ABSTRACT
Chinese Americans have always maintained a close relationship with their emigrant homeland. In the Pearl River delta of Guangdong Province, from which the majority of Chinese emigrated, the economic and cultural influences of Chinese Americans on local communities are still quite visible. One outstanding example is the highly developed educational institutions of Toisan County, which have been supported by Chinese Americans for many decades. This chapter examines the political and historical circumstances both in China and America, in order to understand why Chinese emigrants financially supported schools in Toisan over many decades. In 1905, the central government established a board of education to administer nationwide educational reform. Before World War II, the majority of Chinese in the United States were poor, single, able-bodied men. In America, the powerful Ning Yung Association, along with other clan organizations, actively promoted fund-raising efforts. The whole county educational system followed the Guangdong provincial education regulations and national education decrees.
