China and Southeast Asia's Ethnic Chinese: State and Diaspora in Contemporary Asia

Book Description

Bolt uses the relationship between China and Southeast Asia's ethnic Chinese as a case study, and he focuses on the potential role of a diaspora in the economic and political development of its "homeland" as well as the role of the state in dealing with transnational economic actors. He examines China's post-1978 policy of attracting ethnic Chinese investment in light of historical relations between China and its diaspora community, demonstrating that China has, through various measures, consistently aimed at tapping the resources of Asia's ethnic Chinese. He then analyzes the contributions that ethnic Chinese have made to China's development, showing that such contributions have been tremendously important both in terms of the accumulation of capital and the transfer of business skills. Bolt probes how ethnic Chinese intervention in China's economy has affected the politics of the Chinese state. He concludes by looking at the international implications of Chinese development being spurred largely by a Chinese diaspora community, and he demonstrates how China's efforts to attract ethnic Chinese investments have complicated China's relations with Southeast Asia and led to discussions of a "Greater China." An important analysis for scholars, researchers, and policy makers involved with contemporary Southeast Asian and Chinese political, military, and economic issues.

Sons of the Yellow Emperor: A History of the Chinese Diaspora (Kodansha Globe)

Average customer rating:

Wonderful Introduction
Know your Chinese -or else
Over-patriotism?
Excellent Read
An informative traipse through history

Sons of the Yellow Emperor: A History of the Chinese Diaspora (Kodansha Globe)
Lynn Pan
Manufacturer: Kodansha Globe
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1568360320

Book Description

THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF THE WORLD'S GREATIEST CONTINUING MIGRATION

The Chinese Diaspora stretches all over the world. It represents the most widespread and prolonged series of migrations by one nation ever. Chinese emigrants have been tycoons in Hong Kong and America, coolies in Peru and South Africa, underworld gangsters in San Francisco and Bangkok. Today,
whether as near-slave laborers on illicit planes and freighters, or as bankers and traders from a world network of high finance, the Chinese are on the move as much as ever.

In this rich blend of history, biography, and travel, noted author Lynn Pan recounts why emigrants have left China; how their dispersal has been shaped and stimulated by imperialist Western powers; and how the all-male frontier groups were transformed into complex communities organized by clan,
dialect, and secret society. In the process, she takes us inside the supposedly closed world of the overseas Chinese and shows how, in a curious boomerang effect, these expatriates are currently changing the supposedly eternal face of China-perhaps forever. A new afterword by the author comments on
the ironies that result when multiculturalism and emigrant culture meet head-on.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Introduction.......2007-05-13

This book is a great introduction to the Chinese diaspora. I found it very well written and insightful.

Know your Chinese -or else.......2005-10-07

Anyone visiting the Far East should read this book which will explain to them how, when and why various ethnic groupings now exist in places you would not expect to find them. This well researched publication shows the determination of the Chinese race against slavery, corruption and manipulation caused by the greed of powerful rulers from both East and West. Nobody who reads this will ever underestimate the Chinese again. A powerful and imformative book based on historical truth.

Over-patriotism?.......2005-06-24

In my quest to trace down the roots of my existence, I came across this book called, "Sons of the Yellow Emperor - A history of Chinese Diaspora". It is supposed to be an account of the Chinese migration all over the world in the last six centuries.

This book has 18 chapters and I could talk in length about each one of them. But I'll talk about only one and I think you'll get the gist.

First of all, this book is not an easy read even for history fanatics such as my-self. There were times I wondered where the author was going and what was she trying to do. This book is all over the place.

For example, there's a chapter in the book called hybrids. I think the author was trying to show or tell you the evolution of the Chinese overseas. In this particular chapter, she was trying to talk about the Chinese-mestizo class in Manila.

The chapter turned out to be a biography collection of very successful Chinese families in the Philippines. She talked about the "Cojuangcos" in length. From the very first "Cojuangco" who migrated from China to the Philippines in 1841 to Corazon Aquino who became president of the Philippines. The Cojuangco, btw, are one of the richest families in the Philippines.

I'm not denying the creativity, resiliency, intelligence, perseverance, and dedication that most Chinese seem to have. But c'mon! We can all smell when someone is stretching the truth right? I mean she conveniently does not tell the reader that the Chinese-mestizo class in the Philippines prospered not just because of their qualities but mostly because the "ruling class" in the 19th century, wanted and allowed them to prosper. The author wants the reader to believe that the Cojuangcos are where they are now because of pure hard work, dedication, and good business sense. I'm sorry but this is bull!

