The Manila Chinese

by Jacques Amyot

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

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Jacques Amyot

Reviews

[Sovatha · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the classic literature in the area of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. This book about the Chinese in Manila in particular reflects the theoretical understanding of ethnicity at the time, that is to understand one group against the other and that identity came about as a result of interactions between the two groups. This book fits along the same line of the work by William Skinners on Chinese in Thailand and by William Wilmott on Chinese in Cambodia. However, the theory today has moved away from that kind of ideology. The study of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia today approach the topic from a different angle, that is to understand the Chinese as part of the host countries they live in and that the ethnic boundaries between them and the indigenous are less clear cut. It is only logical because throughout time, intermarriage occurs and the everyday lending and borrowing of the features of the two groups makes such definition of one against another more problematic. Despite all of this, The Manila Chinese is one of the classic that should be read as part of a background reading for the studies of overseas Chinese in SEA.