Translation Sources

The translations used in AIIS Poetry Finder tool came from two definitive collections: Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940 (2nd Edition) by Him Mark Lai, Genny Lim, and Judy Yung, and Voices of Angel Island: Inscriptions and Immigrant Poetry, 1910-1945 by Charles Egan.

Room 115 | Voices 23: 寒月照梅花 | A cold moon shines on the plum blossoms

Island vs Voices Poetry

154 Chinese poems and inscriptions from the detention barracks have been recorded and translated: 102 are from Island and 52 are from Voices of Angel Island.

The poems are named and numbered after their sources. For example, Island 102 would be poem #102 from Island; Voices 22 is Chinese inscription #22 from Voices of Angel Island.

There are still dozens—if not hundreds—of untranslated poems and inscriptions on the barracks’ walls. Many are remnants of larger inscriptions that have been obscured by layers of paint, damaged, unfinished, or lost to time.

Wall Sections

Each room has wall illustrations showing where the inscriptions are found. The walls are labeled North, East, South, and West, then numbered from left to right. Clicking on the wall illustrations will open a separate page with the poems. Use the illustrations to match where they are on the wall.

Navigating the Barracks

Each room has a North, South, East, and West wall. NORTH is closest to the front of the building. SOUTH is closest to the back of the building. EAST is closest to the WWII Mess Hall. WEST is closest to San Francisco Bay.

Reading the Poetry

Chinese poetry is traditionally written in four vertical rows of seven characters each. Most of the barracks’ poems follow this tradition and can be read from top to bottom and from right to left. For modern audiences, these characters are presented horizontally, from left to right.

The Bureau of Immigration considered the poems “graffiti.” To repair the walls, they filled the carvings with putty and painted over them, making some poems illegible to modern-day scholars. Rather than omitting the missing text in their translations, they have included a “口” to show where a character should be found.

Audio Recordings

Poems include an audio recording* of it read in the poet's regional dialect. Cantonese is used if the poem doesn’t mention a location. The following dialects are represented: Cantonese, Dowmoon, Fah Yuen, Heungshan, and Toishanese.

*Audio recordings will open in a new window on your mobile device.

Acknowledgments

The ANGEL ISLAND IMMIGRATION STATION POETRY FINDER was adapted from the “Angel Island Immigration Station Carved Poem Locator,” an interpretive resource created by Angel Island State Park volunteers Sam Louie and Samuel Lee. Web design, graphics, and photography by Russell Nauman, Exhibitions Curator, AIISF.