Roots Across the Straits: Global Migration and Clan Reconstruction of the Minnan People through the 'Quanzhou Prefecture Gazettes' and 'Overseas Chinese Gazettes'
Introduction: The Seeds of Zayton Blown Across the Sea In the long annals of Quanzhou, beyond the silhouettes of trading sails, the most moving elements are the footprints of its people. Quanzhou is not only the starting point of the “Maritime Silk Road” but also the spiritual home for tens of millions of overseas Minnan people. Opening the Quanzhou Overseas Chinese Gazette and successive editions of the Quanzhou Prefecture Gazette, one discovers that these local records are essentially a symphony of life concerning “departure” and “return”. From the “private trade” of the Wanli era to the “crossing to Taiwan” in the Qianlong period, and the large-scale “descent to the Southern Seas” (Nanyang) in the modern era, the migration history of Quanzhou people constitutes the underlying code for the development of Chinese societies in Southeast Asia and globally. ...