Of Marginal and Migrant Chinese
Books on China’s rise mostly focus on trade, diplomacy and military might. But how is its ascent affecting relations with its neighbors at non-state levels? What impact are Chinese migrants and peripheral peoples having? Such issues tend to be neglected. This volume has 11 chapters from different perspectives — history, sociology, anthropology, geography, environmental science and political science. Together, they fill an important gap. As the editors note, “Understanding the diversity of actors and institutions tells us more about China’s impact on the ground than a mere analysis of military strategies or recourse to the concepts of Chinese diaspora/capitalism, which have nourished the fear of the ‘yellow peril’ or served to celebrate a shared civilization.”
Presented are a colorful set of actors and their actions, not always in China’s interest, and help dispel the notion of regional steamroller. Interactions of traders, farmers, tourists, students, consumers and bureaucrats along the land borders, as well as millions of emigrant Chinese (perhaps 2.7 million to Southeast Asia alone since 1949) offers a nuanced picture. The foreword by Wang Gungwu, doyen of Southeast
Asia historians, notes the historic irony of the current importance of migrant Chinese in the region. China’s Ming and Qing dynasties once denounced those who left without approval as outlaws, bandits and pirates.
Presented are a colorful set of actors and their actions, not always in China’s interest.