Beyond Borders: Stories of Yunnanese Chinese Migrants of Burma
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Beyond Borders Beyond Borders Stories of Yunnanese Chinese Migrants of Burma Wen-Chin Chang Cornell University Press Ithaca and London Cover photograph: Chinese school in Kengtung, a major Chinese migrant town in eastern Shan State. Photograph 2008 by Wen-Chin Chang. The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Harvard-Yenching Institute. All royalties earned from sales of this book are donated to the Thabyay Education Foundation (Yangon, Burma) and the Aung Myin Monastery School (Namaw village, Shwe Bo township, Sagaing Region, Burma) to assist their education projects. Copyright © 2014 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2014 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2014 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chang, Wen-Chin, 1964– author. Beyond borders : stories of Yunnanese Chinese migrants of Burma / Wen-Chin Chang. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8014-5331-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8014-7967-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Burma—Emigration and immigration. 2. China—Emigration and immigration. 3. Thailand—Emigration and immigration. 4. Chinese— Migrations. 5. Chinese—Burma. 6. Muslims—Burma. I. Title. DS732. C439 2015 305.895'10591—dc23 2014019460 Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu. Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To my parents Contents Acknowledgments ix Note on Fieldwork, Names, Transliteration, and Currency xiii Introduction 1 Part I. Migration History 19 1. The Days in Burma: Zhang Dage 21 2. Entangled Love: Ae Maew 46 3. Pursuit of Ambition: Father and Son 80 4. Islamic Transnationalism: Yunnanese Muslims 114 Part II. (Transnational) Trade 147 5. Venturing into “Barbarous” Regions: Yunnanese Caravan Traders 149 viii Contents 6. Transcending Gendered Geographies: Yunnanese Women Traders 176 7. Circulations of the Jade Trade: The Duans and the Pengs 207 Epilogue: From Mules to Vehicles 237 Glossary 245 References 255 Index 271 Acknowledgments I encountered my ethnographic fi eld among migrant Yunnanese by chance while backpacking in northern Thailand during the summer of 1993. The launch of my fi eldwork among a Yunnanese migrant community a year later was, however, followed by a series of grave challenges, primarily due to the sensitivity of the research, which almost compelled me to aban- don it. Without numerous people’s kindness and trust in me, I would not have been able to overcome the initial obstacles and persist on my quest to learn about Yunnanese migrants’ history. Although challenges have never ceased, following my informants’ networks of connection I have expanded my research fi eld from Thailand to Burma and other places. I owe enor- mous debts to these informants, and my retelling of their stories in this book is my humble repayment. Unfortunately, I am not able to thank them individually, not only because the thank-you list is too long, but primar- ily in consideration for their security. In addition to my informants, many local people and scholars in Thailand and Burma have helped me enor- mously. Again, for safety concerns, I can name only a few here: the late x Acknowledgments Bhansoon Ladavalya, Kosum Saichan, Seksin Srivatananukulkit, the late Wantana Yangcharoen, Kanjana Prakatwutthisan, the Chaidans, and the Duans. The unfailing friendship and support of all these people helped me along the way and were essential to my research. My home institute, Academia Sinica, has funded my research over the last ten years, allowing me to conduct fi eldwork every year for about two months. I am deeply grateful for its intellectual and fi nancial back- ing. I am indebted to colleagues—anthropologists, historians, sociologists, political scientists, and psychologists—here in Taiwan, especially Chang Ying-Hwa, Hsiao Hsin-Huang, Lin Cheng-Yi, Chiang Bien, Ho Tsui- Ping, and Fung Heidi (all from Academia Sinica), and Hsieh Shih-Chung (National Taiwan University). The Center for Geographic Information Science, RCHSS, at Academia Sinica helped produce the maps; I espe- cially wish to thank two cartography specialists at the center, Li Yu-Ting and Liao Hsiung-Ming. Lu Hsin-Chun (Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica) was vital in checking the transliteration of the Burmese words and providing the Burmese characters. Eric Tagliacozzo (Cornell University) unhesitatingly shares his ideas and suggestions whenever I seek help. I began working on this book while I was a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, Harvard University, during the school year of 2007–2008, a year of inspirations. I