While we're on this chapter, she also talked about the life of Jose Rizal, a Chinese-meztizo who happens to be the national hero of the Philippines. Jose Rizal wrote a couple of novels that theoretically ignited the Philippine revolution against Spain.

Had the author not be so blinded by her own pride and over-patriotism, she would have done a lot more research and realized that a lot of other Filipino consider Andres Bonifacio, founder and leader of the rebellion against the Spaniards, to be the national hero.

The author would have realized that Andres wasn't made the national hero because the Philippine government does not want to condone arms rebellion. The government doesn't want the people to idolize someone who would shoot them if they oppress the people for 400 years. They rather have you write about them in a novel.

But I guess the truth wouldn't have made sense in the book because Andres Bonifacio doesn't have a single ounce of Chinese blood in him.

Since race is necessarily a theme of the book, the author made a note on the preface about her ethnicity. She mentioned on this preface that she had better say something about herself so that the reader may judge for himself where her bigotries might be expected to lie. She was born in Shanghai and grew up in England. oops I almost forgot, in the preface section, she also talked about her cousin in Boston who made her first million before her thirty-third birthday.

Well... Is she a bigot? Probably not. but sometimes there's a fine line between pride and prejudices.

Now... I think I better say something about myself as well. I grew up in the Philippines. My ancestor's were Chinese mestizos, and I'm very proud of my lineage. Go to chingcuangco.com if you still doubt my lineage and possible agenda.

The book turned out to be a mix of history, biography, the author's travel experiences, etc. All designed to make you feel good about having Chinese blood. and it works!

This book is informative. I learned a lot that I didn't know before but I'm also experience enough to know when someone is blowing smoke in my face, selling black propaganda as a history book.

Excellent Read.......2004-12-20

This book makes an ideal anthropological study of Chinese that immigrated overseas, particularly to the South East Asian countries. My Western friends had this discussions with me before that he's fascinated by the fact that no matter where he travelled to in all corners of the world, even at far reaching places such as a town bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, there stood Chinese restaurant! Therefore, I always posed this question, why do Chinese end up where they end up? Don't they want to go back to China (home) or that they are already home? The author endeavoured to analyse what motivated the Chinese to leave their homeland at the first place. It was new to me to discover that at earlier stages of Chinese vovage to present day, we were at the short end of the slave trade. There were indepth discussions of "Yellow Peril", of obstacles that had been implemented to obstruct the flow of Chinese immigrants to the host countries including USA. Poignantly, it brought to the fore about the double standards of America then where it had the Statue of Liberty to welcome immigrants from Italy and Ireland and yet, the President of the time signed the creed to prevent Chinese from getting through. There were discussions about love and hate relationships between the natives and the Chinese, and colonists and the Chinese. Whilst they despised Chinese, they couldn't and wouldn't live without them either. Once in a while, violences would be inflicted to the latter and then, they would go away as quickly as they appeared. There were lively discussions of the well-to-do overseas Chinese such as Madame Wellington Koo, Tan Kah Kee, Aw Boon Haw & Par (who brought us the famous Tiger Balm), Lee Kuan Yew, Bruce Lee, Liem Sioe Liang, Li Ka Tsing, et cetera to give us different perspectives of how those people saw themselves fitting into the social contexts of the time. There was also mentioning of fictitious characters created by Westerners such as Fu Manchu that stereotyped Chinese to have those Chineseness traits. As the saying goes, people eat to live whilst Chinese lives to eat. How true. A chapter is dedicated to that and the author even managed to demyth about the origin of fortune cookie and Chop Suey! A session was dedicated to the formation of the Triads, their hierarchies, different organisations, and their motivations. The part that I found close to my heart would be the differences between the first, second, and third generations of immigrants. All of them have had different way of seeing themselves, seeing China, having different kind of mentality and values. The book continued to describe about the immigrants to South East Asia who would subsequently immigrate to Western countries. By then, the kind of immigrants have changed from the previous that needed to start from scratch to the present that are already well-to-do. The book questioned if there's anything to present China that would attract the overseas Chinese to finally returning home. Please be mindful that the book was written in 1990 and she wouldn't have anticipated dramatic transformation in China that would make Napoleon's prophecy coming true: the dragon has and is finally awakened, and thus, the whole world shudders by its sheer might. Thumbs up to Lynn Pann for covering thoroughly the local politics in various countries, and thumbs up to her for writing such an insightful book that's definitely not piece-meal but thorougly researched. It's impressive that she could tackle such complex subjects & condense them into a constructive & cohesive book that's so much enjoyable to read. Her epilogue is succinct but true, that is, we yearn to be Chinese only when we are far away from China. Highly recommended.

