The story of Chaozhouese migration to Southeast Asia, where they have permeated all levels of society, is well-known—but in this thoroughly researched and fluently written book, Macauley offers refreshingly new perspectives on the subject. In broad brush, she provides a deeper and wider picture than ever before by studying a period of several centuries and, spatially, its “frontier” from Shanghai to Hong Kong to continental and island Southeast Asia. Using the idea of “entanglement” to depict the multidimensional interconnectivity of events over time and space, and between the local and the global, she shows critical insights into a complex phenomenon. Yet, the broad brush aside, the minutely detailed information makes this book a gold mine for historians interested in “brotherhoods,” Fang Yao’s qingxiang activities, the “Swatow opium syndicate,” overseas Chinese remittances, and other fascinating topics.
Macauley creates a masterly profile of the local official Fang Yao, relatively unknown to scholars,...
University of California Press