HISTORY OF OVERSEAS CHINESE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Abstract

Abstract:    Southeast Asia is the region with the highest concentration of overseas Chinese, accounting for about two-thirds of the global overseas Chinese population. The history of this group is both a history of cross-border migration and a local history of settlement. From a Southeast Asian indigenous perspective, this paper systematically reviews the historical trajectory of overseas Chinese migration to Southeast Asia, the evolution of social organizations, and the changes in cultural identity. The study finds that overseas Chinese are not only the "southerners seeking livelihoods" since the late Qing Dynasty, but also early pioneers and long-term contributors to Southeast Asian society. After World War II, the overseas Chinese community completed the identity transformation from "falling leaves returning to roots" to "taking root locally,"[1] and Chinese culture, in interaction with local cultures, reconstructed a new cultural form that both preserves Chinese cultural genes and integrates local civilization.

[1]  The metaphors "falling leaves returning to their roots" (luòyè guīgēn) and "taking root where one lands" (luòdì shēnggēn) are frequently used in Overseas Chinese studies to describe the fundamental shift in sojourner identity.