An informative traipse through history.......2000-01-24

First of all, let me say that this is not light reading. Lynn Pan was on a mission when she began researching this book and she left no stone unturned. The immeasureable hours that she must have put into the preliminary parts of the actual writing shine through brightly. Miss Pan obviously was or became well traveled in preparation for this book seeing as how it covers the Chinese diaspora all across the globe. Her personal experiences in England and some in the U.S. no doubt were the cornerstones of the inspiration for this monumental work but the immense scope of the finished product is a true gift to the Chinese community. Tracing the immigration patterns of the Chinese focusing mainly on the last two centuries, Sons of the Yellow Emperor is an in depth look at the hot spots across the world where the Chinese have taken up residence. From Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the U.S., England, Canada, Australia and so on, Miss Pan has outlined the defining characteristics of the places and people dwelling therein down to the very mainland roots of the different Chinese sects, Hokien, Fukien, etc., and their influences in the regions they spread into as well as how they were influenced by those regions. To top it all off, Miss Pan breaks each section down into short biographies of certain influential historical figures, showing their relevence to their time and place and what bearing they had within the history of the Chinese diaspora. I won't pretend to be educated on this topic at all, but I can tell you that Lynn Pan has eked out a summation of a new branch of history, and done so in such a manner as to be exhaustively informative and delightfully entertaining. Recently, I was in a bookstore and saw her newest work. I suppose it is an addendum to Sons of the Yellow Emperor. It is an Encyclopedia of the Chinese Diaspora huge and filled to the brim with captioned photographs and more insight into this branch of historical writing. Well done; and both works certainly fill a void and bring something of great interest to light for anyone curious.

Average customer rating:

a very varied group

The Chinese Diaspora
Carolyn Cartier , Laurence J. C. Ma , and Carolyn L. Cartier
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Emigration & Immigration | Administrative Law | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Human Geography | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 074251756X

Book Description

Leading scholars in the field consider the profound importance of meanings of place and the spatial processes of mobility and settlement for the Chinese overseas. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Customer Reviews:

a very varied group.......2005-02-15

The authors give us an engaging look at the Overseas Chinese. A varied and largely successful diaspora, ranging from south east Asia to the Pacific and the Americas, and onto Europe. American and Australian readers may note the role that the Chinese helped play, in the development of these regions. Especially in the gold rushes of the 19th century, from California to Ballarat.

The book also explains how the success of this diaspora helped in some fashion to keep alive an inspiration of business during the decades of communism in China. Till eventually a pragmatic change in government policy, and the encouragement of overseas investment, helped benefit millions in China. There is an irony here. A nominally communist China is now writing a new chapter in the history of world capitalism.

Chinese Women Traversing Diaspora: Memoirs, Essays, and Poetry (Gender, Culture and Global Politics, 3)

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Chinese Women Traversing Diaspora: Memoirs, Essays, and Poetry (Gender, Culture and Global Politics, 3)
Sharon K. Hom
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Women Writers & Feminist Theory | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Civil Rights & Liberties | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Women Writers | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Emigration & Immigration | Administrative Law | Law | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Literature & Fiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0815333315

Book Description

The contributors to this volume were born in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong; they have been immigrants, foreign students, settlers, permanent residents, citizens, and-above all-"travelers." They are both geographic inhabitants of various overseas diaspora Chinese communities as well as figurative inhabitants of imagined heterogeneous and hybrid communities. Their migratory histories are here presented as an interdisciplinary collection of texts in distinctive voices: law professor, journalist, historian, poet, choreographer, film scholar, tai-chi expert, translator, writer, literary scholar.

