The purpose of the Midwest Area Chinese American Resources Guide is to promote multicultural understanding of Chinese Americans and to provide easy access to the Chinese American communities in the Midwest. This 1995 edition is a complete revision of the one published in 1992.

THE DIRECTORY:

The directory is the main section of the Resources Guide. It covers mostly non-profit organizations in the Midwest, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin. All entries are listed by category and within each category by state.

Information for each entry has been updated and verified by mail or by telephone. In some cases, public sources were consulted. Over 80 new entries have been added; defunct organizations have been deleted. Organizations with unverifiable information are specified "address unknown" and included in the index to the directory.

OTHER RESOURCES:

In addition to the directory, the Resources Guide includes general information on Chinese Americans and Chinese culture as well as statistical data on the Chinese American population in the Midwest.

COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS:

The editors and researchers have made every effort to provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information in this guide. However, updating is an on-going process. Readers are invited to bring to our attention changes as well as new or unlisted organizations to be included in the next edition. Comments and suggestions are also welcome. Please write to: Ann McElroy, Indian Prairie Public Library District, 337 W. 75th Street, Willowbrook, Illinois 60514

Anna McElroy
Co-Chair, Resources Guide Revision Committee
Vice President/President-Elect
CALA-Midwest Chapter

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The Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), founded in 1973, is a nonprofit professional organization in library and information science, affiliated with the American Library Association. Through years of incessant effort, CALA, with over 700 members in the United States and abroad, has already received substantial recognition from professionals. For better contact and communication, CALA has also established geographical chapters, such as the California, Greater Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, and Southwest Chapters.

The Midwest Chapter covers 12 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Currently, the Chapter has over 100 members. A majority of its members hold a master's degree or higher. With this high quality membership, the Chapter's goals are: 1) to promote communication of ideas and expertise among members, 2) to serve as a forum for discussions of mutual problems and professional concerns, and 3) to provide a vehicle for cooperation among Chinese American librarians as well as with other professionals.

The Midwest Chapter is organized in such a way as to serve the best interests of its members. The officers, elected by chapter members, are president, vice president/president elect, secretary, and treasurer. The committees, appointed by the president, include program planning, electronic publishing, nomination, public relations, and special task forces. State contacts are recruited by the vice president. Election usually takes place at the annual meeting held in April or May each year.

The Chapter also has several publications: Electronic Journal (semi-annually), E-Bulletin (quarterly), and Midwest Area Chinese American Resources Guide.

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On behalf of the Midwest Chapter of the Chinese American Librarians Association, I would like to express my appreciation to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago for their assistance and generous support in the production of this Resources Guide. Special thanks go to the advertisers for their sponsorship in this project.

I also wish to thank organization officials for responding to our requests for information. Without their cooperation, the publication of this Midwest Area Chinese American Resources Guide, 1995 edition, would not have been possible.

I am grateful to the cover designer Charles Liu and the guest editor R. Bruce Sanders for their contributions to this edition. Finally, my appreciation goes to the Revision Committee members for their articles, ideas, time, and effort.

Pei-ling Wu
President
CALA-Midwest Chapter, 1995

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Compared to other ethnic groups, the Chinese are relative newcomers to this country due to discrimination in immigration policy. In 1965, the U.S. Congress finally granted Asian countries equal status in immigration law with countries in Europe. Since then, there has been a rapid increase in the Chinese population throughout the U.S. Accompanying the increase in population are myths and stereotypes about Chinese people. The Chinese ethnic group as "Model Minority" is just one of the false images. In fact, Chinese Americans are just about as diverse as they can be.

Although 1990 Census information shows that more than half of all Chinese Americans are foreign born, there are still American-born Chinese who only speak English and who love hamburgers more than fried rice. Foreign born Chinese in this country could be from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, as well as any other part of the world. Chinese from different places in the world may speak different Chinese dialects. For example, ethnic Chinese from mainland China, Singapore and Taiwan speak Mandarin, but the majority of Chinese from Hong Kong or Southeast Asia use Cantonese as their dialect. In addition, there are Taiwanese (Fukiense), Hakka, Toishanese and Chochow dialects as well.

