Taishan: Wellspring of the Chinese Diaspora

If you take a tour bus to the coastal region of the Zhuzhang River Delta, in central and southern Guangdong, whenever you cross county borders, you will see glaringly big signs saying "Welcome to the Such-and-Such Hometown of Overseas Chinese."

For the past centuries, the five counties of Guangdong under the special administration of Jiangmen City--Xinhui, Taishan, Kaiping, Enping and Heshan--have been the most famous overseas Chinese hometowns. Their overseas relatives overall exceed three million (including Hong Kong and Macau), spread in 95 different countries and areas all over the world, the US and Canada being the principal locales.

Among the five counties, Taishan alone is renowned as the country's foremost overseas Chinese homeland.

What's so special about Taishan? The answer is reflected on the omnipresent signs hung in front of innumerable roadside stores:"International Telephone, Direct Calling Overseas." It is also revealed on the many memorial plaques, of the same ilk as those seen in many Chinatowns, built of shiny yellow stained glass. On the plaques are written the names of villagers or schools, or engraved "Filial Piety" or "Grateful for Benevolence." What is also rather special about Taishan is the frequent "Okay" and "Good" one hears peppered in the residents' speech.

Tracing back the history of emigration, Deputy Administrator of the Taishan Municipal Museum Mai Xizhao points out that early on in the Ming Dynasty the Guanghai Bay situated to the south of Taishan was an international trade port. Guanghai Bay has always been dubbed the "Silk Road of the Sea." Another factor was that many people residing along the coast were constantly harassed by Japanese pirates. They often fled to such places as Thailand, Burma and Vietnam. and some settled down there. Also because of the shortage of farmland and overabundance of mountains in Taishan, it was hard to make a living. So going overseas to work was perpetually in fashion. Many factors contributed to Taishan's establishment as the country's great overseas springboard.

At the end of the Ching Dynasty, Chinese indentured servants sailed to the distant shores of America to open up gold mines, build railroads and dig canals. They were crammed together in ship holds, not seeing the light of day for months. After arriving in America, they suffered a whole new array of cruelties at the hands of their masters. Because of hard labor and epidemic lung diseases, tens of thousands of Chinese laborers died meaninglessly overseas. This most tragic page of overseas Chinese history bore the blood of many a Taishanese.

Mai Xizhao, whose grandfather was also an indentured laborer back then, points to an old fashioned big leather box displayed in the museum: "These kinds of boxes were brought back by Chinese laborers from places like the United States and Cuba. Every family has one. It's called a 'Gold Mountain Box.'"

Like the "Gold Mountain Boxes," the "Gold Mountain Dandies" also left a mark in the history of the overseas Chinese.

Stories from those days record that those Chinese laborers who risked their very lives to work overseas never failed to mail the money they accumulated back home, to improve the lives of their family. When they had the rare opportunity to return and reunite with their families, inevitably they brought some exotic curiosities, as well as tales of what they had seen and heard in the colorful world abroad, bringing smiles to the faces of loved ones.

Fathers and brothers far away from home had their hearts attached to the family. Yet secondg enerations didn't necessarily appreciate it. Xinning Magazine, which has had a long history (Xinning was the original name of Taishan), published in the beginning of the 20th Century an article indicating that many descendants of overseas Chinese depended on overseas remittances for their financial expenses. They led comfortable and often quite crapulous lives. "They lived the parasitical existence of 'Gold Mountain Dandies.'" The whole of Taishan county was permeated with an aura of pleasure, merrymaking and luxury.

The saying "Duanfen women are as sweet as pure water" also bears witness to the wealth of the overseas Chinese Hometowns. Duanfen Town in Taishan County, many of whose residents had gone abroad, earned the nickname of "the hometown of hometowns." Duanfen women, reliant on their fathers' and brothers' support, didn't have to work in the fields; their skin was therefore flawless like pure water, and their faces pretty.

Luckily, besides the saturnine atmosphere permeating the place, the wealth of the overseas Chinese hometowns was also reflected on the emphasis they placed on cultural education and their enthusiasm for serving their country.

