Beneath the Steel: Chinese Railroad Workers, Lost Histories, and Art as Remembrance

Haoqing Yu

About this exposition

The histories, stories, and names of Chinese railroad workers who dedicated their lives to constructing the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad have remained in the shadows for over a century. Completed in 1869, the railroad was a monumental achievement in America’s ‘Manifest Destiny’ during the nineteenth century. But despite their contributions, the Chinese laborers have not received the recognition they deserve. This project seeks to remember Chinese railroad workers via arts-based research methods (ABR). Archives are not merely repositories of the past but also products of political power. In this light, the project poses a key methodological question: How can art-making critically reconfigure the power of archives and lost history? We seek to ask questions, initiate a dialogue, acknowledge the absence, and give form to the invisible. Building upon the historical recovery work of previous scholars, we reconstruct fragmented pieces through remixed artworks. The current article highlights key artworks that demonstrate the scope and variety of a much larger project (Yu 2025b). We dedicate this work to the Chinese master railroad builders––to the great-grandfathers––whose stories and names demand remembrance.

type	research exposition
keywords	AI ART, Archival Research, Arts-Based Research, Chinese Diaspora, Digital Art, U.S. Transcontinental Railroad
date	27/04/2025
published	25/10/2025
last modified	25/10/2025
status	published
affiliation	Georgetown University
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-ND
url	https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/3602132/3644184
doi	https://doi.org/10.22501/rc.3602132
published in	Research Catalogue

name	East and West Shaking Hand
copyright	Russell 1869
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Reunion. Haoqing Yu
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	pdf

name	Ghostly Pixel Pattern #1
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture, picture

name	Chinese, brown-glazed stoneware vessels with elaborate decoration
copyright	Photo Courtesy of the Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project (Voss and others 2018: 416)
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Ghostly Pixel Pattern #2
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Ghostly Pixel Pattern #3
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Ghostly Pixel Pattern #4
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Ghostly Pixel Pattern #5
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Ghostly Pixel Pattern #6
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Dr. Osborn holds sheets over the LED light to align the Chinese characters
copyright	J.R. Osborn; Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Initial printing organizing "The West" section
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	The East and The West. Haoqing Yu
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	pdf

name	The East and The West. A-O Markings
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	pdf

name	Figure 12. Stacks of printed patterns, a pencil, and a blade to trim the edges
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	One-Eyed Bossy Man
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	pdf

name	Blood Wall in Prison
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	pdf

name	Red overlay
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Collapse 崩
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	pdf

name	Bamboo. Ceramic Sherds. Haoqing Yu
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture, picture, picture, picture

name	Bamboo Pattern #1
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Bamboo Pattern #2
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Bamboo Pattern #3
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	China-produced ceramic tableware patterns commonly found at Chinese diaspora settlements.
copyright	Photo Courtesy of the Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project (Voss and others 2018: 416)
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Winter green porcelain rice bowl
copyright	Voss 2016: 168
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Double Happiness #1
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Double Happiness #2
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture, picture

name	China Wall
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	The "China Wall"
copyright	Khor 2016: 437
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Chinese Exclusion Act. Page 2
copyright	National Archives
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Chinese Exclusion Act. Page 3
copyright	National Archives
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Chinese Exclusion Act. Page 4
copyright	National Archives
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Chinese Exclusion Act. Page 5
copyright	National Archives
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Chinese Exclusion Act. Page 6
copyright	National Archives
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Blackout Poetry #1
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Blackout Poetry #2
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Blackout Poetry #3
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Blackout Poetry #4
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

name	Blackout Poetry #5
copyright	Haoqing Yu
license	CC BY-NC-SA
usages	picture

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Beneath the Steel: Chinese Railroad Workers, Lost Histories, and Art as Remembrance (2025)

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