| Peter Chow | |
[[Image: | |
|---|---|
| Biographical Information | |
| Race: | Chinese |
| Occupation: | Railroad Worker |
| Origin: | China |
| Production Details | |
| First Appearance: | The Train |
| Last Appearance: | Hell on Wheels |
| Episode Count: | 3 |
| GALLERY | |
Played by Eric Michael Zee.
Peter Chow represents the historical use of Chinese workers in the building of the United State's transcontinental railroad during the 1860s. In Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, he makes three appearances, each time in an episode focusing on the railroad expansion.
He is the adopted son of Jackson Tate, the chief surveyor for the Kansas Pacific Railroad. He is named for the town of Petersburg, where his father died. As Peter tells Colleen, the Chinese believe in taking a new name at turning points in their lives, and the loss of his father was a great turning point.
Colleen and Peter form a close friendship, and her diagnosis of Peter's malaria marks the first time Colleen made a solo diagnosis.
In his first appearance in The Train, it's Dr. Mike's hospitable treatment of Peter's malaria when another doctor refused to treat a "Chinaman" that ultimately leads Tate to recommend the Denver and Rio Grande trains travel south through Colorado Springs instead of Soda Springs. Jackson Tate says that the committee of the Kansas Pacific Railroad usually acts on his recommendation. Jackson Tate and Peter return in Things My Father Never Taught Me.
Vital Information[]
- Railroad worker from China
- Has a wife and son at home in China to whom he sends his earnings