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Xin Xi Guxiang: A Study of Regional Associations as a Bonding Mechanism in the Chinese Diaspora. The Hong Kong Experience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Elizabeth Sinn
Elizabeth Sinn
Affiliation:
University of Hong Kong
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Extract

The Chinese migrant's strong sense of attachment to the guxiang (native place) is well recognized, and literature on overseas Chinese generally proceeds on this assumption. There is, however, little discussion on the mechanisms which have bonded the migrant to the native place, either by helping him express his longing and concern for it, or by reminding him of his obligations as a native son. Family ties, ownership of land and business connections as well as pure sentimental attachment, so poignant in centuries of Chinese poetry, naturally make migrants feel concerned for its well-being and eager for its news. Overseas Chinese in most cases continue to communicate with the native place on an individual basis, for there are levels of activities where the scale and complexity are such that only organizational efforts would suffice. At the same time, an easily identifiable institution enables those at home to contact and rally more effectively its migrant fellow-regionals, when the need for spiritual or material help arises.

Type
Articles
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , May 1997 , pp. 375 - 397
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

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References

This paper was written with a UPGC (HK) grant and was presented at the International Conference on Overseas Chinese, San Francisco, 28–29 November 1992.

Titles within quotations marks indicate original English titles. If any reader is interested in knowing the Chinese characters, please write to me and I would be happy to supply them.

1 Explanations for the prevalence and intensity of regional sentiments are given in two classic works, Jiliang, Duo, Tongxiang zushi zhi yanjiu (The study of regional institutions) (Chongqing, 1942)Google Scholarand Ping-ti, Ho, Zhongguo huiguan shilun (‘An historical survey of Landsmannschaften in China’) (Taibei, 1966).Google Scholar

2 Dou, , Tongxiang zushi zhi yanjiu, p. 1.Google Scholar

3 These include Crissman, Lawrence, ‘The segmentary structure of urban overseas Chinese communities’, Man, 2 (1967) 185–204;Google ScholarHamilton, Gary G., ‘Ethnicity and regionalism; some factors influencing Chinese identities in southeast Asia’, Ethnicity, 4 (1977) 337–351;Google ScholarMa, L.Eve Armentrout, ‘Fellow-regional associations in the Ch'ing dynasty; organizations in flux for mobile people. A preliminary survey’, Modern Asian Studies 18:2 (1984) 307–30;Google ScholarKeak, Cheng Lim, ‘Reflections on the changing roles of Chinese clan associations in Singapore’, Asian Culture 14 (04 1990) 57–71;Google ScholarChung, Vincent Ng Wing, ‘Huiguan. Regional Institutions in the Development of Overseas Chinese Nationalism in Singapore 1912–41’ (Unpublished M. Phil, thesis, Department of History, University of Hong Kong, 1987).Google Scholar One work on the subject that has appeared since this paper was presented is Goodman's, Bryna, Native Place, City, and Nation. Regional Networks and Identities in Shanghai, 1853–1937 (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 1995).Google ScholarWickberg, Edgar, ‘Chinese organizations and ethnicity in southeast Asia and North America since 1945: a comparative analysis’ in Cushman, Jennifer and Gungwu, Wang (eds), Changing Identities of the Southeast Asian Chinese since World War II (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1988) 303–18Google Scholar and Chinben See, ‘Chinese organizations and ethnic identity in the Philippines’, ibid., 319–34 deal with the Chinese identity rather than regional identity. Dou, Tongxiang zushi zhi yanjiu is especially concerned with how to extend regionalism to nationalism.

