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“What Alternative Do You Have, Sixth Aunt?” — Women and Marriage in Cantonese Ballads*

Helen F. Siu (ed.)

in Merchants' Daughters: Women, Commerce, and Regional Culture in South China

This chapter explores the expressive cultures of bridal laments in relation to muyushu (songbooks of various popular narratives in the Cantonese vernacular). It shows how the literary format of ... More

This chapter explores the expressive cultures of bridal laments in relation to muyushu (songbooks of various popular narratives in the Cantonese vernacular). It shows how the literary format of muyushu might have painted certain images of women in the Pearl River Delta region. Comparing the highly innovative performances in the Hakka and Dan communities with those of the more settled Punti farmers, it examines the finer meanings of the positioning of women and marriage practices in the region in the late imperial and early Republican periods.Less

Lamma Island

John Strickland

in Southern District Officer Reports: Islands and Villages in Rural Hong Kong, 1910-60

This chapter provides the administrative officers' reports on visits/trips made to the Yung Shu Wan and the Lo So Shing Groups of Villages in Lamma Island. It reports that Lamma Island is ... More

This chapter provides the administrative officers' reports on visits/trips made to the Yung Shu Wan and the Lo So Shing Groups of Villages in Lamma Island. It reports that Lamma Island is overwhelmingly Cantonese with a few Hakka at Yung Shu Wan and a handful of refugees at Sokkuwan. It further reports that although there are some poor villages (Lo Tik Wan and Luk Chau), a number of which have been hit hard by the restrictions imposed on trade under the United Nations Resolution of May 1951 (Tung O and Yung Shu Ha), this island can be considered as the most prosperous part of the Southern District. It observes that the population is about 1,640, of whom 800 are fisherfolk permanently based in Sokkuwan.Less

Ethnic Labels in a Mountainous Region: The Case of She “Bandits”

Wing-hoi Chan

in Empire at the Margins: Culture, Ethnicity, and Frontier in Early Modern China

The She is an ethnic group living in some mountainous areas of South China. The She occupy an important place in histories of the Hakka. The recent work of S. T. Leong on the Hakka still considers as ... More

The She is an ethnic group living in some mountainous areas of South China. The She occupy an important place in histories of the Hakka. The recent work of S. T. Leong on the Hakka still considers as fundamental the conflict between “the aboriginal She” and “the Han Chinese, long-standing residents and vagrants alike.” Like those who would become known as the Hakka, the She were mostly migrants that came out of the ordinary population. They found themselves in conflict with regular locals rather than with the aborigines in the borderland. Eventually the state established new administrative centers to enhance its control of the borderland and the integration of the newcomers into local society. This reduced the political salience of She identity.Less

Getting Started

Elizabeth Lominska Johnson and Graham E. Johnson

in A Chinese Melting Pot: Original People and Immigrants in Hong Kong's First 'New Town'

In the first decades of the twentieth century, Tsuen Wan began its transformation from an impoverished district of Hakka farming and fishing villages to one in which wage labour became available in ... More

In the first decades of the twentieth century, Tsuen Wan began its transformation from an impoverished district of Hakka farming and fishing villages to one in which wage labour became available in infrastructure construction and small industry. After the Japanese occupation the area industrialized rapidly, attracting large numbers of immigrants from China. They adapted by forming associations, while the original people rented land and housing to the newcomers. The government initially was overwhelmed, but eventually began planning a ‘new town’, with the original inhabitants remaining in their villages, their rights protected in today’s post-industrial city.Less

Qiaopi Geography

Gregor Benton and Hong Liu

in Dear China: Emigrant Letters and Remittances, 1820-1980

This chapter explores differences in the qiaopi trade from place to place, as well as their causes and consequences. The qiaopi trade was shaped by local circumstances and experiences, but even ... More

This chapter explores differences in the qiaopi trade from place to place, as well as their causes and consequences. The qiaopi trade was shaped by local circumstances and experiences, but even though its broad contours did not alter, it was more likely to assume special forms in the furthest-flung qiaoxiang than in other migrant-sending areas, which diverged less from the economic and cultural mainstream. Geography affected it at both ends of the migration chain, in China and abroad. This chapter examines the structures and characteristics of the qiaopi trade in the Hakka counties and in Hainan, Wuyi, and Guanfu, together with its connections in Southeast Asia, North America, and Australia. Differences of geography, politics, economy, and society were reflected not just in the form that the qiaopi system took in different places but also, to some extent, in the contents of migrant correspondence.Less

We and They

in Emperor and Ancestor: State and Lineage in South China

In a battle that erupted in 1276, Xiong Fei, of Dongguan county, took his troops to relieve Guangzhou but was defeated and had to retreat. In Dongguan, he threatened that all who fled should return ... More

In a battle that erupted in 1276, Xiong Fei, of Dongguan county, took his troops to relieve Guangzhou but was defeated and had to retreat. In Dongguan, he threatened that all who fled should return or he would raze their home villages. Li Chunsou, a member of the literati, persuaded Xiong Fei to withdraw this threat. He collected Li Maoying's writings for publication in 1294. The literati tradition of the Southern Song (twelfth century) persisted into the early years of the Yuan dynasty (thirteenth century), but the intellectual lines of descent disappeared by the next generation. The neo-Confucian tradition totally altered Chinese society. Historians who rely on written sources find it difficult, if not impossible, to extricate themselves from the oversimplified view of the cultured “we” versus the uncultured “they.” This chapter examines the concepts of “we” versus “they” in imperial China, focusing on administrative community, the Dan and the Yao people, and armed feuds involving the Hakka.Less