Travelogue

Nanyang Chinese

Nanyang (now known as Southeast Asia) was one of the main destinations for Chinese migrants and we will explore how these pioneers coped with settling down in a foreign land and how they integrated their culture with the countries they chose to build their futures and raise their families. Through their reflections, the audience will be lead to understand how the gaps between the different cultures were bridged. The emigration of Ethnic Chinese (also called “the Han people” or Chinese in ancient times) were said to begin during the Shang dynasty. Subsequently, many Chinese stayed overseas due to many reasons including business, to seek refuge or for religious purposes. Larger numbers migrated to countries in the South China Seas after the expeditionary voyages of Admiral Cheng Ho, a favored eunuch of Ming emperor, Yong Le. Three primary reasons for the emigration of Ethnic Chinese: economic reasons after The Voyages of Cheng Ho, post Opium War migration and the move from Fujian-Guangdong to Indonesia. In the past, it was about tradition. Now it is about economic motivation.