Room 205 | Section S1

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Voices 2

勞盡鄉鄰憶想千計週貸數百餘圓
只愿經營墨國
儼如為取報應一般日求三次令尹
為何留困埃崙

搭差 [ 拿 ] [ 火 ] 船客作

I begged my friends and neighbors,
And thought of a thousand plans,
In order to borrow several hundred dollars,
Because I wanted to do business in Mexico.
It seems like I’m being punished for some transgression.
Three times I’ve asked the governor—
Why am I imprisoned on this island?

Written by a passenger from the Steamship China

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 110

千愁萬恨燃眉間
望登美洲難上難
番奴把我囚困此
列士英雄亦失顏

A thousand sorrows and a ten-thousand-fold hatred burn between my brows.
Hoping to step ashore on the American continent is the most difficult of difficulties.
The barbarians imprison me in this place.
Even a martyr or a hero would change countenance.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 49

埃崙居處日添愁
面亦黃兮身亦瘦
留難磋磨猶未了
最怕批消打回頭

陳題

Each day, my sorrow increases as I stay on Island.
My face, as well, grows sallow and my body, thin.
My detention and mistreatment have not yet ended.
I am afraid my petition will be denied and I, sent back.

By Chan

Listen to the poem in Fah Yuen ⏯

Island 88

為口奔馳須忍辱
咬牙秉筆錄情由
同胞發達回唐日
再整戰艦伐美洲

For the sake of the mouth, I rushed about and must tolerate humiliation.
I gritted my teeth, clutched the brush, and recorded the circumstances.
The day my compatriots become prosperous and return to China,
They should once more outfit battleships to punish America.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 46

東走亞兮西走歐
南來北美苛禁愁
任君入到囚困地
若不流涕也低頭

I went east to Asia; I went west to Europe.
From south, I come to North America, where the harsh exclusion laws cause me worry.
Allowing you to enter the place of imprisonment,
Even if you don't shed tears, you will lower your head.

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

Island 115

阻攔上埠實堪憐
撥回祖國也心驚
無面見江東父老
只望求富反求貧

Barred from landing, I really am to be pitied.
My heart trembles at being deported and sent back home.
I cannot face the elders east of the river.
I came to seek wealth but instead reaped poverty.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 16

梓里成群千金不惜圖走美
同胞數百巨資投擲困埃崙

Flocks of fellow villagers do not refrain from spending thousands of gold pieces to get to America.
Several hundred compatriots invested huge sums but are now imprisoned on Island.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 96

想起愁來題首詩
因為家窮走花旗
只望來到登岸易
誰知番奴轉例規
刺耳驗血兼驗屎
影有勾蟲須調治
取得洋蚨數十餘
困在醫房苦愁悲
未知何日得痊癒
若得脫身奮志日
一排走清唔向倚
免至凌辱受鬼欺
梓里一看宜謹記
寫我狂言留後知

When I began reflecting, I became sad and composed a poem.
It was because my family was poor that I left for the country of the Flowery Flag.
I only hoped that when I arrived it would be easy to go ashore.
Who was to know the barbarians would change the regulations?
They stab the ear to test the blood, and in addition they examine the excrement.
If there is even a shadow of hookworms, one must be transferred to undergo a cure.
They took several dozen foreign dollars.
Imprisoned in the hospital, I was miserable with grief and sorrow.
I do not know when I will be cured.
If I should escape one day, I need to return to my aspirations.
I will leave this place once and for all and not depend on it,
Thus avoiding humiliation and oppression by the devils.
My fellow villagers seeing this should take heed and remember;
I write my wild words to let those after me know.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Voices 52

大中華民國萬萬歲
中國
廣東
四陸紀念
愛群社
花開富貴
口黄口
何趙吴黄馮林梁

Long live the great Republic of China!
China
Guangdong
Remembering April 6
Love for the Multitudes Society
Blooming flowers, wealth, and nobility
??, Huang, ??
He, Zhao, Wu, Huang, Feng, Lin, Lian

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

Translations:
Egan, Charles. Voices of Angel Island: Inscriptions and Immigrant Poetry, 1910-1945. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021.

Lai, H. Mark, Genny Lim, and Judy Yung, eds. Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940. Second edition. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014.