Cosmopolitan Capitalists: Hong Kong and the Chinese Diaspora at the End of the Twentieth Century

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Cosmopolitan Capitalists: Hong Kong and the Chinese Diaspora at the End of the Twentieth Century

Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Conditions | International | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Hong Kong | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Emigration & Immigration | Administrative Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Emigration & Immigration | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

From Tian'anmen to Times Square: Transnational China and the Chinese Diaspora on Global Screens, 1989-1997

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From Tian'anmen to Times Square: Transnational China and the Chinese Diaspora on Global Screens, 1989-1997
Gina Marchetti
Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1592132782

Book Description

Global perceptions of China have changed dramatically since the massive student protests that took place in Tian'anmen Square in April 1989. The media spotlight trained on Beijing, and the international uproar over the events of that spring still shape the world's perceptions of the People's Republic and the ways that Chinese people, within and beyond China, see and portray themselves.

In From Tian'anmen to Times Square, leading film scholar Gina Marchetti considers the complex changes in the ways that China and the Chinese have been portrayed in cinema and media arts since the Tian'anmen revolt. Drawing on her interviews with leading contemporary Chinese filmmakers, Marchetti looks at a wide range of work by Chinese and non-Chinese media artists working in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore and on transnational co-productions involving those places. Focusing on the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality on global screens, Marchetti traces the momentous political, cultural, social, and economic forces confronting contemporary media artists and filmmakers working within "Greater China."

Average customer rating:

Fragmented account with multiple threads but interesting for its photos and overview

Hua Song: Stories of the Chinese Diaspora
C. S. Lim , and Su-chen Christine Lim
Manufacturer: Long River Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
General | China | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
Multicultural | Contemporary Methods | Education Theory | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Asian American Studies | Special Groups | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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essays on the chinese diaspora in the caribbean

ASIN: 1592650430

Product Description

Hua Song: Stories of the Chinese Diaspora, is a rich photographic record of the history of overseas Chinese communities throughout the world. Christine Lim shows how the Chinese came to settle in North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Southeast Asia, India, Europe, South America, and all parts of the globe. Lim has assembled oral histories, remembrances, testimonials, and hundreds of rare photographs to form a fascinating yet intimate historical tapestry immense in both breadth and scope. These are the stories of a migration of a people, their hopes, fears, aspirations, and dreams for a better life.

Customer Reviews:

Fragmented account with multiple threads but interesting for its photos and overview.......2006-03-17

Rather fragmented account of overseas chinese, reads like a cut and paste work of a collection of anecdotes, poems, excerpts of articles. However the collection of photos and bite-sized snippets form an interesting collage of the human struggle, motivation and life of the chinese diaspora.

essays on the chinese diaspora in the caribbean

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essays on the chinese diaspora in the caribbean

Manufacturer: walton look lai
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Hua Song: Stories of the Chinese Diaspora

ASIN: 9768193778
Release Date: 2006-10-07

Product Description

collection of 19 essays on the chinese in the entire caribbean region: english, french, dutch and spanish-speaking, written by academics, professionals and creative writers from the territories themselves.

Martial Acts: Gender, Sexuality, and Identity Among the Chinese Thai Diaspora

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Martial Acts: Gender, Sexuality, and Identity Among the Chinese Thai Diaspora
Jiemin Bao
Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0824828798

Book Description

Succeeding waves of migration, from China to Thailand and from Thailand to the United States, have helped shape the identities of three generations of diasporic Chinese Thai. In this exciting new study, Jiemin Bao focuses on how cultural identities—as seen through the lens of marriage—play a central role in the formation of cultural citizenship. By challenging models of cultural identity that separate gender, sexuality, and class into discrete domains of analysis, Bao examines the competing roles of sex/gender, class, and race/ethnicity in shaping the ongoing construction of Chinese Thai identities in contemporary Bangkok and the San Francisco Bay area.

Marriage has long been treated as a mechanism of assimilation in the anthropological literature on diasporic Chinese: the Chinese "minority" is absorbed into the dominant "majority" through intermarriage. Bao approaches marriage differently, viewing it not only as an institution that fosters and reproduces fundamental ideas of masculinity and femininity, but also as a site where the various categories of ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality—the stuff of identity—intersect. Through a fine-grained analysis of the lives of men and women and the language that three generations use to talk about their experiences in different locales, Bao powerfully demonstrates how masculine and feminine identities are both classed and ethnicized in Thailand and the United States.

Nuanced and provocative, Marital Acts shows how diasporic Chinese are both self-making and being made, not once, but twice—first in the society in which they are born and second in the society to which they migrate.

