My article about Lily Chow and my acquaintance with her was published on Lahoo.ca, a popular Chinese media. For the full article on Lahoo.ca, please visit here.
Chinese Canadian Historian Lily Chow Named to Order of Canada
By Eileen Lao, Special for Lahoo.ca, December 31, 2020
On December 29, 2021, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor-General of Canada, announced 135 appointments to the Order of Canada. This is our country’s highest civilian honours. BC Chinese-Canadian Historian Lily Chow is recognized for preserving and promoting the history of early Chinese immigrants to Canada and their contributions to the country’s social and economic development.
Credit: Steve Chow
Created in 1967, the Order of Canada recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation. The appointees include Companions (C.C.), Officers (O.C.), honorary Member and Members (C.M.). Lily Chow is one of the Members (C.M.) appointees.
An outstanding academic, historian and author
Lily has devoted herself to research and writing for decades. She has published four books about the history of Chinese Canadians over the past 20 years:
• Sojourners in the North (1996)
• Chasing Their Dreams (2000)
• Blood and Sweat over the Railway Tracks (2014)
• Blossoms in the Gold Mountains (2018)
Lily’s first book Sojourners in the North won the Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Award. This book and another one Chasing Their Dreams were translated into Chinese by the Wuyi University, Jiangmen District, Guangdong Province and “distributed various colleges and universities in Guangzhou (Canton), Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Xiamen (Fujian) for scholars and students to learn about the Chinese immigration and settlements in British Columbia.”
Her 5th book about Chinese Canadian history in Kootenay, a district in the southeastern of British Columbia, has been completed. It’s yet to publish due to the pandemic.
In honor of Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, 2020, Lily released her essay: Tragic Legacies: The Residential School System in Canada (1876-1998).
To recognize her long-time contributions to the community, Lily was awarded the Queen’s diamond jubilee medal twice. She was honoured with an eponymous award – Lily Chow Cedar-Bamboo Heritage Award by the British Columbia Historical Federation in 2020.
Connect with Lily through Barkerville
From left： Eileen Lao, former Barkerville CEO July Campbell, and Lily Chow
Lily is the first board member for multiculturalism at Barkerville Heritage Trust, the governance body of the Barkerville Historic Town and Park.
Over her nine years with the board, she has been dedicated to promoting the history and contributions of early Chinese Canadians to the province of B.C. and across the country. She also extended her network to China to raise Barkerville’s awareness internationally.
As early as 2005, she learned that the then governor of Guangdong Province (also the sister province of B.C.) was about to lead a large official and trade delegation to visit B.C. Lily was hoping to invite a small group of delegates to tour Barkerville. Coincidently, I was the one who facilitated the Guangdong delegation at the Canadian Consulate General in Guangzhou. Due to the delegation’s tight schedule, logistics challenges, and little knowledge about Barkerville, we were unable to recruit a group to make this trip to the Cariboo. We became friends. That was my first time learning about Cariboo Gold Rush and Barkerville.
On my second year moving to Canada, Lily nominated me to replace her as the director for multiculturalism at the Barkerville Heritage Trust when she announced her retirement from the board after nine-year services. I joined Lily to Barkerville for the first board meeting, her last one in 2009. That was my first time visiting Barkerville, the largest city north of Chicago and west of San Francisco back in 19 century and western Canada’s largest heritage attraction today. I fell in love with this gold rush town right away.
Joining Barkerville Heritage Trust has opened a new window for a new Canadian from South China. When I joined at the 1st board meeting with Lily, her last one, among other 13 board members from various political or professional backgrounds, I knew I had some big shoes to fill. Lily has been a great mentor for me. I am very grateful for her inspiration and guidance then and now.
Barkerville has the oldest Chinese Freemason building in Canada. In 2007, the Chee Kung Tong Building in Barkerville was designated a National Historic Site of Canada because it illustrates the community building among immigrant Chinese labourers and merchants in new settlements throughout Canada in the 19th century, and it is a rare surviving example of a Chee Kung Tong structure in Canada. Lily is a strong advocate and supporter to make this happen.
After departure from Barkerville, Lily joined the board of the New Pathways to Gold Society until 2020.
“I am just an Advocate for Multiculturalism”
In her response to my congratulatory message, Lily said, “I am very grateful to all my colleagues and friends who have helped me arrive here! I am just an advocate for multiculturalism but firmly believe that it is necessary to address and repeal justice for people of minority, and to document the wonderful relationships between the indigenous people and the Chinese immigrants/Canadians, not only in British Columbia but also in the entire country, Canada where we call home today.”
Congratulations to Lily. My salute to this extraordinary lady!
About the author
Eileen Lao is a constituency assistant for Michael Lee, MLA for Vancouver Langara. She was the public affairs manager at S.U.C.C.E.S.S., the largest social service agency in British Columbia. Before that, she worked for the Canadian Consulate General in Guangzhou as the public affairs officer and trade commissioner. She was the director-at-large for multiculturalism and secretary of Barkerville Heritage Trust for nine years.
For the full article on Lahoo.ca, please visit here. https://lahoo.ca/2021/12/31/230691
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