As for Social-economic status, there are white-collar Chinese professionals on one end, and struggle-to-survive Chinese refugees on the other end.

Therefore, for the purpose of this resources guide, the term "Chinese American" refers to any person of Chinese ancestry who may or may not be a U.S. citizen.

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According to official records, the first Chinese landed in California in 1820. During the next two decades, only ten more Chinese came to this country. It was not until the 1850's that the Chinese arrived in America in large numbers. In 1847, Yung Wing and two other students came to America for higher education, this was the first time Chinese students came to study in this country. Yung Wing eventually became a prominent American citizen.

In 1848, gold was discovered near San Francisco County. Two years later, four thousand Chinese were found working in the gold mines of California. In 1851, the Chinese population in California increased to twenty-five thousand. Besides working in the gold mines, more Chinese were brought to America to work on railroad construction. When the Central Pacific Railroad construction reached its last stage, Chinese labor had constituted about 90 percent of the total work force. Unfortunately, the Chinese soon became unwelcome in the West.

Chinese arrived in the Midwest much later. In 1870, half a century after the first Chinese landed in California, the first Chinese came to Chicago. In 1875, an anti-Chinese movement started in California and gradually spread to other states, particularly Oregon and Washington. Groups of Chinese in the Pacific West started moving east. Among them was a Mr. T. C. Moy, who left San Francisco with some other Chinese in 1876 and headed for Chicago. Along the way the others deserted Moy, and he reached Chicago all by himself. Chicago was not as hostile as California was, and Moy soon established himself on South Clark Street and opened a grocery store. He wrote to friends in San Francisco and in China, urging them to come. In 1878, about sixty Chinese arrived in Chicago. By the end of 1890, there were no less than five hundred Chinese living on South Clark Street. When the World's Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago in 1893, a great demand for restaurants and laundries arose and attracted large numbers of Chinese from other cities in America. Between 1892 and 1902, there was a rapid decrease of Chinese population in this country as a whole; however, during the same period, there was a steady increase in Chinese population of Chicago, thanks to the rather friendly relationship between the Chinese and other Chicagoans and the Exposition.

In the Pacific West, things were different. Frictions and tensions between Chinese and the other Americans had existed for some time and there was no sign of improvement. In 1882, the Congress of the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. Under the Act, Chinese laborers, both skilled and unskilled, were excluded from entering America for ten years. In addition, the Chinese residing in America were not entitled to naturalization. Due to the unfair treatment of Chinese in California, the Chinese Government launched a campaign to boycott American trade in 1905. When the news reached Chicago, many landlords were angry and increased rent for houses occupied by Chinese on South Clark Street. The majority of Chinese could not afford to pay the rent and so they moved to the area of 22nd Street and Princeton Avenue, the dirtiest part of Chicago at that time. It was around this time that the Chinese started organizing most of their tongs and societies. Most of these organizations were for welfare and legal purposes.

After the Chinese Community Center moved to 22nd Place in 1911, there were only a couple of grocery stores still remaining on South Clark Street. The once dirtiest part of Chicago (22nd Street and Princeton Avenue) gradually developed into today's Chicago Chinatown. Over the years, Chicago Chinatown has expanded to Wentworth Avenue.

In 1971, a few Chinese community leaders went back to the uptown area between Argyle and Broadway to develop another Chinatown there. The development of the Uptown Chinatown was slow in the beginning, but since 1975 had picked up momentum due to the arrival of large numbers of ethnic Chinese from South East Asia. Generally speaking, since 1910, there has been a steady increase of the Chinese population in Chicago, regardless of the decrease of Chinese population coming into this country.

While most Chinese workers were busy building the railroad in the West during the 1860's, the other Chinese laborers were toiling in the fields in the South to replace Black laborers. However, many of them deserted the fields and began to settle in St. Louis and the other Midwestern cities in 1869. A majority of these Chinese became cigar makers.

