Assignmnet 10 --Dairys and Letters of Chen Li

Special Letters, Diary entries,

pictures of the Li Family.

Chinese Flag: Hello, today you will be reading a real live letter from Henry Hudson from 1610!

No I'm just kidding... what we are really doing for this assignment ( number 10) is stepping in the shoes of a person who was involved in the pacific railways , some people are stepping into the shoes of the head person of the railways , some are being a Chinese who was sent to work on the railways.

For even more information on this assignment visit Miss Pollock's Blog introducing assignment 10.

I am an English explorer and have followed the paths along where Chinese people worked on the railways, In my travels I found some diaries and letter's from a great man known as: "Chen Li"

Note to readers: The italic words in the journals and letters are words you can look at in the glossary near the bottom if you are unclear to any words.

Also some language may be off sounding to today's modern language so example instead of it being isn't it will say is not.

Well here they are---

September 10th, 1881

Dear my sweet wife Lina and daughter Tao,

I just arrived in Canada, I am living in a tent outside the fair lands.

I have a Buddy sharing a tent with me he is a Chinese as well

and he is name Manchu he has been here since 1865 when they first sent the workers, he welcomes me but said the work is hard, i am a hard worker as you know but I am hoping it will not be too difficult. I herd we might have to use explosives but do not worry I will refuse to do that work and maybe help with the building of the railway it's self.

Believe me, dear sir, your obliged and faithful humble servant,

-Chen Li

Dear Diary,

I do not want to mention this to Lina and Tao because I will worry them.

So i am righting in you diary. The problem is the whites middle class workers get the choice of their jobs before we the Chinese can pick. Lots of Chinese are choosing the harder jobs because they want to show that they are hard workers. We only get half the pay as the whites middle class workers and we must work on dangerous jobs, building bridges,using explosives, it is my second day on the job and i am already felling homesick, I can not go home though and I must work really hard so i can bring my wife and daughter to Canada. I do not want them to worry of me working too hard and doing dangerous jobs but it pays so I hope I will Succeed with this, wish me luck diary!

-Chen

November 2oth, 1881

Hello Lina i hope Tao is fine.

I wish you all well.

I am really struggling to keep warm these days as it is getting colder and colder each day.

It is not fair you must now pay 500 dollars to immigrate, I will try to send you money every week so you can come, I wish you are here now I need some people I love by my side,

Well I will send you another letter when I am good, I do not want to right when things are doing bad.

- Chen

October 30,1881

Today was a good day, I had a wondrous meal of dried salmon, rice and tea. I'm getting paid today so I am going to get to buy some fruit as I have saved enough now to buy some, but as I wish we get paid more are salary is so low these days, I hope if I work extra hard I might get a few more dollars or even a few more cents would be helpful. I don't think so though because winter is approaching.

Dear diary,

My boss David was really mean today, not that he is ever nice but he actually get so

mad at some one that the poor man was whipped so badly i felt so sorry from him, he didn't really deserve the hitting. He just failed to finish the work on time of the night passed. I must work hard today as David is yelling and yelling at us to work faster and faster. I didn't want to worry Lina and Tao again so i am writing in you because you make me fell well. I will right again soon but I here someone coming as I think it is my boss David.

Dear diary,

Oh how mad I am at David he was the who came to my tent and started to hit me and my roomie Manchu, he said we were not fit to be workers but I try my best and I think Manchu does to. He said this was are last warning or were will be hanged to death over the fire! This is so fighting I am scared to put these words in your pages Diary, just I must help calm myself down, as you are a really useful tool to use to make me happy again, you are the best diary i fell much better now, thanks.

-Chen

December 15th,1881

Hello to my Lina and Tao!

I finished the job of the bridge today it took about 2 weeks to build and finally now done,yay

I am assigned now to work on a 10 mile railway track and am starting that tomorrow.

Boy it takes tough men to do this job. Which I am one of them, as you know but it is tiring if you do it all day long, but I must keep going to bring you in my arms.

-Chen

January 12,1881

Dear Lina and Tao,

I am righting this quickly with saw dust in my eyes as today we are moving camps. As more of the railway is built we must move on to another camp site, so I will have to right you once we arrive in our knew place. It might take a while to get there so am hoping everything is good, is Tao better from her cold? Keep warm.