"Early on when Dr. Sun Yat-sen was busy fulminating revolution, the overseas Chinese from Guangdong gave him a lot of support," says Mai Xizhao. Concentrated in the United States and Canada, the overseas Chinese from Taishan engaged mostly in small business, and their financial power and social status could not compare to overseas Chinese big businessmen in Southeast Asia from Fujian, Chaozhou and Shantou. Nevertheless, bit by bit their contributions became a matter of significance for the country.

"For instance, during the periods of the Republican revolution and war of resistance against Japan, the overseas Chinese heeded the call to 'join the air force and save the country.' Most of the overseas Chinese pilots coming back to the country were from Guangdong province, many of them Taishanese," Mai observes. And the first privately run railway of China-the Xinning Railway--was also planned and executed by the Taishanese Chen Yixi. Later on that railroad became financially indebted due to troubles with local officials, opposition from the local gentry, and blackmail from warlords. Yet it still served to spur on the Chinese transportation industry.

Taishanese overseas Chinese not only introduced new knowledge and ideas to save the country; they also put an emphasis on their children's education. "Overseas Chinese who tried to make a living outside were often tyrannized because of their illiteracy and lack of cultivation. Therefore, they particularly hoped that their descendants would never suffer the same way," says Zhu Yojing, supervisor of the Taiwan Affairs Office of Taishan.

As early as 1934, there were 1277 primary schools in Taishan county, the highest percentage in all of Guangdong, perhaps in all of China. It was for this reason referred to as the "hometown of culture" in the 1920s. Taishan City First High School, founded and funded by Taishan overseas Chinese from Canada, was famous for its refined campus architecture. As for the origin of Taishan's being dubbed the "hometown of volleyball," it was said that after Taishanese became wealthy they sent their children to school in the capital Guangzhou, and volleyball was introduced from Guangzhou.

Interestingly, it was the infertility of the land that drove the overseas Chinese away from home; yet, after overseas Chinese hometowns became wealthy, they attracted the envy of thieves and hoodlums. On the outskirts of Taishan city along the highway leading to Duanfen, one catches sight of a number of two-storey jade-green brick buildings tidily straddling the road, forming their own little village. On both ends of the village, there are fortified towers rising four or five storeys high.

Todd Ng, who works in the Taishan Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Guangdong Province, points out that in the 20s and 30s feuding between warlords had just ended when the war of resistance against Janpan took its place. Thieves became rampant; social order began to disintegrate. Dependents of overseas Chinese were frequently robbed or kidnapped. In order to defend themselves, they bought rifles of various sizes and organized militias of youths and adults, standing guard at the forts day and night. Some overseas Chinese did not dare to stay at home during the night, so they brought their basic necessities into the fortified towers, taking up residence there. In this way the forts became one of the peculiar sights of the overseas Chinese hometowns.

The architecture of overseas Chinese hometowns has its own special ambience. According to Chinese American scholar Him Mark Lai, overseas Chinese, being influenced by American architecture, came back to build a series of structures that combined Western and Chinese influences. Typically, the front half was a blue-gray brick western style building with a flat roof one or two storeys high, while the back half retained the traditional design of an "A" shaped roof composed of fir wood and bricks. Zhu Yojing indicates that in order to protect themselves against gangsters, they even added glutinous rice powder to the brick mixture in order to increase the adhesive nature of the walls, so that bullets could not so easily penetrate.

With husbands and brothers away from home, no small number of familial tragedies took place. During the latter half of World War II, the global situation was in a state of turmoil. Overseas remittances were abruptly discontinued. As luck would have it, several natural disasters brought crop failures in the early 1940s.

"Back then many people starved to death. Some wives of overseas Chinese, in order support their parents-in-law and children, went to neighboring Yangjiang and Zhanjiang and fell into prostitution," states Wu Yongzhi. After China opened up, overseas Chinese were seen traveling to Yangjiang and Zhanjiang in hope of finding their wives with whom they had lost contact for over 40 years.

