遙遠的海岸：中國海疆上的殖民擴張: Distant Shores: Colonial Encounters on China's Maritime Frontier

by Melissa Macauley, 林玉菁 (Translator)

改變對殖民時代中國角色理解的先鋒史學之作
本書故事極具感染力，色彩豐厚，深具洞見。
2022年世界歷史協會班特利圖書獎
從全球史的角度去詮釋潮州人成功的歷史，驚人深刻，饒有勝意！
傳統中國被視為欠缺海洋與殖民影響力的大陸帝國，作者麥柯麗挑戰此一觀點，揭示中國東南地區的經濟擴張，可與歐洲人的海外殖民野心分庭抗禮。


【內容說明】
在這個始於工業革命、終於經濟大蕭條的故事中，麥柯麗闡述了中國強悍之地的旅外者，如何崛起成為南海商業霸主。她的重心放在潮州──中國重要海域省分廣東之一角。潮州在海外華人水域中的崛起，是中國與東南亞相互連結的歷史中，驚人的社會發展之一。麥柯麗追蹤這些潮州人如何在未建立正式統治權威的情況下，卻能在故鄉跟海外擷取海外殖民體系帶來的諸多好處。本書中浮現的畫面，並非是跟西方現代性分流的中國發展，而是兩者在殖民場域內的匯流；這些場域則是現代發展與資本加速積累的關鍵。
本書是一份全球脈絡下的地方研究。它將闡明中國東南方、上海、香港與東南亞區域之間交纏的歷史；這些東南亞區域是十七世紀後旅外潮人遷徙的目的地，包含暹羅灣上的曼谷與柬埔寨、#

Genres: History

515 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2021

Reviews

[Ulysse Colonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant dive into the expansion of the horizon of Chinese Chaozhou-dialect-speaking community.

Worth noting that it is exceptionally well written for an academic book, the author being often nothing short of delightfully witty and humourous. She also has a eye for the epic life stories of some of the characters.

Overall, it's a really good book which engages both with some of the most interesting historical debates of the moment (K. Pommeranz) and some of the current political questions (9-Dash Line).

In essence, the book shows how the large-scale migation of Chaozhouese across SE Asia from 1600 onwards had a effect on the homeland (principally their home region but on China as a whole too) very similar to the on colonisation had on Britain and Europe more generally.

All the more interesting because in the West many of the Chinese community actually descend from those Chaozhouese pioneers.

[Ada · Rating 5 out of 5]

My ancestral home is in Chaozhou. I often listened to the stories told by my family members about 下南洋 when I was young. I was deeply touched after reading this book