Gum Saan Journal is the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California’s (CHSSC) annual publication. We explore the historical, cultural, and humanistic aspects of Chinese American experiences – particularly relating to Southern California – as well as contemporary issues of relevance to the Chinese American community.


Gum Saan Journal 2024:

Linking Our Lives and the Southern California Chinese American Oral History Project

In 1984, our Chinese Historical Society published our first book: Linking Our Lives: Chinese American Women of Los Angeles. This was a collaborative project with UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center. In this issue, authors, production volunteers, and readers discuss how the book touched their own lives.

Special thanks to Dr. William Gow, guest editor, and the support of William Wong and Samuel Yee.

https://gumsaanjournal.com/volumes/vol46-2024-linking-our-lives/

Gum Saan Journal 2023:

Our Queer Family

In 2008, California’s Proposition 8 showed a schism in our community; some Asian Americans voted to ban same-sex marriages. Now, the 2023 Respect for Marriage Act offers federal protection to same-sex and interracial couples. For this issue of Gum Saan Journal, we asked some Chinese American LGBTQ+ to share their own stories. This issue is long overdue…

We also have a submission from Calvin Yee about his father’s path as a pioneering insurance broker.

https://gumsaanjournal.com/volumes/volume-45-2023-our-queer-family/

Gum Saan Journal 2022:

Resisting Racism: We Are in This Together

This was the issue we never wanted to do. George Floyd’s murder and the anti-Asian hate incidents – coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the Los Angeles Chinese Massacre – made it too clear that the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California has an activism responsibility. In this issue, our leaders and friends analyze the continuity of systemic racism.

https://gumsaanjournal.com/volumes/resisting-racism-we-are-in-this-together/

Photo courtesy of Vince Vinh, SGVPA.

Behind the scenes:

Our goal at the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC) has always been to share our legacy with all. Poet Joy Kogawa said, we “burst with telling” when for so long, as marginalized Americans, our history has been neglected, maligned, and silenced.

For more information about the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California 南加州華人歷史學會, its monthly programs, its digital resources and archives, its current newsletters, or its other activities, visit our main website at chssc.org

– Susie Ling, Editor

info@chssc.org