In 1874, White unionized cigar makers in San Francisco called on the proprietors of stores to boycott Chinese-made cigars. The following year, White cigar makers in St. Louis did the same to Chinese cigar makers there. This resulted in the decrease of Chinese population in St. Louis. In 1903, because of the St. Louis World's Fair, an American emissary was sent to China to invite Chinese merchants to participate in the World's Fair. In the meantime, the American Government laid down discriminatory conditions for admitting Chinese laborers for the exposition.

Besides Chicago and St. Louis, very little has been written about Chinese settlements in the Midwest before the 1950's. Compared to California and New York, the Chinese population in the Midwest is relatively small. Among all the Midwestern states, only Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio have a significant number of Chinese. Almost all of the early Chinese settlers in the Midwest were from Kwangtung Province in southern China, and almost all of them engaged in the restaurant, laundry, or grocery business.

However, during the last fifty years, especially after World War II, the pattern has changed. More and more Chinese have arrived in the Midwest from other parts of mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and from other places around the world. The majority of these new Chinese immigrants are highly educated; they work and live in traditionally White suburban communities. They have been better accepted by the American mainstream and are respected for their academic excellence and hard work. Nevertheless, Chinese Americans owe much to their forefathers, who with limited skills and education, paved the way to the success they enjoy today.
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A Chinese name may be very complicated in both spelling and pronunciation. This is because traditional Chinese name usage is very different from that of American names. The following information is intended to help readers to better understand Chinese names.

Most Chinese names consist of two parts, family name (usually one syllable) and personal name (one or two words). In contrast to American usage, the Chinese list their family names before their personal names. However, Chinese Americans who have been in this country for awhile, or who were born in this country, will list their names according to American usage.

A majority of the foreign born Chinese did not have their names written in the Roman alphabet until they came to the United States. Depending on where the Chinese came from, different romanization systems may be utilized to transform traditional Chinese names into English spellings. Chinese from mainland China are likely to use Pinyin spellings for their names, while Chinese from Taiwan or Singapore normally use the Wade-Giles spellings. In the Pinyin system, the personal name generally is not hyphenated while the Wade-Giles system usually does use hyphens.

Since name translation is based on pronunciation, Chinese speaking different dialects may also translate their names differently. For example, the common Chinese last name 黃can be translated as "Huang" or "Wong" based on different Chinese dialects. Therefore, the way a Chinese name is spelled reveals information such as where the person is originally from and what dialect this person speaks.

Traditionally most married Chinese women adopt their husbands' family names as their last names, and keep their own maiden names as middle names. Nonetheless, more and more women are deciding not to adopt their husbands' names. This is even more common among women from mainland China.

The most common Chinese family names are:Chan 陳, Lin 林, Li 李, Chang 張, and Wang 王. All the spellings are based on the Mandarin dialect and the Wade-Giles system)

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The Chinese people have always been one of the most filial and traditional ethnic groups in the United States. Most Chinese festivals are still widely observed and celebrated by Chinese Americans due to their respect for traditions and close ties to culture.

Chinese festivals share the characteristics of expressing desire for happiness and well-being, warding off misfortune, experiencing a oneness between man and heaven, and family reunion. Almost every festival has a unique legend behind it, and most Chinese festivals are based on the " Lunar Calendar". Food has always been an important part of Chinese festival celebrations. It not only serves its obvious palatal purposes, but also connotates many symbolic values.

In addition to major festivals such as Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and Moon Festival, there are hundreds of minor local festivals. The following are some major Chinese festivals celebrated annually by Chinese Americans. The anniversaries of these festivals vary from year to year in relation to the Gregorian calendar.

Also known as: Spring Festival 春節
Date: the 1st day of the 1st moon (usually falls sometime in late-January or early-February on the Gregorian Calendar)
Food: New Year cakes (made from glutinous rice), fish, chicken, Chinese sausages.

