The Diary of Dukesang Wong
A voice from Gold Mountain

Publisher:  Talonbooks
Year Published:  2020
Pages:  144pp   Price:  $18.95   ISBN:  978-17720112583
Resource Type:  Book
Cx Number:  CX24297

A window into the lives of Chinese workers who built the transcontinental railways across North America, a glimpse into the racism, starvation, and disease they faced every day while working the most difficult and dangerous jobs. The diary of Dukesang Wong, speaks vividly about his experiences and emotions during six years working on the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is the only first person account known to exist.

Abstract: 
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Publisher's description:

The Diary of Dukesang Wong restores a lost central voice to a foundational episode in Canadian history – one that changes our understanding of the history it recounts. Dukesang Wong’s remarkable diary tells of the appalling conditions, the punishing work, the camaraderie, the sickness and starvation, the encounters with Indigenous Peoples, and the shameful history of racism and exploitation he and his fellow Chinese workers endured while constructing the treacherous British Columbia section of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The Diary of Dukesang Wong also places this segment of Canadian history into context, as one part of Wong’s gradual, painful establishment of a new life in a new land. His diary traces the unfolding of that remarkable life, from his early years in an unstable China, to his decision to emigrate to “the Land of the Gold Mountains,” to becoming a tailor in New Westminster, and finally to the joys of family life. As Judy Fong Bates writes in her introduction, “His diaries give him back his humanity and his individuality … It is a heartbreaking, but ultimately hopeful, voice that reaches out beyond the century.”