New IIAS Publication
In August 1999 'Qiaoxiang Ties. Interdisciplinary Approaches to 'Cultural Capitalism in South China', edited by Leo Douw, Cen Huang, and Michael Godley, was published jointly by the IIAS and Kegan Paul International (London). It is the seventh volume within the series 'Studies from the International Institute for Asian Studies'. The next volume will come out in January 2000, titled 'New Aspects of Asian Studies', edited by Dick van der Meij. The latter contains articles on a wide variety of topics, thus providing a unique picture of recent top-level research within the Asian Studies. All contributors are scholars who have been or are still affiliated to the IIAS.
Qiaoxiang Ties. Interdisciplinary Approaches to 'Cultural Capitalism in South China is a product of the IIAS research programme 'International Social Organization in East and Southeast Asia: Qiaoxiang ties during the twentieth century'. The articles are the outcome of a panel that was organized by the programme during the International Convention of Asia Scholars, 25-28 June 1998 in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands.
This book explores the claims, that cultural affinity facilitates the business ventures into Mainland China launched by residents of Chinese descent in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The economic boom which has occurred in South China over the past two decades seems to confirm these claims. The business ventures of South Chinese descendants into China can easily be represented as a return to their Qiaoxiang (the sojourner's village or hometown). The cultivation of hometown ties is part and parcel of the Chinese culture of establishing guanxi, or relationships of mutual obligation between individuals, and supports the construction of Chinese business networks.
The contributors to the book, however, apply a multi-disciplinary approach which embraces anthropology, history, and political science, allowing them to examine how the cultivation of qiaoxiang ties works in actual practice. In doing so they question the plausibility of this apparent cultural affinity, even more so when the sharing of certain cultural traits is used as an explanation of business success and economic.
The papers in this volume are empirical studies of the dynamics of qiaoxiang ties construction. They are concerned with the question of how diaspora communities come about; how they work on a day-to-day basis, and how they relate to existing political formations. They introduce a long-term perspective on the emergence of these communities, and present much-needed fieldwork on how people link up to them and use them for the advancement of their interests. Taken together, the articles illustrate the rich textures and the many layers that are contained by qiaoxiang linkages. *
For more information about the IIAS publications, see: http://www.iias.nl/iias/public.html or contact DRS CATHELIJNE VEENKAMP executive manager at veenkamp@let.leidenuniv.nl
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