World WarII had just ended when civil war between the Nationalists and Communists ensued. After the Communists gained the upper hand in the mainland, they instigated a series of political movements, such as land reform. Because the very words "overseas" and "connections abroad" were the target of attack, overseas Chinese hometowns became anathema to the Communist party. In order to eliminate this scourge, the party sent the families of overseas Chinese to far distant re-education camps.

Whole families were separated. Because there was no hope of getting a hold of their remittances,they were forced to support themselves and were often ridiculed as "polo players who now have to walk."

Fortunately, after bearing these hardships, Taishanese finally could again rely on the good name of "hometown of overseas Chinese" to regain their smitten pride. After the reforms of the 1980s, Chinese living abroad regained communication with their hometown. In order to make up for the miseries their hometowns had suffered, overseas Chinese were particularly generous.

"Over the past ten years, Taishan City has been enlarged several times. Many returned overseas Chinese could barely recognize it," says Wu Yongzhi.

A casual look about the city reveals many new buildings, including additions to the Taishan City First High School, and the Cultural District, a recent startup in Taishan City, which includes a library, a museum, a science institute, educational television station, television university and amusement center. All of these are products of the donations of overseas Chinese. The couple that evokes the greatest admiration are Wu Shun-tak and Ma Lan-fong, community leaders among the Hong Kong overseas Chinese whose donations amount to more than HK$30 million.

Many overseas Chinese go out of their way to assist their relatives back home, from processing applications for visits abroad or emigration, to mailing tickets back to them, to even going to fetch them in person.

Wu Yongzhi, whose wife is in America, is himself planning to go to that country soon. He points out that Chinese laborers have been going abroad for a long time. The pattern often followed that relatives, friends and neighbors would embark one after another, the first one pulling the others behind him. Today the fashion of new emigration is in the same mode. Generally speaking, if one has spouses or immediate family filing from the US, it will take about half a year to receive permission to immigrate. Limitations on the adult offspring over the age of 21 are relatively stricter; one must wait about three or four years. If the application is filed by extended family members, the waiting period may be as long as eight or ten years.

According to estimates, the yearly population emigrating from Taishan to America is about 5,000 to 6,000. That is a significant portion of the 20,000 visas which the United States grants mainland China each year. For that reason, the American consul stationed in Guangzhou has to send personnel south on inspection tours to Taishan. The People's Hospital in Taishan City is the only county-level hospital which is allowed to undertake health examinations for emigration. The existence of the hospital spares the Taishanese the trouble of journeying to Guangzhou for health certification. Taishan's position as the foremost overseas Chinese hometown in the country should remain unchallenged for the foreseeable future.

What makes one curious is if there is any difference between the "new emigrants" and the old generation of overseas Chinese from Taishan. "In fact there is no big difference," says Wu Yongzhi. New emigrants brought over by their relatives to the new land often work in the family's restaurant, laundry or grocery store. Chinatown is their turf. Because of language barriers and long working hours, they have no great chances to spend their money. So, they have mostly retained the old traditions of diligence, frugality and sending money back home. They even have the custom of "going back home to find their spouses." All these practices are identical to those of the older generation of emigrants. What is different is the expectation that overseas Chinese parents have of their children. In the past, seniors in the hometown would "bind you to your hometown by finding a wife for you there" to ensure that the younger generation abroad would send back their money on time. But customs have changed. Zhu Yojing, whose son settled in America using the pretext of visiting relatives, thinks that the current parents of hometown overseas Chinese are more liberal. If their sons want to marry foreign women, they have no objections.

Indeed, in recent years after overseas Chinese hometowns opened up, second generation overseas Chinese for the first time have brought spouses with various colors of skin back to their hometowns. "Whenever the Chinese Lunar New Year draws near, many Taishan families reunite in gatherings that look like the United Nations," says Zhu Yojing. Once they get used to this change, they can accept it with no great qualms.

Because their comings and goings are so thickly entangled, the daily greetings of Taishanese have become, "What's your schedule like this month?" or "When are you leaving the country again?" Despite the fact that after communications reopened many Taishanese discovered that some relatives are not doing that well in America, that even some of them work as mere waiters or laundry laborers in Chinatown, the inexpressible familiarity and beautiful fantasies that Taishanese cherish toward America can never be shaken off.

