Submitted by Arlene on Jul, 16
Chinese History Books
These are the first books detailing the history of the Chinese in Toronto. After writing the first, Arlene was asked to write many more.
"The Chinese in Toronto from 1878"
"The Chinese Community in Toronto"
"The Chinese Head Tax" - This is a visual book about history across Canada. It contains 400 images and is concentrated on four main families.
How is this object or story important to you?
Arlene moved to Chinatown when she was 9 years old. Writing about the history of people she knows was very significant. She was very familiar with many of the individuals highlighted in the books and event referred to them as 'uncle' or 'aunt.' She didn't connect the dots until the book "The Chinese in Toronto" was written that they were very influential people in the Chinese community.
What does it add to the story of Toronto?
They are significant because at the time, there were not many history books of dedicated to the Chinese experience in Toronto.