It is the largest and most colorful festival for the Chinese. New Year's Eve is the highlight of the festival when every family member returns home to share a sumptuous feast with the family. Children traditionally pay their respects to their elders and receive "red envelopes" containing "lucky money" in return. The color red represents good fortune in Chinese culture. Dragon and Lion dances are indispensable parts of traditional Chinese New Year celebrations which are performed in every Chinatown nationwide.

Also known as: Yuan Hsiao Festival 元宵節
Date: the 15th day of the 1st moon (usually falls in late-February or early-March on the Gregorian Calendar)
Food: "Yuan hsiao" (glutinous rice balls stuffed with sweet beans or sesame paste)

It marks the end of the Lunar New Year festivities. The people of ancient China believed that celestial spirits could be seen in the light of the first full moon, so they lit torches to improve visibility. Later, lanterns were used instead of torches. A major part of the celebration is the display of colorful lanterns in Buddhist temples. Another traditional aspect of the Lantern Festival is the composition of riddles. People answer riddles that come from poems, old sayings and proverbs.

Also known as: Ch'ing Ming 清明
Date: April 5th (April 4th in leap years) on the Gregorian Calendar

It is a time to pay respect to one's ancestors and to tidy their gravesites. The whole family goes to the grave sites of deceased family members to burn incense and perform a ritual offering. At the same time, they clear away weeds, and plant new trees, shrubs, and flowers. It is customary for people to begin cleaning up the graves ten days prior to Tomb-Sweeping Day and continue doing so ten days after.

Also know as: Poet's Day or Double Fifth Day 端午節
Date: the 5th day of the 5th moon (usually in late-May or mid-June on the Gregorian Calendar)
Food: "Tzungtzu" (glutinous rice dumplings stuffed with pork or bean paste, and wrapped in bamboo leaves)

It commemorates the death of Ch'u Yuan 屈原 (28 - 299 B.C.), the Chinese poet-statesman who drowned himself in the Milo River of the present Hunan Province of China in 299 B.C. as a protest against the corruption and misrule of his emperor. When the villagers heard of his suicide, they rushed out onto the river in their boats and threw rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves into the river to divert the attention of the fish from eating Ch'u Yuan's body. This is the origin of the Dragon Boat Races which mark this festival.

In fact, long before Ch'u Yuan's time, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month was considered an unlucky date, because it marked the height of summer, when the weather is hottest and germs and disease are rampant. It is, therefore, the time to stress cleaning and sanitation. People hang branches of fragrant herbs, either Chinese mugwort or calamus, in front of their homes to ward off evil spirits. Children wear colorful herb-filled sachets around their necks, and men drink Realgar wine for the same purpose.

Also known as: Chi Hsi 七夕
Date: the 7th day of the 7th moon (usually late-July or early-August on the Gregorian Calendar)

Like other people around the world, the Chinese have made up many stories while gazing at the distant, sparkling stars. According to the legend, the Weaving Maid was the Celestial Emperor's granddaughter, both of whom lived east of the Milky Way. The Cowherd was a poor orphan in the mortal world whose only means of support was an old cow. One day, the Weaving Maid and some fairies came down to a nearby stream to bathe. At the old cow's urging, the Cowherd stole the Weaving Maid's clothes, thereupon they met, fell in love, and married. They lived together happily in the mortal world. However, when the Celestial Emperor discovered their marriage, he sent down demigods to punish them. Consequently, the Goddess of the West Heavens turned the Weaving Maid into the star Vega, and the Cowherd into the star Aquila on opposite sides of the Milky Way. Moved by their plight, the Celestial Emperor granted them special permission to meet, once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, crossing the Milky Way on a bridge of fluttering magpies.

On this day, celebration begins at night by placing a festoon in the yard and making an offering to the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid. The only people qualified to make the offering are single or newly married women. The offering to the two stars consists of incense and candles, tea, wine, fresh fruit, five dried fruits (logan, dates, lotus seed, peanuts, and melon seeds), fresh flowers, and facial powder. After the offering is complete, the young women will divide the facial powder into two portions. One portion is cast upon the roof for the Weaving Maid's use, while the other is kept by the women. It is believed that by sharing make-up with the Weaving Maid, the young women will also share her beauty.

