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freedom of movement. They did not practice footbinding and openly resisted marriage by returning to their natal home
to live after the wedding, purchasing a secondary wife to take their place,
and joining sisterhoods in which they vowed celibacy. It is likely that some
were also lesbians." Hakka women in Guangdong Province also did not
practice footbinding and were known for being independent-minded,
even domineering, having proven themselves capable of hard labor and
self-support in the absence of their husbands. They were also known for
their courage and military prowess. Many fought side by side with men
against the Qing government in the Taiping Rebellion.14 For most other
women, however, work seldom resulted in greater independence or leverage. They were still subordinate to men, depending on them to protect
and provide for them.
    Thus, when their men went overseas to America, most Chinese
women (following the Confucian teaching, "A woman's duty is to care
for the household, and she should have no desire to go abroad") remained at home, attended to their children and in-laws, and awaited the
return of their husbands. This was not an easy task, considering that the
separation could extend anywhere from ten years to a lifetime, depending on when finances would allow the husband a visit home or a final
return. In the meantime, family members and fellow villagers tried to
ensure that the women remained chaste. The harsh punishment meted
out by villagers on No Name Woman in Maxine Hong Kingston's The
Woman Warrior for bearing an illegitimate child while her husband was
overseas was not unusual." Cantonese folk rhymes tell of the conflicting feelings involved in being a gamsaanpo (wife of a Gold Mountain
man) or, more appropriately, a sausaanggwai (grass widow):
    0, just marry all the daughters to men from Gold Mountain:
All those trunks from Gold Mountain You can demand as many as you want!
0, don't ever marry your daughter to a man from Gold Mountain:
Lonely and sadA cooking pot is her only companion! 16

    If you have a daughter, don't marry her to a Gold Mountain man.
Out of ten years, he will not be in bed for one.
The spider will spin webs on top of the bedposts,
While dust frilly covers one side of the bed.17
    Although other groups of women, such as Italian women, were similarly discouraged from traveling abroad by cultural constraints during
this period, Chinese women were further hindered by economic and political barriers.18 Few Chinese women had the resources to travel to
America on their own, and many were discouraged from doing so by
the inhospitable conditions in that far-off land. Although enterprising
capitalists needed Chinese labor to help them exploit the western frontier, they had no use for women. Indeed, the presence of women and
families, it was felt, would only stabilize the Chinese work force, causing them to demand higher wages and better working conditions. Nor
did the American ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness apply equally to people of color. Treated as a reserve army of low-wage
workers, the Chinese were tolerated only as long as their labor was
needed. Anti-Chinese prejudice, discriminatory laws, and outright violence ensured that the Chinese remained subordinate to the dominant
white society and that they did not bring their women and families to
settle in America.19
    Although initially welcomed to California as valuable labor and investors in an expanding economy, Chinese immigrants quickly became
the targets of white miners, workers, and politicians when the gold ran
out and economic times turned sour. In 1 851 a Foreign Miners' Tax,
which accounted for more than half of the tax revenues collected in California until its repeal in 18 7 0, was imposed, affecting primarily Chinese
miners. Special taxes were also levied on Chinese fishermen, laundrymen, and brothel owners. Other local ordinances, which did not specifically name the Chinese