- Chen

February 14th,1881

Dear Lina and Tao,

I wish you the most of happiness today Lina because as you know today was the day we got married 10 years ago, it's our anniversary! Remember that night I asked you to marry me? You were so happy and I remember how your eyes looked so sparkly and filled with joy and remember when Tao came into the world? How happy you were then? Well as both those moments were I would like you to be like that today, filled with joy and tiers, not sad tiers toughs,happy tiers.

I wish this was not the way to celebrate with us apart but I can not help that, I will make it up to you when you and Tao can come to Canada. Hope you are having a better time than I am.

Boy I am Tired I had to walk 40km to get to the next camp sites to work more on the railway.

Well got to rest up and get back to work.

Loves you always,

-Chen

Dear Diary,

Terrible new diary my good friend Manchu from the railways died today. He was working on building a bridge over a steep gorge. He fell ,well working at noon, he was having such a great day today, it was his birthday,and he got to call home and talk to his wife and kids, then he had the fall. Why did he have to die so young, diary? Why is life got to be like this ? Why do white man got double the pay of Chinese and we work harder then them! Why Diary, why? Why did Manchu have to die? Why did I get sent here in the first place, why me? Why do I have to be away from my family?Why does David Harass me and other Chinese? And why are we the ones who have to work longer hours and get called names? Why the Chinese?I am truly sorry for nagging to you diary but I am truly sad today. You know diary you are the best person, book I should say, you are always there for me when I need you, and you really do cheer me up, Thanks again Diary. I hope life will go better soon for me,

-Yours truly, Chen your number 1 friend.

July 4th,1884

Dear Lina and Tao,

I think I will be able to go home next week as the railways are nearly complete, I can not wait to see you and Tao! It has been forever, 4 years, Holy cow! Well sleep tight my little butterflies because you are going to see me really soon! - Chen

July 8th,1884

Dear Lina and Tao,

I just found out I must work yet another week on the railways,and I do not think I can work on it because i have scurvy, now do no worry my sweet Lina and little Tao, I am getting better and better each day as today I am good enough to write to you. A buddy from the railway is helping me, he must work during the day but is able to help me at night, but i hope David will still accept that i must get better before I can work. I am truly sorry Tao i could bot be there on your birthday as I hoped to attend but I half to keep at the railway, I hope you get the money I sent to you and Lina, I know it is not much but before all the workers leave next week I will be getting more money and maybe we can do something for your birthday then, I picked up this lovely flower while I was working today it so reminded me of you my beautiful sweet Tao, it is the Chinese flower and will give you the best of luck since I can not be there today. Love you and bless you both, and remember DO NOT worry i will be fine.

You are all the go!

- Chen

Glossary:

This is the glossary for readers to look at after read the letters and dairies to see certain words they may not understand.

scurvy -(a painful disease caused by a diet without vitamin C).

Miss you-( Believe me, dear sir, your obliged and faithful humble servant)

You Rock- ( You are all the go)

Awesome- (Wondrous)

Rocking your socks off- ( Having a very agreeable time)

Nitroglycerin-( A very dangerous explosive people used during the making of the pacific railways used to blast though a tunnel to continue the railway.)

Manchu- (Pure)

Chen- (Great or Vast )

Tao- (Long Life )

Lina- ( A graceful Willow )

David- ( Beloved)

You are all so lucky, because though my travels I also managed to get a few letters from Chen's

Family back in China.

January 30,1801

Hello my darning Chen,

I am sorry you fell down, Tao and me are having a very agreeable time, we managed to finish the hole in our roof so we went to the restaurant for dinner, but I am truly missing you!

I hope you will return home soon. Thanks for the money you sent, Tao and me we bought material and made dresses together for the Wang's family, they are paying us for them and oh how beautiful they are!We are riding over there tomorrow to give them the dresses. I hope this will go towards the 50 dollars we need to immigrant to Canada so we can be with you.

Love you cupcake,

~Lian

--- ( One year jump in time)

April 18th,1882

Hello my good Chen,

Today was exciting, Tao is begging to read, she is already so good, it is amazing!

I wish you were here to see her read, she really misses having you read to her too, and now you can both read together, once we can all be together that is. She is really starting you understand

things these days. Just yesterday she said mama why do chickens lay eggs, and we do not. Is that so cute? I explained how human have babies, chicken lay eggs, she is really learning! I remember when she first started talking, it seemed just like yesterday!

Well I must go back to attending my cooking.

Your darling,

~Lina

---- ( one year jump in time)

April 30th, 1883

So Darning how are you today?

I am really sick, can not cook, can not dress, can not teach school.

I can do notting.

