Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the phenomenon of Chinese transnational migration by taking one of the major groups of new migrants from China as a case study. In Asia, mass migration from the southeast coast region of China to Southeast Asia synchronously reached its peak between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The study of migration in the past focused on issues such as the situation of the emigration region; the policy of the receiving state; and issues of assimilation or of acculturation. Ex-peasants are engaging in ethnic economy in global cities like New York, and based on the power they have gained from practicing capitalism, they are reviving native no capitalist logics and practices of social wealth redistribution outside the apparatus of the developmental state.