4 ‘Registrar General's Report, 1910’, Hong Kong Administrative Report, 1910 (1911), p. C.17; Hong Kong Hansard, 1911, p. 204. For an account of Hong Kong's regional associations before 1945, see Sinn, Elizabeth, ‘A history of regional associations in pre-War Hong Kong’ in Sinn, (ed.), Between East and West: Aspects of Social and Political Development in Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong, 1990), pp. 159–86.Google Scholar

5 Unfortunately there has been no systematic collection or research on these materials which are mainly ephemeral. It is also impossible to establish when they first appeared, although the earliest at hand are from the 1930s and this seems to have been part of the nationalist propaganda effort as a whole. I have seen 1941 editions of the Jinri Zhongshan (Zhongshan today) 1938 edition of the Zhongshan haiwai tongxiang jinan zonghui jikan (Quarterly of the overseas Zhongshan society for saving disaster areas) and 1941 edition of the Guizhou yuebao (Guizou monthly) edited by the Guizhou (of Shunde county) Tongxianghui, Hong Kong. Those published after the war include Sanshui Tongxianghui's Sanshui xunkan, (Ten day publication of Sanshui) 1946–1949; Fengling qiaosheng published by the Shunde Lianyi Zonghui from 1947; and Baogao by the Lü Gang Nanhai Jiujiang Shanghui (‘Kow Kong Commercial Association, Hong Kong’) from 1946.

6 ‘Registrar-General's Report for 1891’, Hong Kong Government Gazette, 1892, p. 366.

7 Shunde Lianyi Zonghui chuangli sanshi zjiounian jinian tekan (Special bulletin to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the ‘Shun Tak Fraternal Association’) (1977) pp. 104, 106; Xianggang Dongguan Gongshang Zonghui liushi zhounian jinian tekan (Special bulletin to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the ‘General Commercial Association of Tung Kun Merchants Resident in Hong Kong’) (1971) p. 4.

8 Lü Gang Yangjiang Tongxianghui chengli wushi zhounian ji youxian gongsi di wujie jianshi jiuzhi jinian tekan (Special bulletin to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Yangjiang regional association and the inauguration of the 5th board of directors of the corporation) (1977) p. 60.

9 Lü Gang Chaozhou Shanghui sanshiwu zhounian jinian tekan (Special bulletin to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the ‘Chiu Chow’ Chamber of Commerce) (1951) pp. 4–8.

10 Xianggang Taishan Shanghui huikan 1963–1964 (Publication of the ‘Toi Shan Association of Hong Kong’ 1963–1964) [1964] p. 9.

11 Huazi ribao (‘Chinese Mail’) 16/11 and 15/12/1911.

12 Accounts of the regional associations' interference in China can be seen in: Lü Gang Chaozhou Shanghui sanshi zhounian jinian tekan, pp. 8–9; Yijiu wuwu nian Xianggang Siyi Shanggong Zonghui niankan, (1955 Journal of the Sze Yap Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong) pp. 45–50; Qiao Gang Xinhui Shanghui gaikuang (General conditions of the ‘San Wui Merchants' Association’) [1934] pp. 17–19, 110–11, 181–90; Shunde Lianyi Zonghui chuangli sanshi zhounian jinian tekan p. 103; Lü Gang Minqiao Fuzhou Tongxianghui huikan (Bulletin of the Foochow Association) (1939) pp. 3–4 (separate pagination); Lü Gang Nanhai Shanghui sanshiwu zhounian tekan (Special bulletin to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the ‘Nanhai Traders' Association’) (1947) pp. 5–6; Lü Gang Sanshui tongxianghui jinxi jinian tekan (Special bulletin to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the ‘Samshui Native Association’) (1962), pp. 51–4; [Tsung Tsin Association] Jinxi dasha luocheng shijie Keshu kenqin dahui jinian tekan (Special publication to commemorate the completion of the golden Jubilee building and International Conference of Kejia) (1971) pp. 11–13; Xianggang Heshan tongxianghui huikan (Journal of the ‘Hok Shan Association’) (1978) p. 36.

13 The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals is a major Chinese charitable organization in Hong Kong which offers a wide range of social services beside the medical.

14 See the Hong Kong ‘Harbour Master's Reports’ for the respective years. In 1931, for instance, 28,314 persons were repatriated through Hong Kong by the combined efforts of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the government.

15 Su-Zhe Lü Gang Tongxianghui tekan (‘Kiangsu [Jiangsu] and Chekiang [Zhejiang] Association of Hong Kong’) [1953] p. 29.

