.

Today, the Chinese Cultural Center of Hartford (CCC) is a thriving organization that is built on the enthusiasm of its members. The CCC, established in 1980, is a nonprofit, non-political group that provides essential services for the Chinese community. One of the Center's most exciting components is its involvement with the education of its youth. The Chinese Language School of Hartford, led by energetic principal Tzoumin Hsiung, shows the dedication that the CCC has toward its future generations. The school, established in 1982, serves two main purposes. First, it instructs primarily elementary students in the fundamentals of the Chinese language. Second, it provides a chance for the students to experience their heritage through Chinese dance, martial arts, and other Chinese culture-related activities. By instilling the importance of Chinese traditions through language and culture, the CCC is setting an essential foundation for the next generation of Chinese-Americans in Hartford.

The CCC of Hartford is unique compared to similar Chinese organizations in larger cities, such as Boston and New York. In those cities, the groups are divided, and politics plays a large role within the organizations. The CCC of Hartford is a close-knit organization that prides itself on being community-oriented, rather than a collection of individuals. Also, the CCC does not focus its attention solely on the Chinese community. The Center has actively donated books to local schools and libraries in the Hartford area. The CCC also conducts presentations pertaining to Chinese dance and martial arts to give the community an idea of traditional Chinese culture. Hartford has experienced immigration of the Chinese from three main places. There have been immigrants from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Professor Taikang Ning, chairman of the CCC, says the center has seen its membership demographics change over the years. In the early 1980s, most of the families were coming from Taiwan. Now, however, Ning estimates that 50 percent of the CCC's 300 member families have come from Mainland China. Ning also asserted that unlike big cities, where clusters of Chinese have gathered to live in one place, often called Chinatown, the Connecticut Chinese are more spread out.

The educational groundwork that Jung Hung laid nearly 150 years ago remains today in Hartford. Through the work of Professor Ning, Ms. Shyling Lee, Principal Tzoumin Hsiung, and many more prominent members of the Chinese community, the Chinese have a cultural organization of which they can be proud.

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