Research Overview

Joe Lung, known in the China as 周秋龙, was part of an early generation of Chinese migrants whose lives unfolded between South China and Texas during the early twentieth century.

His story reveals a transpacific history of migration, property, and law.

In 1917, Joe Lung purchased a house in Austin, Texas. In that same year, his family completed Long Hui Lou (龙回楼), a fortified tower house in Kaiping, Guangdong.

These two structures—one in Texas and one in rural South China—stand today as physical traces of a migrant life that crossed continents.

Viewed together, they form a rare architectural archive of Chinese American history.

Research Questions

This dossier explores several historical questions:

• How did early Chinese migrants establish property ownership in Texas?
• What role did overseas migration play in the construction of Kaiping diaolou?
• How do built environments preserve migration histories?
• Why do debates over property rights for immigrants continue to recur in American law?

Historical Context

Alien Land Laws in the United States

From the late nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century, several American states enacted Alien Land Laws, restricting land ownership by immigrants who were “ineligible for citizenship.”

These laws primarily targeted Asian immigrants.

In Texas:

1891  Texas Alien Land Law passed (April 13)

1891  Law declared unconstitutional (December)

1892  Replacement law enacted

1965  Alien land restrictions repealed

Although Texas’s legal history differed from states such as California and Washington, the broader political climate reflected anxieties surrounding Asian immigration and land ownership.

Joe Lung’s purchase of a home in Austin in 1917 occurred within this legal and social environment.

Two Buildings, One Year

Austin and Kaiping, 1917

Austin, Texas

In 1917, Joe Lung purchased a residence in Austin, establishing a stable base for his family in the United States.

Property ownership was particularly significant for Chinese immigrants during this period, when legal and social barriers often limited economic mobility and civic participation.

The Austin house therefore represents more than a private residence—it reflects the presence of Chinese migrants in early twentieth-century Texas.

Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places

1605 Canterbury, The Lung House

Kaiping, Guangdong

In the same year, the Lung family completed Long Hui Lou (龙回楼) in their ancestral village in Kaiping.

Long Hui Lou belongs to the architectural tradition of Kaiping Diaolou, fortified tower houses constructed by overseas Chinese families between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

These towers served multiple functions:

• protection against banditry
• storage of wealth and valuables
• symbols of overseas success
• architectural expressions of diaspora identity

Today, the Kaiping Diaolou are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Long Hui Lou just completed in 1917 Kaiping, China

Architecture as Archive

Buildings often preserve histories that written archives cannot fully capture.

The Austin house represents an early Chinese presence in the American South—stories that are rarely recorded in mainstream urban histories.

Long Hui Lou, meanwhile, reflects a distinctive architectural tradition shaped by migration, remittances, and global exchange.

Together, these two structures form a transpacific archive of migration and family memory.

Contemporary Relevance

The Repetition of Law

More than a century after Joe Lung purchased property in Austin, debates surrounding foreign ownership of land resurfaced in Texas political discourse.

In 2023, proposed legislation sought to restrict property ownership by citizens of certain countries, including China.

For many Asian American communities in Texas, the proposal echoed earlier legal restrictions placed on immigrants during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Historical research into figures such as Joe Lung reveals how questions of citizenship, belonging, and property rights continue to shape American public life.

Oral History Research

AAACI is currently conducting oral history interviews with descendants connected to the Lung family and related migration networks.

These interviews document:

• family migration stories between Guangdong and Texas
• memories of Long Hui Lou and the ancestral village
• experiences of Chinese American communities in Texas
• reflections on identity across generations

These recordings will become part of the AAACI Community Archive.

Documentary Research

From Homeland to Hometown

This dossier forms part of the research foundation for the documentary project:

From Homeland to Hometown

The film explores how archival research, family memory, and architecture can illuminate overlooked chapters of Chinese American history.

The story of Joe Lung and Long Hui Lou serves as one of the film’s central narrative threads.

Archival Materials

Research materials related to this dossier include:

• property records in Austin, Texas
• family photographs and documents
• architectural documentation of Long Hui Lou
• oral history interviews with descendants
• historical research on Chinese migration in Texas

These materials are currently being compiled within the AAACI Community Archive Project.

Timeline

1891  Texas Alien Land Law enacted

1892  Revised land law adopted

1917  Joe Lung purchases home in Austin

1917  Long Hui Lou completed in Kaiping

1965  Alien land restrictions repealed

2023  Texas foreign land ownership debate

Research Credits

Research and documentation by:

Asian American Art & Culture Initiative (AAACI)

Research areas include:

• Asian American migration history
• community archives
• oral history documentation
• documentary film research
• public humanities

View Film Adaptation: Resonance – Joe Lung

AAACI Research Dossier No.001