Abstract
In the last two decades, historians of Chinese migration and diaspora in the modern period have drawn attention to the nexus between internal and international migration, the place of networks and kinship in migration, and the centrality of homeland ties among members of the diaspora (McKeown 2001; Kuhn 2008; Chan 2018). Stephen Miles’s wide-ranging introductory study of five centuries of Chinese migration builds on these critical earlier works, but it also manifests some distinct features. Like historians Philip Kuhn and Adam McKeown, Miles considers international migration to be a “subset” or “stream” of wider migration trends within China that were driven by developments in trade and agriculture and industrialization and urbanization processes (p. 7). However, whereas Kuhn was interested in the various “ecologies” and adaptations of institutions in new locales, Miles highlights “family practices” and “diasporic institutions” and how these practices “emerged simultaneously” within China and abroad (p. 17). Moreover, while the work of Shelly Chan and others has given equal weight to policies and the state’s function in migration, Miles’s history foregrounds the experience of emigrants because it was their decisions that shaped “sustained patterns of migration” (p. 16).
As an introductory study, Chinese Diasporas does not strive to put forward radically novel interpretations but, instead, tilts the narrative toward the lives of internal and international migrants through engaging case studies drawn from a diverse range of sources, such as Chinese court records, gazetteers, genealogies, and tomb inscriptions, as well as fieldwork across continents. Apart from an introduction and conclusion, the book consists of seven main chapters that are chronologically and thematically organized: 1500–1740 (early modern patterns); 1740–1840 (the prosperous age); 1840–1937 (mass migration); 1860s–1940s (the Chinese state and diaspora politics); mid-twentieth century (disruptions); 1980s–present (the “floating population” and “new migrants”); and, finally, 1990s–present (transnational Chinese). The book deftly balances discussion of general patterns at the macro level with varied expressions of these patterns at the micro level. It also takes note of the evolution of community organizations and methods of integration over time. For example, Chapter Six includes a discussion of evangelical churches among Chinese communities in North America, Europe, and Australasia since the late-twentieth century (pp. 215–18).
Chinese Diasporas is relevant for scholars and researchers with interests in the history of Chinese migration and global migration, but it also has much to offer to practitioners and policy-makers. Existing migration theories frequently draw on experiences taken from post-1945 Western Europe or North America, thus prioritizing immigration over emigration and sidelining migration movements within and between other regions. Besides, the intrinsic connection between internal and international migration in a Chinese context offers fruitful ground for comparison. Furthermore, although current research on migration policies tends to give precedence to economic migration, Miles’s book reminds us that migration was often forced or driven by wars, natural disasters, domestic upheavals, or, more recently, decolonization struggles. Also, although the “practices, family strategies, and institutions” (p. 12) at the book’s heart have been associated with Global South countries marked by “weak” states in migration policies research, this study shows that these patterns might equally co-exist with policies of states that are not “weak.” Additionally, these family practices reveal the limits of explanatory concepts such as push and pull factors in migration studies given that specific patterns continued over time despite changes in policies.
After reading this book, some questions remain regarding the conceptual implications of the relation between internal and international migration and the use of the term “diaspora” in this context. Can we, for example, speak of “internal diasporas?” What about the differences between internal and international migration? Not only are cultural variances presumably smaller in the case of internal migration, but, as Miles notes, as opposed to international migrants, internal migrants often (though not always) received state protection (p. 7). Giving precedence to migrants’ experiences also means that there is limited coverage of migration infrastructure and the intricate interactions between state and market in enabling (or disabling) family decisions. Given the book’s scope and time span, however, one can only applaud the author for producing a coherent account that is simultaneously rich in detail. While specialists will undoubtedly find new information in the book, students will welcome the handy literature recommendations with brief content descriptions at the end of each chapter. Chinese Diasporas is the most comprehensive introductory study of the history of migration within China and abroad from the sixteenth century onward, and as such, it is a highly relevant contribution to the field.