One Hundred Years: History of the Chinese in America is a 1952 mural painting by James Leong.
Background and development
H.K. Wong, a prominent businessman in San Francisco Chinatown, asked Leong to create a mural that would be representative of Chinese American history. This mural was to be placed at the then newly erected Ping Yuen Housing Project, the first federally funded housing project in Chinatown along Pacific Avenue near Stockton Street. At the time in the early 1950s, American troops were stationed in North Korea fighting against Chinese forces, and China turned into a Communist nation. Because of this, Asian Americans were constantly under scrutiny and looked at as suspect, dangerous, and communist. The San Francisco Chinatown community recognized the hypersensitivity of this time, and they believed that the mural would help create a better understanding of Chinese Americans and help outreach to a broader public who in turn could become educated about the Chinese American diaspora. Leong completed the mural in 1952.
About the painting
Painting style
Painted on seven masonite panels with egg tempera and casein, One Hundred Years: History of the Chinese in America stands at an impressive . Leong used bold and vibrant colors on the mural and employed curves in order to provide a fluid transition from panel to panel. The symbolism in the mural also helps create flow and connectivity. The mountains, which represent the hope and promise of a new land, connect the first three panels, while the brick walls, which signify exclusion, link the last four panels together. Whether standing or kneeling, all the figures in the mural are active.
Themes and symbolism
The first panel depicts two rice paddy workers and a farmer carrying water, while the Great Wall of China stands in the background. Leong portrays these Cantonese workers, with broad noses and high cheekbones, bending over in order to accomplish their backbreaking labor. The imagery of the Great Wall represents the home country and origins of the Chinese people. The majestic dragon that snakes along the top of the first panel is representative of China—powerful, magical and eternal. This symbol of strength and longevity watches over the Cantonese workers, who struggle yet persevere throughout famine, flood and foreign conquerors.
In the second panel, a Chinese man clad in a blue outfit points to the promise of America and the Gold Mountain. He leaves his wife and child behind. The red square of communism is looming in the background of the somber family.
The third panel depicts a man toiling on the Transcontinental Railroad while another man mines for gold. Here, the Chinese man has finally reached the Gold Mountain, located in the grassy hills of California. The railroad worker stands swinging a pickaxe. The clear display of his queue running down his back shows off his Chinese-ness and devotion to the emperor in China. Like his counterpart in the second panel, the railroad worker wears blue pants, but unlike the former’s thick cotton, the railroad man opts for America’s sturdy blue denim. A hybrid of long pigtails and blue jeans, this worker represents the transitioning of the Chinese in America.
In the fourth panel, a woman in green is sitting and picking fish with her baby slung in a pouch around her back. Another woman in red stands beside her and is drying fish. This panel represents the coming of Chinese women to America. Some came as wives. Some were given false hopes of a better life and working conditions, but upon arrival were forced into domestic servitude or prostitution. These women were indentured for many years before they could pay off their passage over. One woman wears a jade green outfit for prosperity, while the other wears red for good fortune. The baby sits in a blue sling, the same denim blue as the railroad laborer. Rust red brick walls, encasing the women in this panel, depicts the exclusion, as well as protection, of Chinese men. Although the Chinese women go on to settle and create families, they do so within the confines of these red brick walls.
The fifth panel shows a Chinese person dancing the traditional lion dance. The large lion’s head is proudly gleaming towards the audience in a burst of blues, pinks, and whites. With the celebration of Chinese New Year, the lion dance represents prosperity and the arrival of new jobs and new lives.