Abstract
The Chinese living outside Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau form one of the biggest diasporic populations in the world. With more than 40 million people of diverse backgrounds distributed all over the world, the Chinese diaspora challenges any efforts of generalization and essentialization. This chapter starts with a brief overview of major theoretical themes in researches on the Chinese diaspora, followed by examinations of historical transformations of overseas Chinese communities in various parts of the world. The focuses are placed on Southeast Asia and North America, which claim the largest shares of diasporic Chinese population. It then goes to address two most important issues that define Chinese diaspora: Chineseness and transnationalism. The chapter concludes by suggesting some potential areas that call for more attention in future researches.
Keywords
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
APIAHF (2011) Demographic and socioeconomic profiles of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Asian & Pacific Islander Health Forum: Oakland, CA
Armstrong MJ, Armstrong RW (2001) Introduction: Chinese population of Southeast Asia. In: Armstrong MJ, Armstrong RW, Mulliner K (eds) Chinese populations in contemporary southeast Asian societies: identities, interdependence and international influence. Curzon, Richmond/Surrey, pp 1–17
Ashiwa Y, Wank DL (2005) The globalization of Chinese Buddhism: clergy and devotee networks in the twentieth century. Int J Asian Stud 2:217–237
Barrett TC (2012) Chinese diaspora in South-East Asia: the overseas Chinese in IndoChina. I.B. Tauris, London
Benton G, Gomez ET (2007) The Chinese in Britain, 1800-present: economy, transnationalism, identity. Springer, New York
Benton G, Pieke FN (eds) (1998) The Chinese in Europe. Macmillan Press, London
Boileau J (2017) Chinese market gardening in Australia and New Zealand: gardens of prosperity. Springer, New York
Chan H (2001) Government control of Chinese immigration to Australia, 1855–1975. In: Chan H, Curthoys A, Chiang N (eds) The overseas Chinese in Australasia: history, settlement and interactions: proceedings. Interdisciplinary Group for Australian Studies (IGAS), National Taiwan University/Centre for the Study of the Chinese Southern Diaspora, Australian National University, Taipei, pp 69–81
Chow RS, Feagin JR (2016) Myth of the model minority: Asian Americans facing racism, 2nd edn. Routledge, New York
DeBernardi J (1993) Epilogue: ritual process reconsidered. In: Ownby D, Heidhues MFS (eds) Secret societies reconsidered: perspectives on the social history of early modern South China and Southeast Asia, 1st edn. Routledge, Armonk, pp 212–233
Duara P (1997) Nationalists among transnationals: overseas Chinese and the idea of China, 1900–1911. In: Ong A, Nonini D (eds) Ungrounded empires: the cultural politics of modern Chinese transnationalism. Routledge, New York, pp 39–60
Fusco S (2016) Incorporations of Chineseness: hybridity, bodies, and Chinese American literature. Cambridge Scholarly Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne
Gomez ET, Hsiao H-HM (eds) (2013) Chinese business in Southeast Asia: contesting cultural explanations, researching entrepreneurship. Routledge, New York
Gyory A (1998) Closing the gate: race, politics, and the Chinese exclusion act. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill
Hall S (1990) Cultural identity and diaspora. In: Rutherford J (ed) Identity: community, culture, difference. Lawrence & Wishart, London, pp 222–237
Hawkins F (1991) Critical years in immigration: Canada and Australia compared, 2nd edn. McGill-Queen’s Press – MQUP, Kingston
Heidhues MS (1993) Chinese organizations in West Borneo and Bangka: Kongsi and Hui. ME Sharpe, Armonk
Ip M, Pang D (2005) New Zealand Chinese identity: Sojourners, model minority and multiple identities. In: Liu JH, McCreanor T, McIntosh T, Teaiwa T (eds) New Zealand identities: departures and destinations. Victoria University Press, Wellington, pp 174–190
Kuhn PA (2008) Chinese among others: emigration in modern times. Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Lai WL, Tan CB (eds) (2010) The Chinese in Latin America and the Caribbean. BRILL, Boston
Lee KH (2012) QUO VADIS: the Chinese in Malaysia. In: Lee HG, Suryadinata L (eds) Malaysian Chinese: recent developments and prospects. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, pp 45–69
Li W (2009) Ethnoburb: the new ethnic community in urban America. University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu
