Chinese in Colonial Burma (e-book) (used book) | Yi Li | bookbook.eu

Description

Being a southwest neighbor of China, Burma has seen waves of Chinese immigrants for centuries. It reached the peak in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when Burma was part of British India. Due to the peculiar position of Burma in the British imperial world and the Southeast Asian Chinese network, the Chinese community had a unique experience in a Southeast Asian colony governed by Europeans with an India-based system.
Using previously unexplored archives from colonial institutions and individuals, and primary materials produced by the Burmese Chinese, this is the first-ever comprehensive study in the English language that investigates more than a century of history of the Burmese Chinese under colonial rule. It reveals, through everyday life experience, prominent community figures, and milestone events, the internal rivalry and integration among different regional groups within the community, and the general impressions it left in contemporary observations and communal memories. The book also traces historical roots of some unsolved ethnic issues in present-day Myanmar.