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Being Chinese: Voices from the Diaspora
Wei Djao
Manufacturer: University of Arizona Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cultural | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Ethnic Studies | Special Groups | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Sons of the Yellow Emperor: A History of the Chinese Diaspora (Kodansha Globe)

ASIN: 0816523029

Book Description

Twenty-two Chinese living and working outside of China--ordinary people from all walks of life--tell us something about their lives and about what it means to be Chinese in non-Chinese societies. We meet individuals who, while loyal to their countries of citizenship, continue to observe the customs of their ancestral home to varying degrees, whether performing rites in memory of ancestors, practicing fengshui, wearing jade for good luck, or giving out red packets of lucky money for New Year.

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THE PINNACLE OF LIFE: Consciousness and Self-Awareness in Humans and Animals
Dr. Derek (New copy, On Sale) Denton
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OF0MIQ

Average customer rating:

An older, very interesting examination of consciousness.

Consciousness is an evolutionary advantage

Consciousness is an evolutionary advantage

The Pinnacle of Life: Consciousness and Self-Awareness in Humans and Animals
Derek Denton
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Self-Help | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Science | Subjects | Books
Comparative | Movements | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0062511246

Customer Reviews:

An older, very interesting examination of consciousness........2002-04-29

Dr. Denton is a keen biological observer (a physiologist by trade) of the phenomenon of consciousness both human and animal. Two things about this book that make it a worthwhile purchase. First is the discussion of experiments conducted on secondary awareness, or self-awareness as performed on higher primates. Second is Denton's interview with one of the last great metaphysical dualists known in our time, Sir John Eccles. His interview with natural historian Miriam Rothschild is very insightful reading as well.

Denton seriously wants to know how mammalian neural machinery gives rise to what we call human consciousness and what its precursors are in our animal cousins. His work parallels that of American Gerald Edelman in some respects as the two scientists make hay of primary, sensual consciousness in contrast to secondary, cognitive awareness of primary sensual consciousness; otherwise known as self-awareness. Edelman goes into more detail but Denton fairly covers the gist of this distinction.

Denton is clearly a materialst in his scientific view of brains and how they give rise to consciousness. He clearly states so when he ventures "consciousness is indivisibly a function of the brain...without the function of the brain there is no mind, no consciousness...no soul...if a person is inseperablem from his brain it is senseless to ask which of them controls the other." Obviously neither controls the other, they are one. Long live the death of mind/body dualism; if only our species could just make it over that one little hurdle. With Denton however, we have a monistic materialist at the helm; always an edifying prospect.

He runs through the standard litany of neuroanatomy and neurophysiological diagrams and definitions, attending well to the important RAS, reticular activating system in the brain stem which coordinates the lower, unconscious neural functions with the upper, corticallly conscious neural systems. This trails off into case studies of hemispheric differentiation and REM dream function; studies on the adaptive function of why we dream.

Denton covers his share of philosophy and animal correlates in this relaxing little book. The book ends merrily with interviews of naturalist Miriam Rothschild, Nobel Prize winning biologist Sir John Eccles, and Dr Donald Griffith. A fine, unpretentious essay on human and animal consciousness and its probable neural correlates, with some astounding interviews by some astounding people.

Consciousness is an evolutionary advantage.......2002-01-02

This book presents both monoist (spirit and brain are one) and dualist (spirit is independent but connected to the brain) theories of the brain-spirit problem but clearly favors the monoist one. The author presents the consciousness (and self-consciousness) as an evolutive advantage.
The book includes a lot of explanations, experiments and anecdotal stories about the human brain to show that consciousness is directly related to the brain and how some high-level functions of the mind are mapped to different regions of the brain.
The author demonstrates empirically that many animals are conscious and some are even self-conscious. There are plenty of examples of fascinating animal behaviours showing this.
The book is also filled with citations and extracts of literature and poetry which make this book not only of an academic nature but also very enjoyable to read.
The appendix contains transcribed interviews with Miriam Rothschild, Sir John Eccles and Dr Donald Griffin. The bibliography is adequate (~75 entries) but the text does not refer to the entries - the entries are said to have been _consulted_ during the writing of the book.
I recommend this book to anyone fascinated to the consciousness (human and animal) and how it emerges from an evolution point of view.

Consciousness is an evolutionary advantage.......2002-01-02

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