March 1856 – Bear Valley, California: Sparsely Documented Murder of Unnamed Chinese Man

In March 1856, in or near Bear Valley (Mariposa County), a Chinese man was reportedly lynched by a mob. This event is one of two known lynchings of Chinese immigrants in 1856. Details are scarce. There is no known record of the victim's name, the specific date, the identities of the perpetrators, or the motive behind the attack. This incident reflects a broader pattern of underreported violence against Chinese immigrants. The white press and, by extension, the white community, viewed the extralegal murders of Chinese men as insignificant and undeserving of more in-depth reporting. What is clear, however, is that a Chinese man fell victim to a violent mob, likely comprised of miners acting in the name of law and order. The Bear Valley incident exemplifies the normalization of anti-Chinese violence by the mid-1850s. A Chinese sojourner could be lynched or shot, briefly acknowledged, and then forgotten. The reconstruction of such incidents aids in the remembrance and recognition of the obscured cost of racial terror directed toward Chinese immigrants, particularly when these tragic events leave only the slightest trace within the historical record.