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.

Chapter 1 surveys Chinese migration during the early modern period, here defined as 1500 to 1740. The chapter introduces the concept of a trade diaspora and describes some important examples, Huizhou, Shanxi, and Hokkien. It introduces diasporic institutions important during the early modern era: lineages, native-place associations, temples, and various types of intermediaries. The chapter then describes the ways in which migration was gendered, focusing on male migration, split families, and intermarriage. The chapter ends with an example of one diasporic community, the Huizhou salt merchants who formed the upper tier of the socioeconomic elite in the city of Yangzhou.