During this meeting for the IACA ICR, we were introduced to the history of China from Benny Ko in a lecture format. He discussed Chinese immigration in the 19th, 20th, and 21st century. This was a good overview of China’s history that might not have been fully known by us visiting students.
The discussion was guided by notes provided to us. We first discussed immigration as a whole and how it is due to the human nature of trying to obtain a better life. We then discussed the geography of China and how beneficial it was for the people to not need to immigrate due to the expansive area of China. Though there were many social instabilities such as dynastic changes and wars, because of the expansive area, internal migration softens the blow of these changes.
We then discussed contemporary china. The Ching dynasty caused China to become self-satisfying and inward looking, while European nations were excelling in science and technology. To catch up, China began trading tea, silk, and percaline to Britain. Eventually Britain ran out of money and began trading opium to China. This made a majority of china addicted to opium. This created a Chinese ban on it and eventually the first Opium War.
This instability created a desire in many people to look for a more stable life outside of China. Many people migrated to countries in Southeast Asian including Malaya and Singapore. This created a mix or culture between Chinese and British. Then after the American Civil War, many people would immigrate to America to be laborers for the boom of railroad building. Following they succeeded in agriculture in America and there was instated the Chinese Exclusion Act to prevent immigration. Following WW2, this act was repealed, and the doors were open to America again.
This experience of learning this history was very beneficial to understand the migration of the Chinese people. It is also eye opening as to how many locations the civilization has expanded into. This experience gave me perspective into the expansive and dense history of China and how China has associated with other civilizations and countries.