Acknowledgments

It is certainly a challenge to acknowledge the countless individuals who have supported me and guided my intellectual growth over the years. I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people, and I know I cannot fit them all in this brief section.

First, I would like to thank Kristin Stapleton and Richard T. Chu, who have cheered me on from the get-go, offering sage-like advice time and again. My colleagues from the various departments to which I belonged, including Michael E. Groth, Jesse Spohnholz, Isabel Cordova, Matt Young, Timothy Kneeland, and many others, have provided many valuable insights on teaching, research, and work–life balance.

Many other talented individuals have helped me grow. Jennifer Gaynor, Roger Des Forges, Ramya Sreenivasan, Gail Radford, Susan Cahn, and others at the University at Buffalo introduced me to a more intricate world of history. Leander Seah, Shelly Chan, Desmond Cummins, Miriam Parnes, Huei-Ying Kuo, Kat Gutierrez, Liu Qiong, Lisandro Claudio, Erik Esselstrom, Chris Frondoso, Brendan Mold, Teresita Ang See, Patricia Welch, Jeremy Taylor, Steven Pieragastini, and Dan Shearer each in their own way provided timely support and valuable feedback, for which I am beyond grateful.

Archivists and librarians at the Bentley Historical Library in Ann Arbor, the Shanghai Municipal Archives, the United States National Archives, the National Library of the Philippines in Manila, the Bancroft Library in Berkeley, the Tianjin Municipal Archives, the National Library of China in Beijing, and the Shanghai Library answered many research questions and helped me locate hard-to-find sources. Meah Ang See at the Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran Heritage Center and Library and Jeffrey Monseau at Springfield College were especially helpful.

Generous funding from the University at Buffalo Humanities Institute, the Nila T. Gnamm Research Fund, the Plesur Lockwood Dissertation Travel Award, and ASIANetwork-Luce helped launch this project in its initial stages. I would also like to acknowledge the Freeman-ASIA Foundation and Foreign Language and Area Studies Program for supporting my language training, and the World History Association and the New York Conference on Asian Studies for providing forums to share my work.

Lucy Rhymer, Emily Plater, and Rosa Martin at Cambridge University Press have been generous with their time and wisdom, patiently answering numerous questions throughout the editing process. I am also grateful to the editors of the Asian Connections series, Timothy Brook, Engseng Ho, and Iza Hussin, for supporting the project, and two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful feedback.

Thank you also to all the students who took my classes at Nazareth University, Wells College, Washington State University, and Marietta College. On an everyday basis you helped me flesh out ideas on topics ranging from anarcho-feminism to the Far Eastern Championship Games. You helped me keep my mind fresh through global catastrophes and everyday crises, and I always appreciate your energy and curiosity.

I would also like to acknowledge my family for, you know, everything. Papa and Laura, Mom and Karen, thank you for raising me and being genuine to yourselves and others. Vince and Sonya, thanks for being so caring in your own subtle ways. I am also grateful to Ba and Ma for welcoming me into the family, and Tito Joe and Tita Tina for lending a hand in the Philippines.

And, finally, I would like to thank Ida and Ling, to whom this book is dedicated. I appreciate everything, but mostly the small things, that you have done to challenge me and show me love over the years.