The Chinese started immigrating to the United
States in 1849. They left
China in search
of a better life. Life in China in the
1800's was very hard. There
wasn't enough
food, money and the cities were overpopulated.
They heard about
the United States
and believed there was an opportunity to start over again. They
hoped to find
jobs on the railroad or to strike gold.
When they arrived in the United
States, life was difficult. Laws were made which discriminated against
them.
However,
eventually they became a respected part of our society. They are
responsible for
many contributions which are part of American life today. This essay
will describe
three of these contributions: two
products, ginseng and tea, and one
method of
medicine, acupuncture.
Ginseng is a perennial herb grown in China and
other Asian countries. It is
also grown in
North American, but the Asian variety is thought to be more valuable.
There are many legends
and superstitions surrounding ginseng.
The Chinese have
long believed
that the ginseng is a cure for many aliments and can even make one live
longer. However, Western researchers are have been
unable to prove this. Today,
many
manufacturers add ginseng to such products as hair tonics, shampoos, skin
creams and even
soft drinks. Also ginseng can be bought
over the counter in drug
stores under such
names as "Ginkoba" and
"Ginsana". "Ginkoba"
is supposed to
increase mental
alertness. "Ginsana" is
supposed to increase physical energy.
Tea was first used during the reign of Emperor
Shen Nung in about 2737 B.C.
This was a very
long time ago. It is thought that tea
was first cultivated in China.
Then the China
tea plant was taken to Japan in about 800A.D.
In Japan, tea was used
for medical
purposes. When green tea was developed
in Chine, tea became a
popular
beverage. Tea was introduced into
England in about 1660. It was a gift
from the British
East India Tea Company. The Company
became a monopoly. It
controlled the
trade of tea from China and from India.
Soon, tea was introduced to
the rest of
Europe and became a very popular beverage.
Tea is made from young leaves and leaf buds of
a type of evergreen plant
known as Camellia
sinensis. The name really means Chinese
camellia. The name is
because there are
so many different types of teas. A
Chinese writer said there were
"a thousand
and ten teas". Tea is considered
black, green or oolong. Most of the
international
trade today is in black tea. Today, tea
is drank all over the world,
including the
United States. Tea is produced in about
30 countries, but China is still
the largest
exporter of tea.
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medical
technique used to relieve pain,
cure disease and
improve general health. This medical
technique consists of inserting
hair-thin needles
through particular spots of the skin.
These spots are called
neuroreceptors. The points are then stimulated by twirling,
by heat or by use of a
weak electrical
current.
Acupuncture has been practiced in China for
over 4,000 years. It was
practiced by the
Chinese immigrant doctors who first came to the United States.
However, it was
only in 1972 that acupuncture received publicity. This happened
when a newspaper
correspondent who was with Nixon his trip to China had to have
an emergency
appendectomy. The correspondent got pain
relief through
acupuncture. Since that time, many American physicians and
dentists have been
trained to use
acupuncture and learned about its benefits.
The Chinese, like many immigrant groups,
suffered difficult beginnings in
their new life in
the United States. However, many of them
eventually succeeded in
making a better
life for themselves and their families.
In addition, the Chinese are
responsible for
important and lasting contributions to American life. This essay
describes three
of these contributions. They are
ginseng, tea and acupuncture.
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