Book contents
- Chinese Diasporas
- New Approaches to Asian History
- Chinese Diasporas
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Notes on Using This Book
- Introduction: Framing Chinese Migration
- 1 Early Modern Patterns, 1500–1740
- 2 Migration in the Prosperous Age, 1740–1840
- 3 The Age of Mass Migration, 1840–1937
- 4 The Chinese State and the Politics of Diaspora, 1860s–1940s
- 5 Disruptions and Diasporic Communities in the Mid-Twentieth Century
- 6 The “Floating Population” and “New Migrants,” 1980s to the Present
- 7 Transnational Chinese, 1990s to the Present
- 8 Is There a Chinese Diaspora?
- Index
- New Approaches to Asian History
- References
6 - The “Floating Population” and “New Migrants,” 1980s to the Present
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2020
- Chinese Diasporas
- New Approaches to Asian History
- Chinese Diasporas
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Notes on Using This Book
- Introduction: Framing Chinese Migration
- 1 Early Modern Patterns, 1500–1740
- 2 Migration in the Prosperous Age, 1740–1840
- 3 The Age of Mass Migration, 1840–1937
- 4 The Chinese State and the Politics of Diaspora, 1860s–1940s
- 5 Disruptions and Diasporic Communities in the Mid-Twentieth Century
- 6 The “Floating Population” and “New Migrants,” 1980s to the Present
- 7 Transnational Chinese, 1990s to the Present
- 8 Is There a Chinese Diaspora?
- Index
- New Approaches to Asian History
- References
Summary
Chapter 6 surveys new waves of internal and external migration in the post-Mao era, arguing that they are linked phenomena. The chapter demonstrates that the larger phenomenon, the “floating population” of rural migrants in the cities of eastern, coastal China, is related to the phenomenon of “new migrants” targeting destinations beyond the borders of China. The chapter describes two important examples. The first is the simultaneous migration from some specific communities in the Wenzhou area of southern Zhejiang to Beijing and of migration from other specific communities in Wenzhou to such places as Prato, Italy. The second example consists of rural communities near the city of Wenzhou that both receive “internal” migrants from western China and send “external” migrants to such places as New York City. The chapter demonstrates the continued importance of kinship and native-place networks for the laborers and small entrepreneurs who made up the “floating population” and the “new migrants.” The chapter explores the stances and roles of various levels of government within China toward migrants. It concludes with a survey of family practices, including the reemergence of split families and the newer trends of family migration.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Chinese DiasporasA Social History of Global Migration, pp. 196 - 227Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020