Liu H (2005) New migrants and the revival of overseas Chinese nationalism. J Contemp China 14:291–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/10670560500065611
Lockard CA (2013) Chinese migration and settlement in Southeast Asia before 1850: making fields from the sea. Hist Compass 11:765–781. https://doi.org/10.1111/hic3.12079
McKeown A (1999) Conceptualizing Chinese diasporas, 1842 to 1949. J Asian Stud 58:306–337. https://doi.org/10.2307/2659399
Mendelson A (2016) Chow chop suey: food and the Chinese American journey. Columbia University Press, New York
Nyiri P (2007) Chinese in Eastern Europe and Russia: a middleman minority in a transnational era. Routledge, New York
Ong A (1999) Flexible citizenship: the cultural logics of transnationality. Duke University Press, Durham
Poston DL, Wong JH (2016) The Chinese diaspora: the current distribution of the overseas Chinese population. Chin J Sociol 2:348–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/2057150X16655077
Santasombat Y (2018) The sociology of Chinese capitalism in Southeast Asia: challenges and prospects. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Shih S (2011) The concept of the Sinophone. PMLA 126:709–718. https://doi.org/10.1632/pmla.2011.126.3.709
Skinner GW (2001) Creolized Chinese societies in Southeast Asia. In: Reid A (ed) Sojourners and settlers: histories of Southeast Asia and the Chinese. University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu, pp 51–93
Suryadinata L (1997) Ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia: overseas Chinese, Chinese overseas or southeast Asians? In: Suryadinata L (ed) Ethnic Chinese as southeast Asians. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp 1–24
Suryadinata L (2007) Understanding the ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
Tan MG (1997) The ethnic Chinese in Indonesia: issues of identity. In: Suryadinata L (ed) Ethnic Chinese as southeast Asians. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp 33–65
Thunø M (ed) (2007) Beyond Chinatown: new Chinese migration and the global expansion of China. NIAS Press, Copenhagen
Tu W (1994) Cultural China: the periphery as the center. In: Tu W (ed) The living tree: the changing meaning of being Chinese today. Stanford University Press, Stanford, pp 1–34
Wang G (1988) The study of Chinese identities in Southeast Asia. In: Cushman JW, Gungwu W (eds) Changing identities of the southeast Asian Chinese since world war II. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong, pp 1–21
Wang G (1991) China and the Chinese overseas. Times Academic, Singapore
Williams JF (2003) Who are the Taiwanese? Taiwan in the Chinese diaspora. In: Ma LJC, Cartier C (eds) The Chinese diaspora: space, place, mobility, and identity. Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, pp 163–189
Willmott DE (2009) The National Status of the Chinese in Indonesia 1900–1958. Equinox Publishing, Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur
Woon TK (2012) The new Malaysian economic agenda: some preliminary observations. In: Lee HG, Suryadinata L (eds) Malaysian Chinese: recent developments and prospects. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, pp 125–143
Yen C-H (2014) Ethnic Chinese business in Asia: history, culture and business enterprise. World Scientific Publishing Company, Singapore
Yow CH (2017) Ethnic Chinese in Malaysian citizenship: gridlocked in historical formation and political hierarchy. Asian Ethn 18:277–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2016.1155044
Zhao X (2010) The new Chinese America: class, economy, and social hierarchy. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick
Zheng S (2011) Claiming diaspora: music, transnationalism, and cultural politics in Asian/Chinese America. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Zhou M (2009) Contemporary Chinese America immigration, ethnicity, and community transformation. Temple University Press, Philadelphia
Zhou M (ed) (2017) Contemporary Chinese diasporas. Springer, Singapore
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Song, Z. (2019). Global Chinese Diaspora. In: Ratuva, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0242-8_82-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0242-8_82-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-0242-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-0242-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences