Migration And Ethnicity In Chinese History

This book analyzes the emergence of ethnic consciousness among Hakka-speaking people in late imperial China in the context of their migrations in search of economic opportunities. It poses three central questions: What determined the temporal and geographic pattern of Hakka and Pengmin (a largely Hakka-speaking people) migration in this era? In what circumstances and over what issues did ethnic conflict emerge? How did the Chinese state react to the phenomena of migration and ethnic conflict? To answer these questions, a model is developed that brings together three ideas and types of data: the analytical concept of ethnicity; the history of internal migration in China; and the regional systems methodology of G. William Skinner, which has been both a breakthrough in the study of Chinese society and an approach of broad social-scientific application. Professor Skinner has also prepared eleven maps for the book, as well as the Introduction. The book is in two parts. Part I describes the spread of the Hakka throughout the Lingnan, and to a lesser extent the Southeast Coast, macroregions. It argues that this migration occurred because of upswings in the macroregional economies in the sixteenth century and in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. As long as economic opportunities were expanding, ethnic antagonisms were held in check. When, however, the macroregional economies declined, in the mid-seventeenth and late eighteenth centuries, ethnic tensions came to the fore, notably in the Hakka-Punti War of the mid-nineteenth century. Part II broadens the analysis to take into account other Hakka-speaking people, notably the Pengmin, or "shack people.” When new economic opportunities opened up, the Pengmin moved to the peripheries of most of the macroregions along the Yangzi valley, particularly to the highland areas close to major trading centers. As with the Hakka, ethnic antagonisms, albeit differently expressed, emerged as a result of a declining economy and increased competition for limited resources in the main areas of Pengmin concentration.

This book analyzes the emergence of ethnic consciousness among Hakka-speaking people in late imperial China in the context of their migrations in search of economic opportunities. It poses three central questions: What determined the temporal and geographic pattern of Hakka and Pengmin (a largely Hakka-speaking people) migration in this era? In what circumstances and over what issues did ethnic conflict emerge? How did the Chinese state react to the phenomena of migration and ethnic conflict? To answer these questions, a model is developed that brings together three ideas and types of data: the analytical concept of ethnicity; the history of internal migration in China; and the regional systems methodology of G. William Skinner, which has been both a breakthrough in the study of Chinese society and an approach of broad social-scientific application. Professor Skinner has also prepared eleven maps for the book, as well as the Introduction. The book is in two parts. Part I describes the spread of the Hakka throughout the Lingnan, and to a lesser extent the Southeast Coast, macroregions. It argues that this migration occurred because of upswings in the macroregional economies in the sixteenth century and in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. As long as economic opportunities were expanding, ethnic antagonisms were held in check. When, however, the macroregional economies declined, in the mid-seventeenth and late eighteenth centuries, ethnic tensions came to the fore, notably in the Hakka-Punti War of the mid-nineteenth century. Part II broadens the analysis to take into account other Hakka-speaking people, notably the Pengmin, or "shack people." When new economic opportunities opened up, the Pengmin moved to the peripheries of most of the macroregions along the Yangzi valley, particularly to the highland areas close to major trading centers. As with the Hakka, ethnic antagonisms, albeit differently expressed, emerged as a result of a declining economy and increased competition for limited resources in the main areas of Pengmin concentration.

The twelve chapters included in this book address various issues related to Chinese migration, indigenization and exchange with special reference to the era of globalization. As the waves of Chinese migration started in the last century, the emphasis, not surprisingly, is placed on the “migrant states” rather than “indigenous states”. Nevertheless, many chapters are also concerned with issues of “settling down” and “becoming part of the local scenes”. However, the settling/integrating process has been interrupted by a globalizing world, new Chinese migration and the rise of China at the end of 20th century. Contents:Migration and Globalization:Migration, Localization and Cultural Exchange: Global Perspectives of Chinese OverseasThree Cultures of MigrationThe Huagong, the Huashang and the DiasporaNorth America:Immigrants from China to Canada: Issues of Supply and Demand of Human CapitalDeconstructing Parental Involvement: Chinese Immigrants in CanadaMigration, Ethnicity and Citizenry of Chinese Americans in Selected Regions of the USSouth and Southeast Asia:Territory and Centrality Among the Chinese in KolkataExamining the Demographic Developments Relating to the Ethnic Chinese in Vietnam Since 1954Integration, Indigenization, Hybridization and Localization of the Ethnic Chinese Minority in the PhilippinesElephant vs Tiger: A Comparative Analysis of Entrepreneurship of Two Prominent Southeast Asian Beer CorporationsChina and Chinese Overseas:Migration and China's Urban Reading Public: Shifting Representations of Overseas Chinese in Shanghai's Dongfang Zazhi (Eastern Miscellany) 1904–1948Return Chinese Migrants or Canadian Diaspora? Exploring the Experience of Chinese Canadians in China Readership: Students, professionals and general public who are interested in the field of study of Chinese Overseas regarding migration, indigenization and interaction. The book is mainly on Chinese migration, indigenization and exchange between ethnic Chinese and their host or adopted countries as well as between ethnic Chinese and China. Keywords:Chinese Overseas;Ethnic Chinese;Migration;Globalization;North America;South Asia;Southeast AsiaKey Features:This book attempts to cover various issues and regions, both the West and Asia. It is very topical and up-to-date. The contributors consist of both young and old writers. The senior writers are leading authorities in the field

The Chinese overseas comprise the 25 million or more who left China to settle abroad, and their families and descendents. The essays in this book draw mainly from Southeast Asia, but also with those Chinese who settled in North America, Australasia and other parts of Asia.

Iredale (human geography, U. of Wollongong, Australia), Naran Bilik (anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) and Wang Su (Chinese National Institute of Educational Research, Beijing) address particular aspects of the mobility of minority populations within China. They begin with existing census data, and draw on a targeted survey in four regions: Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang and Uyghur, and Beijing. They argue that while minorities have probably taken longer to start moving in significant numbers, they have now become part of the trend. The phenomena, they say, is manifestly urbanization. c. Book News Inc.

This volume presents nine articles about the development, migration, culture and identify of the ethnic minorities in socialist China. The articles in this volume, which originally appeared in Open Times (开放时代), broadly reflect the concerns, interests and perspectives of the Chinese scholars involved in the study of China’s ethnic minorities.

China is a nation made up of many different ethnicities - all of which owe their origins to various migration movements, even traditional Chinese agricultural societies. This vast and complex history of various people migrations, and the blending and intertwining of ethnicities forms the basis of this book. For readers interested in a detailed account as to how these various groups - including the Han, Mongols, Xianbei, and Tartars - emerged, spread, intermixed, and perhaps declined, there' s no need to look any further: many pages are dedicated to the customs, origins, and fates of these different peoples. As evidenced in the text, many customs and aspects of culture are borrowed from others, leading to a constant evolution of these ethnicities, and more broadly of China as a whole. Without such migration, there would be no modern Chinese nation. As made clear by the author, these great people movements underpin and form all civilizations throughout history: no single ethnic group exists in isolation, nor is impermeable from the influence of others. To better understand China' s contemporary make-up, please explore this volume further.

This book explores complex relations between violence, historical memory, and the production of "ethnicity" and "race." Some essays analyze the panicked "othering" that has led to violence against Chinese Indonesians, and to the little-known massacres of Hui Muslims in nineteenth century China and of Cheju Islanders in Korea in 1948.