14. Big House in the Tang Mountains

The one hundred years between the mid nineteenth-century Cali­fornian and Australian gold rushes and the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 saw the establishment and maintenance of extensive trans-Pacific links. These links developed between the native places or qiaoxiang of tens of thousands of people originating in the Pearl River Delta of south China who travelled to various destinations including the Pacific ports of Sydney, San Francisco and Honolulu. Here we discuss the history of these qiaoxiang links, a history of movement outside the qiaoxiang, but also a history of efforts to survive, return to, retire in and improve the qiaoxiang. * Qiaoxiang can be translated as "native land of one who is away" and refers to a person's home village, district or county, depending on which they choose to identify with as their place of origin. For the published article see: Michael Williams, ‘In the Tang Mountains we have a Big House‘, East Asian History, vol. 25/26, June/December, 2003, pp. 85-112. Please check out publications at - https://chidestudypresscom.wordpress.com/the-bookstore Feel free to ask questions at: [email protected]