16 These efforts were reported in the Wah Kiu Yat Po throughout the occupation period. See for example 3/5/42, 15/5/42, 30/5/42, 4/6/42 and 13/6/42 etc.

17 See Sanshui xunkan, 1946–1949 and Fengling qiaosheng, 1947–49, passim. For the post-war development of Hong Kong's regional associations, see Elizabeth Sinn, ‘Challenges and responses: The development of Hong Kong's regional associations 1945–1990’, conference paper presented at the 12th conference of the International Association of Historians of Asia, at the University of Hong Kong, 24–28 June, 1991.

18 Xianggang Huaqiao tuanti zonglan (Directory of overseas Chinese organizations in Hong Kong) (Hong Kong: [1948]) part 4, p. 9.Google Scholar

19 Xianggang Donghua San Yuan Chouzhen Liang Guang shuicai teji (Special bulletin on the Guangdong and Guangxi flood relief organized by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals of Hong Kong) (Hong Kong: 1948), passim.Google Scholar

20 Fengling qiaosheng, 1 (1947.9 ), p. 3.Google Scholar

21 [Jiujiang shanghui] Baogao, 3 (15/4/46);Google ScholarFengling qiaosheng 7 (6/6/48);Google Scholar the Taishan Shanghui also helped in organizing defence, see Xianggang Huaqiao tuanti zonglan, part 4, p. 9.

22 Wah Kiu Yat Po, 6/2/50.

23 Lü Gang Xinhui Chaolian Tongxianghui chengli ershiwu zhounian yinxi jinian tekan (‘25th anniversary edition of the Society of Natives of Chiu Lin in Hong Kong 1972’) p. 87.

24 Ibid., p. 89.

25 Xianggang Fujian Tongxianghui jinxi jinian tekan 1939–1989 (Special bulletin to commemorate the golden jubilee of the Fujian Regional Association in Hong Kong 1939–1989). P. 71.

26 Ibid.

27 The percentage of locally born in Hong Kong in 1991 was 60; 34% of the population were born in China. The locally born percentage over the years was: 26·7 (1921), 32·5 (1931), 47·7 (1961), 56·4 (1971), 57 (1981). This shows that the growth in the percentage has slowed down considerably since 1971, and that many of the residents are adult emigrants.

28 Almost 80% of the Chinese who had migrated overseas had come from Guangdong and the next largest number have come from Fujian. Vogel, Ezra F., One Step Ahead in China. Guangdong under Reform (Cambridge, Mass; London, England: Harvard University Press, 1989), p. 82.Google Scholar

29 Though Chinese in Hong Kong are, strictly speaking, categorized as tongbao (‘compatriots’) rather than Huaqiao (overseas Chinese), to all intents and purposes this new policy applied equally to them. For Beijing's overseas Chinese policy, see Fitzgerald, Stephen, China and the Overseas Chinese. A Study of Peking's Changing Policy 1949–1970 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972).Google Scholar For an interesting comparison, see Ng, Wing Chung, ‘Taiwan's overseas Chinese policy from 1949 to the early 1980s’, in East Asia Inquiry: Selected Articles from the Annual Conference of the Canadian Asian Studies Association 1988–1990, edited by Shyu, Larry N., Chen, Min-sun, Charron, Claude-Yves and Soga, Matsuo (Montreal: CASA, 1991), pp. 265–86.Google Scholar

30 Wensheng, Lin, ‘Ruhe fahui qiaoxiang youshi’ (How to maximize on the advantages of the qiaoxiang?) Huaxia, 1 (1985.1), pp. 31–3, 32.Google Scholar

31 Wenhui bao 7/1/79.

32 Xinwan bao 23/8/79; by September 1982, it had obtained entry permits to China for 24,000 persons. (Wenhui bao, 5/9/82).

33 Wenhui bao, 1/6/79.

34 For example, as early as October 1979, the Overseas Affairs Office, the Qiaowu ban, in Beijing received groups from Hong Kong and answered queries regarding investments and entry and exit regulations. (Xinwan bao 4/10/79).

