Last updated: August 3, 2022
Person
Liang May Seen
Public domain.
Quick Facts
Significance:
First Chinese woman who settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota; became an important community leader for Chinese Americans
Place of Birth:
Kaiping District, Guangdong Province, China
Date of Birth:
c. 1871
Date of Death:
1946
Liang May Seen is described as the first Chinese woman to settle in Minneapolis. She was a key figure in the city’s growing Chinese American community before World War II, organizing social activities for recent immigrants and bridging cross-cultural divides.
Early Life
Liang May Seen was born to an impoverished family around 1871 in Guangdong, China. Her parents tried to arrange a better life for her. When Liang was 14, they sold her to a man who promised to help her marry a wealthy husband. During the late 1800s, this kind of arrangement was not unusual. Many poor families sold young women and girls to work as servants (or even concubines) in wealthy households or brothels. These settings offered better living conditions and marriage prospects than peasant families could provide.
But procurers often misled poor families and neglected to formalize the arrangements. They instead sold young women and girls into sex work or domestic servitude. Liang’s procurer sold her to a brothel owner in San Francisco’s Chinatown. In San Francisco, a group of white Christian women came together to assist Chinese women and girls. They founded a Presbyterian Mission Home in 1874.
When Liang arrived in the United States, she plotted her escape. In 1889, she sought refuge at the Presbyterian Mission Home. The missionaries offered a safe place to stay as well as training based on middle-class, Christian values. They hoped to prepare Chinese women for marriage or religious service. Liang stayed at the Home for three years. She converted to Christianity, learned household tasks, and studied English, math, and Cantonese.
Marriage and Migration
By the early 1890s, most Chinese living in the United States were men. The Chinese Exclusion Acts restricted immigration based on gender, occupation, and income. These policies shut out most laborers and women, but granted entry to some students, tourists, diplomats, and merchants. When immigrant men wanted to marry, they returned to China or looked to mission organizations. With the missionaries' help, Liang married Woo Yee Sing on July 21, 1892. After their wedding, Liang joined her new husband in Minnesota.
Woo was one of the first Chinese immigrants to permanently settle in Minnesota. Due to Chinese Exclusion, the state's Chinese American population grew slowly, mostly from internal migration. During the 1870s, Woo came to the US to work at Gum Shan [Gold Mountain] in California. He and others soon migrated east to escape violence and racism in the west.
In Minneapolis, Woo became involved with Westminster Presbyterian Church, a cornerstone of the local Chinese American community. Woo started his own hand laundry business near the church. He also helped his brother Woo Du Sing and other relatives to emigrate. In 1883, the brothers founded Canton Restaurant, Minneapolis' first Chinese restaurant. By the 1890s, Woo's businesses and involvement with the church made him a leader within the small Chinese community (about 75 to 80 men in 1885).
Life in Minneapolis
With businesses that attracted both Chinese and white neighbors, the Woos helped to bridge cultural divides. In 1904, Liang opened her own Chinese curio shop next to Westminster Presbyterian Church, where she sold imported Chinese goods, including art, vases, and other artifacts. Her husband later opened Yee Sing and Company, a larger import business. In 1909, Canton Restaurant relocated and reopened as Yuen Faung Low [Exotic Fragrance from Afar]. Until its closing in the 1960s, it was more commonly known as John’s Place.
At Westminster church, the Woos attended integrated gatherings and church services in English. Through these activities, Liang befriended fellow churchgoers, white neighbors, and local missionaries. She also remained connected with friends at the mission in San Francisco. On a return visit in 1906, the Woos adopted a young boy named Howard.
Although Chinese Americans found Minnesota more welcoming than California, they still experienced racism. White students called Howard Woo racist names when he was in elementary and high school. In 1912, an unidentified assailant planted a small bomb in the stairway of Canton Restaurant. Howard later described damage to the front of the business and the stairway. “Everything was just piled down,” he recalled. He believed the attack was racially motivated.
Community Involvement and Later Life
The early 1900s saw the arrival of other Chinese women. Under Chinese Exclusion, merchants could only bring their wives and children to the US if they achieved a certain volume of trade each year. This included Liang’s sister-in-law, Woo Du Sing’s wife, and a new friend, Minnie Wong.
To foster connections across cultural differences, Liang and Minnie Wong created a new women’s organization within the church. They invited new arrivals to attend religious and social gatherings. These events helped recent immigrants to practice English and learn about American culture. For white women, these gatherings also promoted the acceptance of Chinese American women.
The outbreak of World War II brought significant changes, including the end of Chinese Exclusion in 1943 and the influx of 8,000 Chinese war brides after the war. Liang died in 1946, just long enough to witness the resurgence within the Chinese American community she had pioneered.
The content for this article was researched and written by Jade Ryerson, an intern with the Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education.
Bibliography
Chinn, Margaret Woo. Oral history interview with Sarah Mason. May 27, 1982. Asians in Minnesota Oral History Project. Minnesota Historical Society. https://media.mnhs.org/things/cms/10219/364/AV1982_159_1_M.pdf.
Lee, Erika. The Making of Asian America: A History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015.
Mason, Sarah R. “Chinese.” In They Chose Minnesota: A Survey of the State’s Ethnic Groups. Edited by June Drenning Holmquist. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1981.
———. “Liang May Seen and the Early Chinese Community in Minneapolis.” Minnesota History 54, no. 5 (1995): 223–33. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20187910.
Roise, Charlene K. and Christine A. Curran. “Westminster Presbyterian Church.” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. Hess, Roise, and Company, Minneapolis, June 26, 1998. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/98000716_text.
Woo, Howard. Oral history interview with Sarah Mason. October 9, 1981. Asians in Minnesota Oral History Project. Minnesota Historical Society. http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10395108.