Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
Reviews 171 ontheexhibitheldatUniversityofCaliforniaBerkeleyin2002.Theexhibit displayedthevastcollectiononChineseAmericansfoundinthefivelibrariesof theuniversity.Asrichastheuniversity'scollectionmaybe,thelibrariesstillface manyproblemsincludingthelackoffundingtomaintain,preserve,andexpand thecollection. Onecannotunderscoreenoughtheimportanceofthisbook.Thedifferent essaysprovidehelpfulinformationandresearchideasforeveryoneinterestedin thestudyoftheChinesediaspora.Ialsohighlyrecommenditfortheusein courses--whetherundergraduateorgraduate--ontheChinesediaspora.Finally, I echotheopinionoftheeditorsthatscholarsandlibrarians--and,ifImayadd, privateindividualsandnonacademicians--shouldallcontinuesupportingand collaboratingwithoneanotherindevelopingthefield. RichardT.Chu Richard T. Chu is a five-college associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He specializes in the history of the Chinese diaspora in the Philippines and on broader questions of ethnicity, colonialism, and nationalism. NOTEs 1. DifferenttermshavebeenusedtorefertotheChinesebeyondmainlandChinaand Taiwan--"Chineseoverseas,""OverseasChinese,""huaren,"etc.Forthepurposeofthisreview, theterm"diasporicChinese"or"Chinesediaspora"willbeused. 2. AnexampleofsuchworkisJosephineM.T.Khu,ed.,Cultural Curiosity: Thirteen Stories about the Search for Chinese Roots(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2010).Inthisedited volume,thirteensecond-orthird-generationdiasporicChinesecontributedhighlypersonal essaysoftheirexperiencesvisitingChinaintheiradulthoodandhowthosevisitschangedtheir perspectivesoftheirownethnicidentities.OtherexamplesincludethenovelswrittenbyChinese AmericansAmyTanandMaxineHongKingston. 3. See,forexample,RichardT.Chu,Chinese and Chinese Mestizos of Manila: Family, Identity, and Culture 1860s1930s(LeidenandBoston:E.J.Brill,2010). MauroGarcíaTrianaandPedroEngHerrera.Editedandtranslatedby GregorBenton.The Chinese in Cuba, 1847Now.Lanham,MD:Lexington Books,2009.233pp.Hardcover$75.00,isbn0-7391-3343-8. © 2011 by University of Hawai`i Press The Chinese in Cuba, 1847NowisanEnglishtranslationofthreepreviously unpublishedessaysbyMauroGarcíaTrianaandPedroEngHerrera.Theessaysare followedbyappendixesthatincludeeditedexcerptsfromthreekeytextsbyand 172 ChinaReviewInternational:Vol.17,No.1,2010 aboutChineseandChineseCubans.TheprefaceisbyAbelFung,aChinese-born residentofHavana'sChinatownwhohaslivedinCubaforoverfiftyyears.After introductionsbytheeditorandthecoauthors,thefifty-four-page-longfirstchapter,"TheChineseinCuba'sWarofIndependence,"alsoincludesanappendixtitled "CubansinaJapaneseInternmentCampinHongKong."Chapter2,"Chinese BusinessinCubaintheTwentiethCentury,"hastwentypages.Thethird,"Chinese inCubanCulturalLife,"issixty-sixpageslong.Priortotheindexarethreeadditionalappendixes:"ChineseEmigration,theCubaCommission,Report of the Commission Sent by China to Ascertain the Condition of Chinese Coolies in Cuba (1877)";"GonzalodeQuesada,The Chinese and Cuban Independence(1892)";and "DuvonCloughCorbitt,CoolieLifeinCuba(1971)". AccordingtoAbelFung'spreface,"Thisbookrevealsthepartplayedby ChineseandtheirdescendantsinCubansocietyandhistory,aroleunmatchedin extentanddepthinanyotherWesterncountry"(p.ix).Similartoothertexts,this bookbasesChineseclaimstothenationalcommunityontheChinesemilitary participationinthewarsofindependenceand,later,intheCubanRevolution.In