35 Vogel, , p. 63.Google Scholar

36 Huaxia, 1 (1985.1), p. 39 gives instructions as to how to appeal to overseas Chinese.Google Scholar

37 Xianggang Lanzhen Tongxianghui chengli liushi zhounian jinian juankan (‘The Association of Siulamese in Hong Kong 60th Anniversary 1921–1981’) p. 61; Lü Gang Sanshui Tongxianghui chunjie kenqin dahui tekan (Special bulletin of the New Year gathering of the ‘Samshui Native Association’) (1982) p. 27.

38 For instance, see Jiangmen Yueju tuan yan chu tekan (Special bulletin on the performance of the Jiangmen Cantonese opera troupe [in Hong Kong] (1988).

39 Wenhui bao, 18/5/79.

40 Wenhui bao, 5/6/79.

41 Wenhui bao, 1/11/80.

42 Wenhui bao, 16/12/85.

43 Wenhui bao, 21/6/80.

44 Xianggang Taishan Shanghui di qi jie huikan (Bulletin of the ‘Toi Shan Association of Hong Kong Ltd.’) (1988), pp. 61–2.

45 Interview with Mr Shi Ziqing of the Jinjiang Tongxianghui, 9/10/90.

46 I conducted a survey in 1989/1990 when questionnaires were sent to 316 regional associations whose names are known. 146 responded; I was able to gather some information from various sources on 104 which did not respond; the rest, 66, I know nothing about except the name. Of the 146 respondents, 83 claim that they organize tours to the guxiang.

47 Wenhui bao, 18/5/82 and 3/7/82; Xianggang Fujian Tongxianghui jinxi jinian tekan 1939–1989 P. 77.

48 Xianggang Chaozhou Shanghui chengli qishi zhounian jinian tekan (Special bulletin to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the ‘Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce’) (1991) PP. 139–40. 141–2. Of the 146 respondents, 84 state they raise funds for charitable works at home, which could include disaster relief.

49 In return, all members of the tongxianghui staying at the hotel enjoy a 20% discount (Telephone interview with Mr Qian jianwei, of the Sanshui Tongxianghui, 19/10/92). The Lanzhen Tongxianghui also raised funds for a hotel and a opera house (Questionnaire response). Seventy-four of my respondents state they help in the organizing of public services in the home region. Presumably this mainly refers to raising funds for various projects. Many associations propagate the importance of constructing the home region and promoting its prosperity.

50 Xianggang Chaozhou Shanghui chengli qishi zhounian jinian tekan, p. 142; Xianggang Fujian Tongxianghui jinxi jinian tekan 1939–1989, p. 77.

51 Of the 146 respondents, 60 state that they facilitate trade with the native place.

52 Telephone interview with Mr Qian Jingwei, 19/10/92.

53 Ji-Lu Lü Gang Tongxianghui chengli sishi zhounian tekan (Special bulletin to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Hebei-Shandong regional association) (1987) (no pagination).

54 Ninety-nine respondents state that they maintain connections with the native place.

55 Wenhui Bao, 31/7/80.

56 Ji-Lu Lü Gang Tongxianghui chengli sishi zhounian tekan (no pagination).

57 Among the first was the Nan'an Gonghui formed between 1979 and 1980. Its objectives were to unite overseas fellow regionals, promote the four modernizations and to help construct the native place.

58 Xianggang Fujian Tongxianghui jinxi jinian tekan 1939–1989, p. 1.

59 Ibid., p. 75–7.

60 Interview with Mr Shi Ziqing, 9/10/90; Longyan Lü Gang Tongxianghui chengli wu zhounian jinian tekan (‘Special Issue for the 5th anniversary of the founding of Long Yan Fellow Villages Association staying in Hong Kong’) (1989), passim.

61 Of course the changing Hong Kong-China political relations due to 1997 have also affected the attitude of tongxianghui, but this will not be elaborated here.