am grateful for the generosity and continuous support the institute offered under the directorship of Eliza- beth J. Perry. Her faith in me and her ongoing encouragement have played a crucial role in this book’s publication, facilitated by a publication grant from the institute. Moreover, I benefi ted enormously from many discus- sions with Hue-Tam Ho Tai (Harvard University) about my research and writing during the visiting year. She has always been a caring and support- ive fi gure to junior academics. I also thank Michael Herzfeld (Harvard University), who always made himself available whenever I knocked on his door. I presented some of these chapters at several AAS (Association for Asian Studies) Annual Conferences and at Asian Core Workshops (organized by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, and my cen- ter). I am grateful for the participants’ questions and criticisms. Portions of chapter 5 were published as “Venturing into Barbarous Regions: Trans- border Trade among Migrant Yunnanese between Thailand and Burma, 1960s–1980s,” Journal of Asian Studies 68, no. 2 (2009): 543–72, copyright © Acknowledgments xi 2009 The Association for Asian Studies, Inc., adapted with the permission of Cambridge University Press. I would like to extend my special thanks to Jennifer Munger, the managing editor of JAS . Her interest in my work and concern for Burmese society was a factor in my decision to write this book. It was not an easy task to write in English, as it is not my mother tongue. Dianna Downing and Yumi Selden helped edit both the language and structure of the manuscript before its submission to the press. I am particularly grateful for Dianna’s steadfast patience. Hue-Tam Ho Tai, Glenn May (University of Oregon), Yoko Hayami (Kyoto University), Penny Edwards (University of California, Berkeley), C. Patterson Giersch (Wellesley College), and Wang Gungwu (National University of Singapore) helped read parts of the manuscript and pro- vided constructive critiques. The meticulous review comments from the anonymous referees further led me to sharpen the central theme of the text and articulate theoretical interpretations alongside quoted narratives. Above all, Roger M. Haydon, executive editor at Cornell University Press, has guided each step of the book’s reviewing, editing, and production pro- cesses. I also wish to thank Sara R. Ferguson, Susan C. Barnett and Glenn Novak at the press. Their patience and professionalism have realized this book’s publication. I am greatly indebted to all these people. Any remain- ing errors are my responsibility. Finally, I would like to thank my parents. This book is dedicated to them. They have nourished me with their bravery and wisdom, and their unconditional love is the main source of my work and life. Moreover, I owe a debt of gratitude to my eldest sister-in-law, Wu Ching-Ya, for all kinds of assistance she has given me over the years. Note on Fieldwork, Names, Transliteration, and Currency My research subjects include primarily Yunnanese Chinese migrants (hereafter Yunnanese migrants) who are residing in Burma (or Myanmar) and secondarily those who have moved from Burma to another coun- try, especially Thailand. The population is composed of both Han Chi- nese and Muslims. On account of their continuous mobility (in terms of both internal and external migrations), I often use “migrant Yunnanese” in this book. Sometimes I also specify “Yunnanese in Burma,” “Yunnanese in Thailand,” and so on, depending on the context. Throughout history the Yunnanese have basically undertaken migration from Yunnan in south- western China to upland Southeast Asia by land; the Yunnanese migrants in the region are thus also referred to as “overland Yunnanese” (Chang 2006; Forbes 1987, 1–2; Hill 1983; Sun 2000, 10). The term is in contrast to “overseas/maritime Chinese.” The latter are derived from the coastal prov- inces of southeastern China, primarily the Hokkien/Fujianese, the Can- tonese, and the Hakka, who set off for host countries by sea. I started my anthropological research among the Yunnanese migrants in northern Thailand in late 1994. According to the Yunnanese Association xiv Note on Fieldwork in Chiang Mai, the estimates of the total population of Yunnanese migrants in Thailand are between 100,000 and 150,000. Most of them are located along the borders of Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, and Mae Hongson Prov- inces. Many in the younger generation have relocated to Chiang Mai and Bangkok. In 2000, I extended my fi eldwork to Burma (now Myanmar), where a much larger Yunnanese population resides. No accurate popu- lation fi gure is available there, either, but estimates given by informants range from half a million to one million.