Tracy Barrett sets out to address the contradictions between two main theories about the overseas Chinese, one emphasizing their “Chinese-ness” and their faithful devotion to the institutions, cultural mores and religious specificities of their native place wherever they went, and the other emphasizing their propensity to adapt themselves and their institutions to the environment of the host country, which varied from locality to locality. Appreciating the rationale of each, she takes a synthetic approach and examines the very diverse circumstances of migration, and also treats the overseas Chinese on multiple levels, as individual communities, as participants in a larger colonial world, and as subjects and citizens of a Chinese state.
The book focuses on the Chinese congregations in three regions of French Indochina – Cochinchina, Cambodia and Tonkin, each very different from the others in terms of political, social and economic conditions and in their proximity to China – from around 1870 to its overthrow by the Viet Minh in 1954. Claiming that the institution of the congregation – the law stipulated that every Chinese belonged to one of a set of officially-approved congregations based on their place of origin in China – is the key to understanding Chinese politics and society in French Indochina, the author studies the scope and functions of the Chinese congregation from different perspectives.
Beginning with a history of the Chinese congregations, the book discusses the French rationale underlying the creation and adoption of the organization and the way they used it to exert control over the Chinese. Subsequent chapters deal with the process of electing congregation leaders, the inner workings of the congregation in terms of the charitable, cultural and religious activities for its members and the mediation work they undertook concerning political and commercial matters, whether international or domestic. These activities are treated in great detail, reflecting not only the constant tensions between the Chinese congregations and the French authorities but also the competition and rivalry within congregations (especially where the sub-ethnic divisions were deep-seated) and among congregations. Yet, Chinese organization did not only take place along congregational lines, Barrett points out, and she uses the cercles to show that Chinese did resist French authority and law to replicate a more natural segmentation within urban Chinese communities. She shows clearly how the size, demography and the economic, social cultural conditions of a region affected the character and workings of the congregations and in turn affected their management both from the Chinese and French sides. Naturally not all congregations were equal, and the Cholon and Saigon congregations, which were much larger and wealthier, were considered superior both by the French authorities and by other congregations.
This is a rich study with the story of many individuals. One chapter gives the story of a prominent Cantonese merchant and his financial and political activities that encapsulates the significance of Chinese and overseas networks, and the multilevel transnational and trans-regional connections throughout South-East Asia and with China. At the same time, the book is filled with stories about less prominent people from different sub-ethnic, economic and occupational backgrounds, whose lives foreground the varying realities of urban and village life experienced by the overseas Chinese in different parts of Indochina, under different policies and at different times.
My concern is that while the congregation is a useful lens for understanding the Chinese diaspora in Indochina, it is also restrictive. A congregation-based framework leaves little room for studying the cultural lives of the Chinese, their business activities, their family situations in Indochina and back in China, intergenerational relations and other important aspects. Equally missing are Chinese relationships with non-official French people and the indigenous people. While the author is clearly avoiding the trap of a “China-centred” account, she seems to have fallen into a France-centred one, which is more irresistible when the book is based so strongly on French sources.
There are other minor problems. One is the maps. The first one, “Map of Cochinchina and Cambodia” does not show the whole of Cambodia; the second map has no title, and none of the three maps has dates. Another is numbers. How many Chinese were in French Indochina at different times? Some population numbers are given (p. 22) but more substantial and systematic figures for the different regions and different points of time are lacking. Besides absolute numbers, there should also be relative numbers to show what percentage of the population was Chinese. I understand the number of Chinese in French Indochina was much smaller than those in Siam, Malaya and Indonesia for the same period, and numbers will allow us to see the Chinese diaspora in Indochina in proportion and in context. I am also curious to know who were categorized as “Chinese,” and about Chinese–Vietnamese marriages and the children from these marriages. How were they treated by the French? Indeed, who were the children who attended the many Chinese schools established by congregations all over Indochina?
There is considerable confusion caused by mistaking Guangdong and Guangzhou as two separate provinces in China. Additionally, there is confusion over the term “Cantonese” which is sometimes used as an adjective of “Guangdong” province (so that the Hainan, Canton, Hakka and Chaozhou congregations were all grouped under “Cantonese” in map 3) and sometimes used to indicate specifically “Canton” prefecture.
These flaws notwithstanding, this is a rich study that adds valuable materials about the Chinese in colonial Indochina and insights on the complex phenomenon of the overseas Chinese as sojourners, migrants and settlers. It also shows the way to a more “human” approach to the field of overseas Chinese studies.
