Samfow: The San Joaquin Chinese Legacy

Samfow: The San Joaquin Chinese Legacy by Minnick, Sylvia Sun. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780944194096.

The book is a revealing portrait of the Chinese émigrés of western America, a people laughing, crying, fighting and loving in the Chinatown community of Stockton, California, the gateway to the Mother Lode and the San Joaquin Valley. Using a historical perspective, the author reviews why the Chinese left their native land and looks at the City of Stockton in which the Chinese settled. Being the third stop on the way to the gold fields, the development of a Chinese community within its township was a significant event. The author also discusses social and economic issues and the role of Chinese women and marriage in the culturally changing environment.