Praise for “Chinese Laundries: Tickets to Survival on Gold Mountain”

From the Foreword: What is remarkable is the combination of this historical perspective with his social psychological descriptions and analyses of laundrymen and their descendants. The personal life stories, with their inner thought, feeling, values, attitudes, work experiences and survival hardships, are skillfully presented with penetrating insights and observations. These perspectives present an overall picture of the history and the life and work of the laundrymen.

Ban Seng Hoe, Curator of Asian Studies Canadian Museum of Civilization,

Author, Enduring Hardship: The Chinese Laundry in Canada

Chinese Laundries: Tickets to Survival on Gold Mountain is another important window into the history of the early Chinese immigrants to North America, one that transcends all regions.  The tracing of the trail of Chinese migration into America's heartland and the Deep South as many entered the laundry business sheds light on their complex and difficult journey. The coverage of the virulent anti-Chinese sentiments in large cities as well as small hamlets exposes the hostility they had to overcome. The laundrymen faced struggles, challenges, and even disappointments; yet, the Chinese laundry became a valued and necessary enterprise in countless communities for several decades. 

Sylvia Sun Minnick, Author,

SamFow: The San Joaquin Chinese Legacy and Stockton's Chinese Community

Professor Jung's book has made a significant contribution to the history of Chinese laundries in America.  The story is best told by someone like Jung who experienced a ‘laundry life,’ and understands its psychological impact on the Chinese laundrymen and their families.  It is hard to imagine the difficulties that the laundrymen encountered in making a living in a harsh and hostile environment.  Bachelor laundrymen, like those with families back in China, suffered lonely lives.  Those who had families with them worked hard to ensure that their children would have advantages that the laundrymen could never attain here.

Murray K. Lee, Curator of Chinese American History, San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, and the son of a Chinese laundryman and restaurateur

A masterwork of definitive scholarship and heartfelt composition on this singularly important subject. Jung’s own life in one such historic family business lends unique insight to a topic often cited but little explored until now. An academically solid effort that is much enhanced by several personal narratives from other “Children of the Laundries.” This rewarding study of an era marked by invention born of dire necessity, an unforgiving host society that demanded Chinese laundrymen’s services but then punished them for being too good at it, is a long overdue analysis of a familiar experience hidden in plain sight.

Mel Brown, Author,

Chinese Heart of Texas, The San Antonio Chinese Community, 1875-1975

Jung’s book on Chinese laundries is a welcome contribution to Chinese American studies that depicts the plight of early generations of Chinese caught in the predicament of operating laundries to provide for their families, either in China or in America, while enduring extreme hardship and loneliness in one of the few occupations open to them until the end of World War II in the U. S. and Canada due to racism. It vividly portrays the lives of Chinese laundrymen with the inclusion of historic documents, photographs, newspaper article excerpts, and revealing personal stories and insider observations from a few of the many who, like the author, grew up and worked in their family laundries. The subject deserves attention and further exploration in view of the significant impact that the laundry had not only on the Chinese American experience, but also in the social and cultural histories of the U.S. and Canada.

Joan S. Wang, Professor of History, National Taiwan Normal University, Author, Race, Gender, and Laundry Work: The Roles of Chinese Laundrymen and American Women in the United States, 1850–1950, Journal of American Ethnic History,

This is a remarkable book. It offers a comprehensive historical study of the Chinese laundries in the United States, a profound analysis of the psychological experiences of the Chinese laundrymen in America and their families in China; and above all, written by someone who has intimate experiences with the Chinese laundry, it is a tribute to those Chinese immigrants whose labor and sacrifice laid the foundation of the Chinese American community, and a testimony of the Chinese laundrymen’s resilience, resourcefulness, and humanity.

Renqiu Yu, Director, Professor of History, Asian Studies Program, Purchase College – SUNY, Author, To Save China, To Save Ourselves, The Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance of New York