
Chinese in Colonial Burma
A Migrant Community in A Multiethnic State
Yi Li(Author)
Palgrave MacMillan (Publisher)
Published on 27. February 2017
Book
Hardback
XVIII, 262 pages
978-1-137-53701-0 (ISBN)
Description
Using previously unexplored archives from colonial institutions and individuals, and primary materials produced by the Burmese Chinese, this comprehensive study investigates over a century of history of the Burmese Chinese under British colonial rule. Due to the peculiar position of Burma in the British imperial world and the Southeast Asian Chinese network, the Chinese community had a unique experience in a Southeast Asian colony governed by Europeans with an India-based system. This book reveals, through everyday life experience, prominent community figures, and milestone events, the internal rivalry and integration among different regional groups within the community, and the general impressions it left in contemporary observations and communal memories. The book also traces historical roots of some unsolved ethnic issues in present-day Myanmar.
Reviews / Votes
"Li's book is a very valuable one. Throughout the book she has successfully kept a transnational vision by interweaving the histories of political change in china, the expansion of the British imperial world and the evolution of the Burmese Chinese community. . the book has provided an inspiring basis for looking at the lives of Burmese Chinese during the British colonial period, and for continuing endeavours to explore other related archives and relevant materials." (Wen-Ching Chang, SOJOURN - Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, Vol. 33 (3), November 2018)
"Li's exhaustive coverage of Chinese and English language sources provides a new look at how the Chinese in Burma, as a smaller percentage of the diaspora in Southeast Asia, continued to transplant many of the same political, economic, and social networks through kinship connections. . it is certainly an invaluable contribution to the history of Chinese diasporic experiences, and necessary reading for scholars of Chinese and Southeast Asian studies." (Siew Han Yeo, Journal of Burma Studies, Vol. 22 (1), June, 2018)More details
Series
Edition
1st ed. 2017
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
XVIII, 262 p.
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
478 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-137-53701-0 (9781137537010)
DOI
10.1057/978-1-137-51900-9
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
02/2017
1st Edition
Palgrave MacMillan
€84.99
Available for download
Person
Yi Li received her PhD in history at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore between 2014 and 2015. Her research interests include modern Southeast Asia and Chinese diaspora, with a particular focus on migration and colonial history.
Content
1. From Frontier to Heartland.- 2. A Chinese Mental Map of the Irrawaddy Delta.- 3. Merchants of the Empire.- 4. The Rangoon Vice.- 5. Making No Political "Noise".