Also known as: Chung Yuan Festival 中原節
Date: the fifteenth day of the seventh moon

Beginning with the 1st day of the 7th lunar month, when the gate to the underworld is opened, a series of ceremonial activities are held, reaching a climax with the release of lighted lanterns into the water on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. On this day, the gate will be closed for another year. It is believed that the drifting lanterns will lead the forsaken spirits of the deep through the gate and into the underworld, and thus these spirits will no longer wander around mankind's world.

Also known as: Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋節
Date: the 15th day of the 8th moon (late-September or mid-October on the Gregorian Calendar)
Food: Moon Cake (pastry stuffed with sweet fillings), You Tzu (fruit tastes and looks like grapefruit)

This festival observes the biggest and brightest full "Harvest Moon" of the year. People celebrate this festival at night outdoors, with food and wine, songs and moon gazing.

A legend says that Hou Yih 后羿 an emperor who ruled China in about 2000 B.C., was an expert in archery. When ten suns appeared in the sky, threatening to scorch the earth, Hou Yih decided to shoot nine of the suns out of the sky. After he accomplished this mission, the Goddess of the Western Heavens was impressed, and commissioned Hou Yih to build a jade palace for her. Hou Yih executed the mission so brilliantly that the Goddess rewarded him with a pill of immortality. One day, when Hou Yih was out on a mission, his wife, the divinely beautiful Chang O 嫦娥 , discovered the hidden pill and swallowed it. She immediately became immortal and soared up to the moon, and on this night of the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, she shines her most radiant beauty.

Also known as: Double Ninth Festival 重陽節
Date: the 9th day of the 9th moon
Food: Double Ninth Cake (raised flour cake with Chinese dates, chestnuts, almonds, or pignola nuts added)

According to legend, the famous scholar Huan Ching 桓景 of the Eastern Han dynasty (25 - 220 A.D.) studied Taoist arts under the master Fei Ch'ang-fang 費長房 for several years. One day, Fei warned Huan Ching that a great calamity would come to him and his family on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. The only way to ward off this calamity was to wear dogwood-wrapped red cloth, climb a high mountain, and drink chrysanthemum wine there. Huan did what the master instructed when the day came. When he returned to his home that night with his family, he discovered that all their animals had died. Since then, wearing dogwood-wrapped red cloth and drinking chrysanthemum wine has become an important part of the festival.

Also known as: Teachers' Day 教師節
Date: September 28th on the Gregorian Canledar

It is celebrated with ancient ceremonies in Confucian Temples, complete with dances, costumes, music, and other rites. Born in 551 B.C. in present Shantung Province of China, Confucius began a career that resulted in the creation of a philosophy which revolutionized not only governmental conduct but personal behavior as well. Confucius also sought to revolutionize the educational system so that anyone who had the desire and ability, not just aristocracy and royalty, would have the opportunity of formal education.

Confucianism, often mistakenly considered to be a religion, is the name given to his teachings--a code of conduct, a guide to morality and good government--that constitutes the single most important focus in Chinese life. All aspects of living are controlled, to a greater or lesser extent, by the wisdom of Confucius.

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Just as European culture includes Western astrology, the Chinese have their own astrology. The "Chinese Zodiac", which consists of twelve animals, is the most interesting aspect of Chinese astrology.

Unlike Western astrology, which revolves around the months of the year, the Chinese Zodiac is based on a twelve year cycle of the lunar calendar. Legend says that Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from Earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell. As a reward, he named a year after each animal in the order that it arrived. First came the Rat, then the Ox, the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The ancient Chinese believed that people born in different years of the zodiac possess certain distinctive characteristics of the matching animal. For example, people who were born in the year of the Dog are faithful and loyal in personality.

With increasing attention being paid to all aspects of Chinese culture, people's interest in the Chinese Zodiac has also increased. Below is a table that lists the twelve animals of the years from 1900 to 2007, by which readers can easily determine the zodiac animal of their birth year.