Envelope ( He Zu Jian of Wing Sang company)

Envelope ( He Zu Jian of Wing Sang company)

Ethnic minorities
Chinese
immigration
Chinese correspondence

This is an envelope addressed to He Zu Jian, it shows a majority of the scripture in Chinese apart from the address. The Chinese scriptures are written in typical Chinese style by scribing characters downwards. Chinese immigrants in Vancouver often relied on the Wing Sang company in Vancouver as a means of being able to send letters and communicate across borders without implications. This was not uncommon due to the high influx of Chinese immigrants within British Columbia during the 1850s-1880s. Canadian postal systems didn’t allow letters to be posted and delivered with Chinese characters written upon them. Companies such as Wing Sang helped to solve the language barrier problem of Chinese immigrants English illiteracy, when trying to communicate to their motherland. This is an example of how the Chinese culture imprinted on British Columbia as a theme due to the company setting up a foreign, running business within the Vancouver.

He Zu Jian

Vancouver: University of British Columbia
Reference: 1108-050a-R

https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/yipsang/items/1.0114046

1893

Lauren-Ann Saunders

Original format: City of Vancouver Archives. Yip family and Yip Sang Ltd.fonds
DOI: 10.14288/1.0114046

English
Chinese

Textual/Material - letter/envelope

19th century British Columbia