Museums are a great place to visit. Each museum is different in size and has its own characteristics. For those who love history, museums are a must-visit, and tourists visiting here is also a great punch card. Before I entered the Xiamen Overseas Chinese Museum, I thought it was just a museum to introduce and display the "lower Nanyang" of the Minnan people. Wandering among them, Fang knows that he not only shows the history of overseas Chinese in modern China, but also is a collection of comprehensive retrospectives of the history of overseas Chinese in China.
Walking into the hall on the first floor of the Xiamen Overseas Chinese Museum, you can see a stone stele that records that the museum was founded by Mr. Chen Jiageng, a famous overseas Chinese leader, and was built by Mr. Chen Jiageng and donated money from overseas Chinese and returned overseas Chinese (Figure 2).
In the exhibition halls from the first floor to the second floor, a large number of pictures and texts and physical donations donated by overseas Chinese compatriots comprehensively narrate the history of Chinese guests living abroad. The history of overseas Chinese can be counted from the "Silk Road" of the Qin and Han Dynasties through the Western Regions to the Tang Dynasty, when there were more Chinese settled abroad. Of course, the real history of overseas Chinese should be said to have been since 1916, when the Beiyang government "replaced the army with work" to participate in the First World War and allowed Britain, France and other Allied countries to recruit laborers in China. Photographs from the collection show that during World War I, the largest export of Chinese workers from China was in Weihaiwei, Shandong (Figure 3).
What is different from the contemporary Chinese people who went abroad to pan for gold is that a large number of overseas Chinese compatriots "went to Nanyang" in those years, which was forced by life. The exhibition hall has the evidence of the Minnan folk songs of that year:
If the hometown environment is forced, you have to go out to survive the difficulties.
If Fan Ping is really good, many people go around a few times.
There are also Teochew folk songs, which also sing the helplessness of leaving home:
Helpless, over Siam,
Go sell goo to get by.
No fields, no wood and rice,
Why wait for starvation in vain.
Photographs from the collection also show that from the Tianping Heavenly Kingdom to the Northern Expedition and the Guangzhou Uprising, a large number of Chinese who have fled overseas have taken refuge (Figures 4-7).
With the needs of survival and the development of the situation, gradually formed groups to help each other, set up schools to establish a foundation for education, and founded newspapers to communicate information and expand publicity. Particularly commendable is the Chinese community, which has enhanced the cohesion of the Chinese people, and its members have promoted commercial and social development through community activities, and at the same time played an important bridging role in promoting communication between the Chinese community, the country of residence and the country of ancestral origin. As a result, the "Three Treasures of The Chinese Society" of Chinese community, Chinese school and Chinese newspaper and periodical was gradually formed (Figure 8-10).
When we mention the "Three Treasures of the Chinese Society", we cannot fail to mention a Chinese community that is well-known at home and abroad to this day - the "China Zhi Gong Dang". The China Zhi Gong Party was formally established in San Francisco in 1925 and is an important branch of the Hongmen Organization in overseas Chinese society. Its founder is the famous overseas Chinese Situ Meitang (Figure 11).
What is touching is that overseas Chinese are overseas, their hearts are tied to Sangzi, and they have never forgotten the motherland. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression alone, a large number of overseas Chinese returned to China to participate in the war. They either personally went into battle to kill the enemy; or joined the "Flying Tigers" pilots to fight with Japanese aircraft; or the Nanyang mechanic returned to China to participate in logistical transportation. meantime. Chen Jiageng, Situ Meitang and a large number of overseas Chinese leaders and countless overseas Chinese donated money and materials, wrote articles and speeches, and gave their full support (Figures 12-14).
At the beginning of the spontaneous rise of the Chinese who emigrated overseas, the waves of prosperity swelled up and continued endlessly. Under the difficult circumstances of making a living, they are not afraid of hardships and dangers, cut through thorns and thorns, and stubbornly survive. While not forgetting the Chinese cultural traditions, overseas Chinese timely absorb the nutrients of Western culture and local culture, they not only maintain themselves, but also integrate into the local area, forming a unique overseas Chinese culture in the overseas Chinese society. History has proved that overseas Chinese and ethnic Chinese, whether as expatriates or citizens, have made their own great contributions to the prosperity and progress of their host countries.
There are also several overseas Chinese museums in China, established in 1956 to 1958 in Xiamen Overseas Chinese Museum, as the returned overseas Chinese writer Qin Mu said, is the country's first overseas Chinese museum. She was also praised by the British female writer Han Suying as "the world's only overseas Chinese history museum".
