> Publications The Chinese Minority in Southern So far, nearly all studies on Chinese minorities in Asia have been authored by social scientists, and have been based ‘a major part of their secret structures’ Review > only to a small extent on historical primary sources. Given the fact that research on the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam, in particular, (p. 257). Southeast Asia has been hampered by prejudices dating back to the three Indochina Wars, one has to appreciate the approach taken by Thomas The second part of the book deals pri- Engelbert, a specialist in Vietnamese ethnic policies (Nationalitätenpolitik). In this new publication he analyses the immigration marily with the ethnic policies vis-à-vis of ethnic Chinese (Hoa) into Vietnam, and the policies of the various colonial and post-colonial regimes towards this minority, by the ethnic Chinese in the period fol- systematically drawing on Vietnamese and French archival sources.1 lowing the end of World War II. In a convincing analysis of the impact of the By Volker Grabowsky namese heartland in Tonkin, the abili- tenth century, may have made it easier [who refused to integrate] while at the political changes in China (Civil War, ty of the Vietnamese people to integrate to implement this paradigm. same time integrating and assimilating Communist Revolution) on the posi- lthough Engelbert has concentrat- into and, in the longer run, also assim- Notwithstanding renewed, albeit those who wanted to stay in Vietnamese tion of the Hoa in Vietnamese politics, Aed on the period after the begin- ilate numerous Chinese immigrants, temporary subjugation of Vietnam by society, were always official policies of economy and society, Engelbert refutes ning of French colonial rule (1859), his seems remarkable. The author explains the Ming rulers (1407-1427), after the the state’ (p. 39). several ideologically motivated myths. lengthy chapter on the ‘China policy’ of this achievement by the attitude of final Chinese withdrawal the Viet- The Vietnamese Lê dynasty used eth- For example, the first president of the pre-colonial Vietnam is particularly almost all Vietnamese dynasties namese crown allowed all Chinese who nic Chinese as well as Vietnamese to Republic of Vietnam, Ngô Dình Diêm, interesting as it provides us with a clear- towards the ‘People of the North’, which preferred to stay equal rights as Viet- found settlements in the Cham territo- failed due to his neglect of social issues, er understanding of the determinant in sum entailed: ‘assimilation of the namese citizens, provided that they ries of , which, in 1477 and because of his corruption and factors of Vietnamese ethnic policies, immigrants and separation of the adopted the country’s customs. This were incorporated into the Vietnamese repressive policies regarding national shaped by geography and historical aliens’ (p. 33). The fact that China as the also implied the encouragement of realm. The recruitment of Chinese as and religious minorities, such as the experiences. Middle Kingdom remained a model for marriages with Vietnamese partners. settlers in former Cham and Khmer land Khmer Krom in the . Given the political and cultural dom- Vietnam even after the latter had ‘The separation of the own [i.e. Viet- seems to have been a characteristic fea- Diêm’s treatment of the Hoa was, how- inance of imperial China over the Viet- achieved full independence, by the late namese] population from foreigners ture of the Vietnamese Nam Tien ever, relatively tolerant and ‘one of the (‘Movement to the South’). Ethnic Chi- most pragmatic, flexible and, in the nese had played a pivotal role in the cul- end, successful variants’ (p. 555) of all tivation of the Mekong delta since the political approaches towards religious seventeenth century. Thus by the end of and ethnic communities in the post- the eighteenth century a mixed Viet- 1954 period. namese-Chinese society had emerged in The political position of the econom- this sparsely populated region, trans- ically influential Hoa in post-colonial forming a landscape dominated by Vietnam always reflected the relations dense mangrove forests into fertile agri- of respective Vietnamese governments cultural land. Cochin China was able to with their powerful neighbour in the particularly support the region around north. Thus one is tempted to support the capital Hué and the provinces further the author’s conclusion that ‘the per- north with rice (p. 100). Thus, even ceptions of the Hoa as a minority in Viet- before the Chinese mass immigration to nam [...] and the resulting policy towards southern Vietnam in the period between this ethnic minority [...][were] never bet- 1880 and 1929, Chinese migrants made ter than the Vietnamese-Chinese rela- a significant contribution to the devel- tions in general’ (p. 631). The substan- opment of the Mekong delta (p. 132). tial improvement of these relations since During the period of French colonial the late 1980s and the economic rule the Chinese in Cochin China reforms, following the Chinese pattern, maintained a high degree of autonomy have thus had positive impacts on the through their congregations which resurgence of the Hoa in southern Viet- relied on clan and speechgroup struc- nam. Though the anti-Chinese excesses tures. When the conflict between the in the years in the aftermath of the French administration and the Viet- reunification of Vietnam (1976) had left namese anti-colonial movement esca- their mark on those Chinese who lated during the 1930s, the Hoa were remained in Vietnam, the conditions for wooed by both contending sides. The a successful and gradual process of inte- majority of the ethnic Chinese, howev- gration and assimilation of the Hoa exist er, tried to avoid a clear political com- today. The absence of Chinese mass mitment to either side. Drawing on immigration, like in the previous cen- French and Vietnamese archival mate- tury, will prove to be a crucial factor in rial, Engelbert reconstructs the hither- achieving the positive future that Engel- to largely neglected role that Chinese bert predicts. nationalist and communist organiza- Engelbert’s study of the historical tions played in Cochin China during relations between the Hoa and their this crucial period. The long-awaited Vietnamese environment is also an ‘Cochin China uprising’, which started important contribution to the history of on 22-23 November 1940, provides one the ‘Nanyang Chinese’ in general.2 The of the most fascinating accounts. The reviewer hopes that this work will author shows how this uprising, attract scholarly interest, even beyond launched jointly by Vietnamese and the German-speaking world, as it cer- Chinese communist party organiza- tainly deserves. < tions, turned to disaster with thousands of communists going to prison. It is - Engelbert, Thomas, Die chinesische Min- interesting to note that in contrast to derheit im Süden (Hoa) als Para- their Vietnamese comrades, the ethnic digma der kolonialen und nationalistischen Chinese communists were able to save Nationalitätenpolitik, Frankfurt am Main Notes > (etc.): Peter Lang (2002), pp. 703, ISBN 3-631-38940-X (originally written as a 1 Hoa is most probably derived from the Chinese word, postdoctoral thesis (Habilitationsschrift) pronounced in Mandarin as hua (lit. ‘beautiful’, ‘mag- at the Faculty of Philosophy, Humboldt- nificent’, ‘with culture’). Ancient China was called Hua University of Berlin). Xia, abbreviated to Hua. The traditional Tai Yuan (Northern Thai) designation of the Chinese, Hò, could Dr Volker Grabowsky is Professor of South- also be derived from Hua. I am grateful to my col- east Asian History at the Westfälische Wil- league Dr Foon Ming Liew for elucidating the etymolo- helms-Universität Münster. His recent pub- gy of this ethnic term. lications are on the history and traditional 2‘Nan’ means ‘south’, and ‘yang’ means ‘ocean’ or literature of Laos and northern Thailand. ‘sea’. Thus ‘Nanyang’ can be rendered as ‘Southern He is currently jointly responsible for a DFG Ocean’ or ‘Southern Sea’. ‘Nanyang Chinese’ refers to (German Research Foundation) project on the ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia, notably those in the Tai polities in Southeast Asia and south- the insular part. western China. [email protected]

IIAS Newsletter | #32 | November 2003 39