The article of Suchang Chan, The Chinese Diaspora, focuses on the history of emigration of the Chinese from the time of the collie trade in the 15th century up to the present. Chen defines diaspora as the emigration of the Chinese to so many parts of the world (Chan, p.7 ) This term has been used in the social sciences to refer to the international emigration of different peoples to various part of the globe, driven by the attractiveness of job opportunities outside of their homelands. It refers to the mass emigration or large movement of people belonging to the same ethnic identity.
There is greater mobility of people today which enables different types of diaspora and that of the Chinese comprises one among many. Chan mentioned that the emigration of the Chinese in the United States is one big segment of this diaspora. This massive movement of the Chinese began in the 15th century when there was a great demand for laborers called. coolies to work in plantations, mines, road building, and other hazardous jobs. The Chinese were willing to do hard labor in order for them to survive in foreign lands. Chinese emigration was influenced by geography, trade patterns, shipping routes, and European incursions throughout the history of Chinese diaspora. The focus of Chans article is mainly on the Chinese emigration to California and she only gave a background to the phenomenon in order to trace its history.
Diaspora and the Chinese Emigration Experience
The Chinese emigration experience can be characterized into waves or phases. Those Chinese ethnic groups that lived in isolated places in China were the first to emigrate, seeking better life. The second wave of emigration happened when the steamers were invented. There were already steamships that plied the ocean trough travel to Hog Kong as entry point or a stop over a made possible That most of the passengers of these steamers were young male Chinese, still in their teens, was not an accident. They had to be filled with hope and dreams and courage to make it big in a new country. The sea voyage was a perilous one. Many faced rough seas, bitterly cold winds, pirates, and possibly hostile shores. The historical accounts of Pan (1998) who edited the book, Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas, say this about Fujian Highlands cover as much as 95 per cent of the total area, leaving little room for coastal plains and river valleys, thus, limiting average acreage.
The farmers of Fujian were said to lament the fact that their soil was far from fertile, forcing them to import sweet potato and rice, the Chinese staple food, from Zhejang, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia The province suffered heavily from hundreds of famines that visited the land during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. As a result, many Fujianese fled the province and moved to nearby places in Mainland China, and many likewise migrated to Southeast Asia. Since the 17th century, the people of Fujian have emigrated in large numbers, chiefly to Southeast Asia.
Thus, in the history of Chinese diaspora, Fujian has accounted for the majority of overseas Chinese. They were mostly farmers and fishermen driven by poverty to search for a better life in the neighboring countries of Southeast AsiaThailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and, the Philippines. Only the Chinese peasants had the motivation to leave China. The Chinese intellectuals were financially comfortable and did not feel compelled to migrate.
Commentary
I do agree that the Chinese diaspora happened because different ethnic groups of Chinese began to emigrate in great numbers in different places not only in Chinas vast continent, but also in various part of the globe. The dialects spoken by these Chinese ethnic groups became the distinguishing characteristics of these various waves of emigration that occurred throughout centuries of Chinas history. Indeed, the Chinese peasants, farmers, and artisans, were the first to emigrate, leaving behind their life of poverty and hunger. The irony was that their emigration to other countries only brought them other forms of hardship such as maltreatment from foreign employers, hard labor, and lower wages. I also agree that the Chinese emigration can be divided historically into two phases according to which Chinese ethnic groups were emigrating and according to the motivation that drove them to leave their native places to go abroad.
The article, though, was limited only to the Chinese emigration phenomenon that happened in The United States, particularly, to California. The pull was the Gold Rush. They needed workers in the gold mines and the Chinese were a hardy stock, able to endure the hard labor in the mines. But there were other equally interesting emigrations or movements that happened to other Chinas neighboring countries which deserve scrutiny to fully understand the Chinese diaspora. For instance, the Chinese emigrated to Thailand and in the Philippines as well as other countries of Southeast Asia, like Malaysia.
On the whole, the Chan article on the Chinese diaspora provides us with great insights on the historical background, the motivation, and the consequent outcomes of these waves of Chinese emigration to other lands beyond China.
There is greater mobility of people today which enables different types of diaspora and that of the Chinese comprises one among many. Chan mentioned that the emigration of the Chinese in the United States is one big segment of this diaspora. This massive movement of the Chinese began in the 15th century when there was a great demand for laborers called. coolies to work in plantations, mines, road building, and other hazardous jobs. The Chinese were willing to do hard labor in order for them to survive in foreign lands. Chinese emigration was influenced by geography, trade patterns, shipping routes, and European incursions throughout the history of Chinese diaspora. The focus of Chans article is mainly on the Chinese emigration to California and she only gave a background to the phenomenon in order to trace its history.
Diaspora and the Chinese Emigration Experience
The Chinese emigration experience can be characterized into waves or phases. Those Chinese ethnic groups that lived in isolated places in China were the first to emigrate, seeking better life. The second wave of emigration happened when the steamers were invented. There were already steamships that plied the ocean trough travel to Hog Kong as entry point or a stop over a made possible That most of the passengers of these steamers were young male Chinese, still in their teens, was not an accident. They had to be filled with hope and dreams and courage to make it big in a new country. The sea voyage was a perilous one. Many faced rough seas, bitterly cold winds, pirates, and possibly hostile shores. The historical accounts of Pan (1998) who edited the book, Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas, say this about Fujian Highlands cover as much as 95 per cent of the total area, leaving little room for coastal plains and river valleys, thus, limiting average acreage.
The farmers of Fujian were said to lament the fact that their soil was far from fertile, forcing them to import sweet potato and rice, the Chinese staple food, from Zhejang, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia The province suffered heavily from hundreds of famines that visited the land during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. As a result, many Fujianese fled the province and moved to nearby places in Mainland China, and many likewise migrated to Southeast Asia. Since the 17th century, the people of Fujian have emigrated in large numbers, chiefly to Southeast Asia.
Thus, in the history of Chinese diaspora, Fujian has accounted for the majority of overseas Chinese. They were mostly farmers and fishermen driven by poverty to search for a better life in the neighboring countries of Southeast AsiaThailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and, the Philippines. Only the Chinese peasants had the motivation to leave China. The Chinese intellectuals were financially comfortable and did not feel compelled to migrate.
Commentary
I do agree that the Chinese diaspora happened because different ethnic groups of Chinese began to emigrate in great numbers in different places not only in Chinas vast continent, but also in various part of the globe. The dialects spoken by these Chinese ethnic groups became the distinguishing characteristics of these various waves of emigration that occurred throughout centuries of Chinas history. Indeed, the Chinese peasants, farmers, and artisans, were the first to emigrate, leaving behind their life of poverty and hunger. The irony was that their emigration to other countries only brought them other forms of hardship such as maltreatment from foreign employers, hard labor, and lower wages. I also agree that the Chinese emigration can be divided historically into two phases according to which Chinese ethnic groups were emigrating and according to the motivation that drove them to leave their native places to go abroad.
The article, though, was limited only to the Chinese emigration phenomenon that happened in The United States, particularly, to California. The pull was the Gold Rush. They needed workers in the gold mines and the Chinese were a hardy stock, able to endure the hard labor in the mines. But there were other equally interesting emigrations or movements that happened to other Chinas neighboring countries which deserve scrutiny to fully understand the Chinese diaspora. For instance, the Chinese emigrated to Thailand and in the Philippines as well as other countries of Southeast Asia, like Malaysia.
On the whole, the Chan article on the Chinese diaspora provides us with great insights on the historical background, the motivation, and the consequent outcomes of these waves of Chinese emigration to other lands beyond China.
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