Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 5, 1 Mei 1989 — Exhibit Reveals Transition Years For Chinese Families in Hawaii [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Exhibit Reveals Transition Years For Chinese Families in Hawaii

Now open through June at Bishop Museum's Kahili room is an exhibit on the Chinese family in Honolulu covering the years of transition, 1900 to 1940. In this year of the Chinese bicentennial in Hawai'i, Bishop Museum has focused on urban families in a period of rapid change whieh had enormous impact on Chinese immigrants, their culture and lifestyle. One of the most dynamic segments in history of the Chinese of Hawai'i took plaee in early 20th century, when plantation workers began to move to the city following the completion of their labor contracts. By the 1930s, the Honolulu Chinese community was not only the largest in the U.S., but its composition had shifted from a largely single, migrant male population to a community of families with established residences and thriving business enterprises. The photos in this exhibit eame mostly from the Museum's On Char collection. On Char was a studio photographer who operated his business on Hotel Street from 1911 to 1954. He photographed many families, individuals, businesses and other subjects in his long career. In 1970, On Char donated his entire eolleehon of approximately 90,000 negatives (both glass plate and film negatives) to the Bishop Museum. The Museum has videotaped more than 10,000 of those images so that they may easily be viewed as positive images without requiring handling of the original negatives. The On Char collection was used as the basis for the exhibit. The photos reveal sharp contrasts between

1900 and the late 1930s: The transition from families in Chinese dress and formally grouped sittings to the more casual groupings of family members wearing Western clothes is evident in the exhibit photos. Shown is a traditional Chinese herb shop (Poo Sing Tong) and the fashionable, westemized Yat Loy Company, whieh sold clothing and accessories to the multi-ethnic community.

Another notable photograph is the 1908 wedding picture of Dung Chung and Grace Y.Y. Leong. The exhibit also features Mrs. Dung's actual wedding gown. Dr. Gregory Yee Mark was research consultant for the exhibition. Dr. Mark is on the faculty of Chaminade University and also teaches a course titled "The Chinese in Hawaii" for the University of Hawaii Ethnic Studies Program.

"Chun Tong and Family," Honolulu, e. 1938. Photo by On Char, courtesy Bishop Museum