How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
[Moon Shadow and Mother] could not go to live with [Father] for two reasons. For one thing, the white demons would not let wives join their husbands on the Golden Mountain because they did not want us settling there permanently. And for another thing, our own clans discouraged wives from leaving because it would mean as end to the money the husbands sent home to their families – money which was then spent in the Middle Kingdom. (1.4)
Moon Shadow's family cannot easily be together in America because of discriminatory laws limiting Chinese immigration. The belief was that allowing whole families to immigrate would lead to Chinese people settling and remaining in America for the long haul. Restrictive immigration laws were not only racially charged from the American front, but also economically charged from the Chinese government's perspective.