Tao might be geeting sick too.

I have not herd from you in a while, what have you been doing on the railways, are you almost done so you can come home.

Besides from getting sick, I met a really nice man, he is named Jeron, not chiness though and is dropping by to help me and take care of Tao and bring her to school.

He is an ederly man around 50, and I offred him money by helping, and he says no, he is so wonderful. He said if I want to help him with house chores at his home he will pay me once I am well. He says I can do it during the evening so I can still teach school. I Really want you here by my side Chen ,right now. Hope you are well.

~Lina

( one year jump in time)

June 19th, 1884

Where are you my honey bun?, you said you will return home today.

I guess you are just running late, but hurry home soon, Tao and I have a

surprise for you.

Love you, Lina

June 24th,1884

Chen, Chen you are 3 weeks late where are you?

We have sent a telegram to the railway instructer and

said you already left home.

Hurry i can not stand to not see you for a momment more,I am really worried for you have not answred any of my letters for 2 months!

~Lina

August 1st,1884

Chen, Where are you??

...........................................

..............................................

.............................................

................................ ( got wet, so message earesed)

-----------------

I guess you get the picture of what happened to Chen li.

Yep, he died. How you might ask.

Well he died on his last day working on the railways, he got blown up in the tunnel parformaing a really risky task of putting Nitroglycerin and setting the charge. Explosives blow up easiely, if he sarvived he would of got more money half as a white man would of got, but still it was something, he was wanting it to buy something for his daugter's Tao late birthday. Poor fellow.

Why? You still might ask, well this is no story, it's life, I know you wish Chen could of returned

home and Lina and Tao will be really happy and they would go out for Tao's late birthday and

Tao and Lina will give Chen his surprise but this is not the way it happened.

I am sorry to those of you who like happy endings. The good news though is in 1888 Lina and Tao saved up enough money to imigrate to Canada, Lina then meet Robert and they had a son they named chen, after their beloved father and Husbien.

Send my reguards to the Li family,

-Annonmist ( I'm not putting my name of cource because I am still a mystery english explorer, remember??)

Here are some photo's I found aloung with the leter's and darier entries

1.) ~This is Chen and a group of men working on the railways.

2.) ~This is another picture of men working on the railways, Chen is not in this photo but his buddy ManChu is. ( 1881)

3.)

This is wear the chiness lived during the making of the railways,in tents. Chen has his back to us and Manchu is the one beside him.




Visit my 11 aswome sites were all the informations from! (sites included in text as well, they might not be in the text but some are in there, but all the sites I used not including the name sites are here.)

http://archives.cbc.ca/society/immigration/topics/1433/

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/exhibits/timemach/galler08/frames/cpr.htm

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/settlement/kids/021013-2031.3-e.html

http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10196

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chinese_immigration_to_Canada

http://www.ccnc.ca/cccop/index.php?section=content/history.php&func=viewEntry&entryID=59

http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/cseh-twih/archives2_E.asp?id=143

http://cprr.org/Museum/Chinese.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Chinese.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway

http://www8.cpr.ca/cms/English/General+Public/Heritage/default.htm

See some more awsome pic's

I couldn't add anymore photos to my blog because it messes up,but here are more you can look at:

Picture 1 ( From wikipidea)

Picture 2 (There are 5 pictures in this album)

Picture 3 ( There are 23 pictures in this album)

Picture 4 ( There are 11 pictures in this album)

Picture 5 ( There are 8 pictures in this album)

Picture 6 ( There are 18 pictures in this album)

Picture 7 ( There are 11 pictures in this album)

Picture 8 ( There are 10 pictures in this album)

Picture 9 ( There are 5 pictures in this album)

Picture 10 ( There are 21 pictures in this album)

Those are some photo albums for more pictures in photo albums visit this site !

And I haven't forgot my map of the rote where the pacific railways whent though canada:

Check out the map ( showing the whole rote)

Check out the close up Map ( Where Chen help build the railway)

This site I really didn't use for my assignment but It's an awsome or should I say " Wondrous" site. Santana found it first acually and you can serch a decade and it will tell you all kinds of things in History from that decade. Check it out!

Hope you all like my assignment comments are welcome to any of you who have questions or just want to say what you liked and or what could improve about my assignment. Cheers!

p.s.( I had a hard time finding the right name of chen's boss, so I just put David down. What's funny though If you go to the glossary David mean "Beloved", and he's is spose to be mean,so it's kind of a joke.)