hisintroduction,theeditorandtranslator,GregorBenton,analyzesdifferent factorsintheprocessofintegrationoftheChinesecommunitytotheCuban nation.Includedamongthesefactorsaretheconceptsofa"racelessnation,"the ChineseroleintheliberationstrugglesandtheCubanRevolution,theanti-ChineseracismbroughtbytheU.S.occupationofCubain1899,andCubansinophobiaandorientalism.Bentonwiselyarguesthat,afterthecollapseoftheSoviet Union,theChineselineoftheCubanfamilyacquirednewvisibilitythankstothe newgeo oliticalandeconomicpowerofthePeople'sRepublicofChina.The p revivalofanethnicChinesecultureresults,inpart,fromthecreationofthe HavanaChinatownPromotionGroupandtheopeningoftheChungWahCasino's membershiptodescendantsofChinese,includingmestizos. Theintroductionexplainsthateverychapterandappendixinthebookisa tributetotheChineseandtheirdescendantsinCubainthe160thanniversaryof theinceptionofChineseemigrationtotheisland.Afterabriefexplanationofthe reasonsbehindtheChineseemigrationandoftheprogressivereductionoftheir community,theylistChineseregionalandclanassociations,politicalorganizations,corporativebodies,sportingsocieties,andperiodicals.Chapter1explores theimportantroleoftheChineseinCuba'sthreewarsofindependence.The Chinesefoundtheirmotivationin"theexploitationandmaltreatmentbythe landownersandthecolonialists"(p.1)andthe"resentmentagainstforeigncolonialistsandtheOpiumWarsandthetraditionoftheTaipingRebellionandthe struggleagainstfeudalexploitation"(p.24).Thesignificanceoftheirparticipation isprovenbythefactthatcolonialauthoritiesdecidedtostoptheimportofa Chineselaborthatwasdetrimentaltothepacificationoftheisland.Curiously, someofthesourcesprovidedcontradictthegeneralpremiseofthechapter--that ChineseparticipationinthewarswasamatterofCubanpatriotism.Thus,aBritish Reviews 173 consulstatesthatthecolonialgovernment'shabitofforcingtheChinesetorenew theircontractswas"themaincause...ifnottheonlyone,ofChinesepresencein therebelranks"(p.3).Whileadmittingthatthiswaspartiallytrue,GarcíaTriana andEngHerreraclaimthatmanyhadalreadyjoinedtherebelsbeforethis1871 imposition.Thechapterincludesdetailedaccountsofthemainbattles,suchasLas Guásimas;adiscussionofthenumberofChinesesoldiers;andthenamesof numerousChineseparticipants,includingColonelJoséBuTack,CaptainsJosé TolónandTancredo,LieutenantCarolsAchong,thephysicianLiborioWong,and JuanAnalay.Regardlessofthenumbers,accordingtotheauthors,Chineseparticipationinthewarswasimportantbecauseof"theexampletheysettoCubanwhites andblacks"(p.23). TrianaandHerreraalsodismissthedepositionsmadebysomeChinese cooliesinthe Cuba Commission Reportwhoclaimedthattheyhadbeenforced to jointherebelforcesandthatsomehadescapedafterbeingrecruitedbythe mambises.Intheauthor'sview,thosedepositionsreflectthebiasedstanceofChin Lan-pin,theimperialcommissionerwholedtheinvestigation:"Governments nearlyalwaysadviseémigréstorespectthelawsoftheircountriesorresidence, andanofficialreportwouldbeunlikelytostrikeanattitudeofhostilitytoward Spain,ontheeveofnegotiatinganagreement"(p.25).Thefirstchapteralso devotessectionstothefirstChineseMarxistsinCubaduringthe1920sand1930s aswellastoSino-CubanmembersoftheArmedForcesinthetwentiethcentury, includingthethreegeneralsinterviewedinOur History Is Still Being Written (2005). Whilethesechaptersrepresentaninterestingresourceforresearchers,the
China Review International – University of Hawai'I Press
Published: Mar 1, 2010
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.