The book Returning Home with Glory: Chinese Villagers around the Pacific, 1849 to 1949, by Michael Williams, is a comprehensive and carefully researched book complemented with case studies. The case studies entail the Chinese living overseas (huaqiao), Chinese natives (qiaoxiang), and villages within Guangdong province. There is a focus by Williams on how the emigrants and the locals related to one another while in different locations. The Chinese immigrants, huaqiao, mainly relocated to Honolulu, Sydney, and San Francisco (Chan, 2020). Nonetheless, the book reveals that huaqiao were willing to return to their motherland to rebuild their economy and enhance their living standards (Kung, 2022). Thus, the intention to return home shows that the Chinese families had close ties, unlike the western families that were individualistic. Besides, many huaqiao returned home severally despite their challenges between the borders. This book review shows that Williams treated the subjects appropriately through evidence-based extensive research.
Williams successfully pays attention to some qiaoxiang in elaborating how they interacted with huaqiao. In the interactions, the author explores how ideas and other resources were exchanged between the two environments. The circulation of monetary resources, people, and relationships between the huaqiao and qiaoxiang shows people from a common background whose lives are determined by their area of residence. Through the book, Williams displays how the emigrants, considered sojourners residing in foreign economies, acknowledged the complicated and vibrant lives of the qiaoxiang, whom they considered as a family in their homeland (Hsu, 2023).
Much of the information in the book was obtained from unpublished and unused Williams’ Ph.D. thesis, which was considered useful for individuals interested in Chinese history in that period. As a result, the book has some features of a dissertation, such as an introduction, that has sections such as definitions and time-frame, which are not necessary for the book. That shows the book required further editing before publishing. Some chapters have short sectors that have less than two pages, whereas others have about twelve sectors. For instance, chapter two has twelve sectors. There are habitual repetitions, rote, in describing some sections within the book. Examples of rote decryptions are apparent in “A more Chine-centric approach” (p. 20), “a reactive approach” (p. 21), and “note the US approach” (P. 23). These repetitions show redundancy in Williams’ work; which could have been managed through appropriate editing, revising, and use of better titles in these sections.
Williams was motivated to write the book after acknowledging little scholarly research about the Chinese diaspora and linkages with the qiaoxiang. Thus, he intended the readers to comprehend the historical interpretation between the qiaoxiang and huaqiao, with special attention paid to the choices and underlying justifications. Thus, his motivation is quite persuasive. However, in providing the historical interpretation of the Chinese in different environments, he used similar wording repetitively, resulting in redundancy. The redundancy results in losing critical insights that could have emerged in respective chapters. For instance, there is repetition about the “border-guarded view” whereby the white settlers’ economies, like the U.S. and Australia, reveal how Williams defended the immigrants (Williams, 2018, p. 15). Through the defence of the repetition, future scholars are forced to pay critical attention to how migration across borders was prevented and emphasize the assimilation of the immigrants in respective geopolitically defined regions.
The book has made an immense contribution to Chinese history. Despite limited research about the Chinese in the diaspora, Williams has provided future researchers with vast information that was not readily available. The book’s relationship between the emigrants and native Chinese reveals why bachelors dominated Chinatown due to close family ties between the emigrants and the natives. This is apparent when some aged bachelors had no option but to return to china to enjoy their last days with their families. This is evidenced when Williams writes, “one was to remain in the destination living the life of an ageing bachelor. For many, perhaps as they felt death was approaching, the decision was made to return, perhaps when the consideration of shame and prestige was no longer so important.” (Williams, 2018, p. 110).
Further, the voice of the women, who never left China, is also expressed. Their home, challenges, sacrifices, and choices are impeccably expressed. Based on the experience of Chinese emigrants in foreign states, issues of racial capitalism emerged as they went to work where they were considered sojourners (Fitzgerald & Yip, 2020). These sojourners needed to improve the welfare of the qiaoxiang since “poverty, famine, and flood would have provided ample motivation to seek income for the residents of the Pearl River Delta” (Williams, 2018, p. 48). As a result, they were exploited by the white settlers, who expected them to be assimilated into their culture. As a result of exploitation based on their racial background, the “Chinese found it difficult to settle permanently in such as hostile environment, and they continued to look toward China as their home” (Williams, 2018, p. 31). However, things improved from 1868 onwards when the Chinese government made an international agreement with the U.S. focusing on the state of the Chinese immigrants and later established commissions to evaluate their working conditions.
