The Chinese Overseas: From Earthbound China to the Quest for Autonomy

The Chinese overseas now number 25 to 30 million, yet the 2,000-year history of Chinese attempts to venture abroad and the underlying values affecting that migration have never before been presented in a broad overview. Despite centuries of prohibition against leaving the land and traveling and settling overseas, the "earthbound" Chinese—first traders, then peasants and workers—eventually found new sources of livelihood abroad. The practice of sojourning, being always temporarily away from ...