Foregrounding the entangled history of China and the Philippines, Guingona brings to life an array of understudied, but influential characters, such as Filipino jazz musicians, magnetic Chinese swimmers, expert Filipino marksmen, leading Chinese educators, Philippine-Chinese bankers, Filipina Carnival Queens, and many others. Through archival research in multiple languages, this innovative study advances a more nuanced reading of world history, reframing our understanding of the first half of the twentieth century by bringing interactions between Asian people to the fore and minimizing the role of those who historically dominated global history narratives. Through methodologically distinct case studies, Guingona presents a critique of Eurocentric approaches to world/global history, shedding light on the interconnected history of China and the Philippines in a transformative period. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

‘Meticulously researched and imaginatively written, Guingona’s book de-centers the ‘West’ by focusing on the largely unexplored interactions between Filipinos and Chinese during the early twentieth century, and reminds readers that the Philippines and China, as they had in the past, could build a relationship based on friendship and mutual support.’

Richard T. Chu - Five College Professor, History Department, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

‘Beyond being a compelling history of Filipinos in China and Chinese in the Philippines, this book is a meditation on cultural exchange. Guingona shows us the potential of peoples transcending their parochialisms and discovering new ideas through each other.’

Lisandro E. Claudio - University of California, Berkeley

‘With extraordinary skill and erudition, Phillip Guingona commands multiple literatures to restore to understanding a vital Sino-Philippine link obscured in the historical traditions of both countries. Calling attention to the vast yet forgotten exchanges through music, education, and sports, Guingona’s groundbreaking study, delivered in lively prose, is one of the finest examples of inter-Asian, transnational studies through recentering diasporic Chinese as key agents.’

Shelly Chan - Associate Professor of History, University of California, Santa Cruz

‘Guingona established his argument in solid conversation with an abundance of rich, recent scholarship, and he hopes his discussion of the ‘lost’ connection can inspire readers to uncover a world of intimate contact and mutual influence, a world that can serve as a foundation/inspiration for contemporary wisdoms in international relationships. Highly recommended.’

G. Li Source: CHOICE

‘Lively and well-researched.’

Chien-Wen Kung Source: The China Quarterly

‘Guingona’s monograph makes important interventions into the historiographies of these diverse fields by putting previously ignored Chinese and Filipino historical actors at the forefront of the interconnected histories of China and the Philippines. This exploration, as Guingona shows, has previously been most heavily focused on American-Japanese-European perspectives and sources. Guingona intentionally turns his attention away from imperial/colonialist narratives toward highlighting Filipino and Chinese figures. … this book is a novel decolonial interconnected history of China and the Philippines. It would be a good source for those wishing to better understand China’s history of entanglements in Southeast Asia, and vice versa, as well as those interested in the histories of overseas ethnic Chinese communities.’

Patrick Buck Source: H-Net Reviews