It is worth acknowledging the impact of the Civil War on the relationship between the Chinese immigrants and the whites as a major contribution of the book by Williams. Considering that the book is written in an era when civil rights movements were gaining momentum, white identity was a major concern in the US compared to Australia. This is apparent by the claim that “slavery and civil war presented race-related issues that gave white identity greater urgency than in Australian colonies” (Williams, 2018, p. 52). Thus, the insight into racial issues lays the foundation for future scholars who can evaluate the changes that have occurred over time as the U.S. government has advanced laws on diversity, inclusion, and equality.
The treatment of the subject is not subjective but objective. This is because Williams has used many resources to support his arguments. He has provided footnotes to elaborate critical information and reveal the extensive research he has carried out on the subjects. For instance, there is statistical data detailing how the Chinese population dropped to 60% of the allowed minimum following major restrictions; however, Williams goes further to put a footnote detailing that the information was received from McKeown’s research referred to as Chinese Migrant Network (Williams, 2018, p. 62). Thus, Williams’ experience as a scholar made him carry out extensive research and acknowledge research by other scholars to make his research reliable, valid, and authentic.
Williams has done incredible work throughout the book by including relevant facts and evidence. This is apparent through the provision of statistical data and the period where certain notable events took place. He has also provided maps, photos, and tables, as illustrations to complement the book and ensure the readers comprehend the details provided. The first-hand research has all the features of a scholarly article resulting in understanding the relations between the settlers, huaqiao and qiaoxiang. Through the evidence and facts provided, the book catches the imagination of international destinations in Australia and America in detail.
Extensive evidence and data are used to support the author’s thesis statement. The evidence is from both primary and secondary data sources, including archived data, interviews from descendants of both huaqiao and qiaoxiang, and scholarly works. For instance, the data on “Chinese huaqiao returns” was retrieved from “Immigration statistics: NSW, Australia, United States, and Hawaii” (Williams, 2018, p.43). The evidence and data reveal that the author researched and conceptualized the case studies about the Chine migration between 1849 and 1949.
The information can be interpreted to alternate ends. Social scientists can delve into researching the sociological theories behind the relations between the huaqiao, qiaoxiang, and the settlers in America and Australia. Economists can use evidence to evaluate how the past and present geopolitics between China and the west has changed over time, especially in an era of economic and political tensions between the two regions. Additionally, studies can be done to assess how Chinese immigrants impacted Australia and the U.S. during the period since it was influenced by changes in the legal framework in the three regions.
As noted earlier, there is redundancy in the book through numerous repetitions and rote. However, despite the criticism, Williams has done a valuable task in writing the book resembling a dissertation in the first chapter. He has identified the subtopic and used various illustrations and references to support his claims. Therefore, overall, the writing style is effective and clear.
Through the extensive research evident from many resources used, no issues arise from the book. Williams has done vast research and used all necessary sources to make objective conclusions about the subjects. However, the only issue is focusing on Guangdong province, which makes it not representative of the entire Chinese population.
In conclusion, extensive research shows how the huaqiao played a role in building the Chinese economy following their interactions with the settlers in Australia and America and qiaoxiang. The book shows objective claims about the subjects, which reveals that the author embraced a high level of ethical research practices. This historical book shows how a century of Chinese mobility affected relations between the subjects. Thus, this book can be recommended for individuals interested in learning about Chinese mobility in the respective century.
References
Chan, S. (2020). Michael Williams. Returning Home with Glory: Chinese Villagers around the Pacific, 1849 to 1949. The American Historical Review, 125(5), 1820–1821, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/rhaa217
Fitzgerald, J., & Yip, H. M. (Eds.). (2020). Chinese Diaspora Charity and the Cantonese Pacific, 1850–1949. Hong Kong University Press.
Hsu, M. Y. (2023). Coming Home to a Foreign Country: Xiamen and Returned Overseas Chinese, 1843–1938 by Ong Soon Keong. Twentieth-Century China, 48(1), E-4-E-6 https://doi.org/10.1353/tcc.2023.0006
Kung, C. W. (2022). Book review: Coming home to a foreign country: Xiamen and returned overseas Chinese, 1843–1938. https://doi.org/10.1177/01171968221122976
van Dongen, E. (2019). Writing Modern Chinese History Inside Out: New Relational Approaches to (Un) thinking the Nation-State, Diaspora, and Transnationalism. Twentieth-Century China, 44(3), 362-371. https://doi.org/ 10.1353/tcc.2019.0035
Williams, M. (2018). Returning Home with Glory: Chinese Villagers around the Pacific, 1849 to 1949. Hong Kong University Press. Ebook.
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