Networks beyond Empires (a monograph)

What is it about?

This book is at the intersection between Chinese nationalism, capitalist incorporation of Asia, and diaspora's identity making. It elaborates the interplay between business interests and nationalist mobilization among Chinese bourgeoisie in colonial Hong Kong and Singapore. It points out the continuing development of transnational Chinese networks in the South China-Southeast Asian space throughout the European age of empire.

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Photo by Markus Leo on Unsplash

Photo by Markus Leo on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Most studies on Chinese diasporas emphasize the latter's connection with China. This book incorporates the macro geopolitical considerations--the expansion and fluctuations of global economy in the interwar years--to examine the contingent rise of China-oriented Chinese nationalism in colonial Asia. The book reveals the agency of overseas Chinese against the backdrop of capitalist incorporation of Asia in the European age of empire. It argues Chinese business networks, organized around the speech-group identity, were key to preserve the autonomy of overseas Chinese space. Two contributions are that: 1) the Chinese bourgeoisie overseas made effective use of Chinese nationalism to secure their transnational business interests from the transition from British free-trade imperialism to the surging nationalist protectionalism in the 1930s onwards; 2) overseas Chinese bourgeoisie’s nationalism was more than an advocacy of pan-Chinese consciousness or patriotism; Chinese nationalist identity within and without China was not uniform.

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