From a different perspective, a large number of Taishanese have channels to go abroad, but in the end they choose not to leave. Some who have gone abroad and have widened their vision can sometimes hardly avoid coming home displaying the airs of "Gold Mountain Settlers," showing off to their relatives. Those who cannot find their own channels outward, on the other hand, naturally stock up some grudges. One day in front of Taishan's Overseas Chinese Hotel, a typical quarrel took place. A young "new emigrant" who had returned home and was staying in the hotel, began to argue with the ladies at the counter when he checked out. Both parties became enraged, screaming at each other. Even the concierge joined the side of the counter help. The "new emigrant" was overheard saying, "What lousy service! If you had any brains at all, you wouldn't still be stuck here!" He immediately followed this up with a curse in a foreign tongue. The lady behind the counter was not intimidated in the least. "What's so great about leaving the country? Who cares if you speak a foreign language? You're probably just a wash boy in America!"

"There are two Taishans--one inside, one outside." Let's hope the two Taishans can work hand in hand. Let's also hope that after the hometown gets wealthy, the Taishanese will not have to feel they belong overseas, so that the "hometown of overseas Chinese" will never become just a romantic phrase in history.

[Picture Caption]

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(left) Seen in the distance from a lofty vantage point, the lovely, tranquil city of Taishan is the hometown held dear in the hearts of many overseas Chinese.

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In Duanfen, a typical small overseas Chinese village in Taishan County, every home is a two-storey structure made of blue-gray bricks. A fortified tower still protects the entrance to the village.

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The Taishan High School, built with monetary donations from Taishanese living in the United States and Canada during the 1920s, entertains a great reputation among the five overseas Chinese home counties, both in architecture and facilities.

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A glimpse of the old district of Taishan. Overseas direct dialing telephones and traveler's suitcases are the hot items for sale here.

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The Five Overseas Home Counties of Guangdong

Source: Jiangmen Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Guangdong

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In the early days, Chinese from Guangdong who went to North America clawed their way there with hard work in farming and labor. The picture shows Chinese workers in the US harvesting cotton. (Rephotographed from the Taishan Municipal Museum)

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The "emigrant dream" of the Taishanese is reflected on the advertisements for English language schools and courses for study abroad.

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Anna May Wong, a Chinese American starlet of the early silver screen, was a Taishanese. Etching a place in the firmaments in white society was a difficult task back then, as well. (Rephotographed from the Taishan Municipal Museum)

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During the reforms of the last decade, overseas remittances have again started coming into Taishan. Construction for the public good and education have increased by leaps and bounds. Shown here are the photograph plaques of donors mounted on a stone pavilion as a memorial.

In Duanfen, a typical small overseas Chinese village in Taishan County, every home is a two-storey structure made of blue-gray bricks. A fortified tower still protects the entrance to the village.

The Taishan High School, built with monetary donations from Taishanese living in the United States and Canada during the 1920s, entertains a great reputation among the five overseas Chinese home counties, both in architecture and facilities.

A glimpse of the old district of Taishan. Overseas direct dialing telephones and traveler's suitcases are the hot items for sale here.

The Five Overseas Home Counties of Guangdong Source: Jiangmen Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Guangdong.

In the early days, Chinese from Guangdong who went to North America clawed their way there with hard work in farming and labor. The picture shows Chinese workers in the US harvesting cotton. （Rephotographed from the Taishan Municipal Museum）

The "emigrant dream" of the Taishanese is reflected on the advertisements for English language schools and courses for study abroad.

Anna May Wong, a Chinese American starlet of the early silver screen, was a Taishanese. Etching a place in the firmaments in white society was a difficult task back then, as well. （Rephotographed from the Taishan Municipal Museum）

During the reforms of the last decade, overseas remittances have again started coming into Taishan. Construction for the public good and education have increased by leaps and bounds. Shown here are the photograph plaques of donors mounted on a stone pavilion as a memorial.