From subjects to subversives: Chinese migrants and the evolution of the French colonial surveillance regime in Sài Gòn-Chợ Lớn, 1874-1930

IF 0.9 Q3 ETHNIC STUDIES

Asian Ethnicity Pub Date : 2023-06-15 DOI:10.1080/14631369.2023.2225440

Anh Sy Huy Le

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Abstract

ABSTRACT In 1874, the French colonial state introduced an extensive regime of ethnic surveillance in the port cities of Sài Gòn-Chợ Lớn. This pioneering system in Vietnam relied on an innovative anthropometric science to target Chinese migrants, whose mobile networks posed ongoing concerns for the imperial authority. This article explores the strategies employed by Chinese migrants to navigate the enforced ethnic classifications and regulations imposed by the colonial administration, exploiting the uncertain boundaries between subjects, foreigners, and citizens. It argues that Chinese subversions emerged through a dynamic interplay with the evolving French bureaucratic practices, shaped by the coexistence of two overlapping imperial systems: a decentralized Chinese empire and a French colonial state aiming to consolidate its rule in Cochinchina. The article reveals that French colonial surveillance was not a one-sided, rigid process of panoptic imperial dominance, but rather a complex landscape characterized by negotiated coexistence, mutual collaborations, and acts of resistance.

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从主题到主题：中国移民和1874-1930年法国殖民地调查制度的演变

摘要1874年，法国殖民国家在港口城市Sài Gån-Ch实行了广泛的种族监视制度ợ Lớn.越南的这一开创性系统依赖于一种创新的人体测量科学来针对中国移民，他们的移动网络一直引起帝国当局的担忧。本文探讨了中国移民利用主体、外国人和公民之间不确定的界限，在殖民政府强制实施的种族分类和规定中所采用的策略。它认为，中国的颠覆是通过与不断演变的法国官僚实践的动态相互作用而产生的，这是由两个重叠的帝国体系的共存所形成的：一个是分散的中华帝国，另一个是旨在巩固其在科钦钦那统治的法国殖民国家。这篇文章揭示了法国的殖民监视并不是一个片面、僵化的帝国统治过程，而是一个以谈判共存、相互合作和抵抗行为为特征的复杂局面。

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来源期刊

Asian Ethnicity PHYSIOLOGY-

CiteScore

2.80

自引率

6.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： In the twenty-first century ethnic issues have assumed importance in many parts of the world. Until recently, questions of Asian ethnicity and identity have been treated in a balkanized fashion, with anthropologists, economists, historians, political scientists, sociologists and others publishing their studies in single-discipline journals. Asian Ethnicity provides a cross-disciplinary, international venue for the publication of well-researched articles about ethnic groups and ethnic relations in the half of the world where questions of ethnicity now loom largest. Asian Ethnicity covers any time period, although the greatest focus is expected to be on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.