A Matter of Honour: Being Chinese in South Africa

by Yoon Jung Park

Overview

Using the concepts of identity, ethnicity, race, and nationalism, as well as comparisons to other international Chinese communities, this examination focuses on the only Chinese community in Africa and explores the multilayered identities of the South African Chinese residents, analyzing the ways in which their identities have changed with each new generation. The study identifies both the external and internal forces that have defined the parameters for this identity construction—from international political events and internal racial policies to external trade and political relations. As China's aid, trade, and investment in Africa grows alongside the ever-increasing number of Chinese immigrants to the continent, this historically marginalized and neglected Chinese South African cultural group is receiving increased media and scholarly attention, making this study a timely and pertinent work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770095687
Publisher:	Jacana Media
Publication date:	04/01/2009
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Yoon Jung Park was born in Korea and has lived in Africa—Nairobi and Johannesburg—for more than a decade. She is a professor at the University of Johannesburg.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Sojourners to Settlers: Early constructions of Chinese identity in South Africa 9

Chapter 2 Apartheid-Era Constructions: White, non-white, and honorary white 32

Chapter 3 The Symbolic Centre: The influence of China, real and mythical 54

Chapter 4 Whitening and Upward Mobility: Shifting race, class, and social position 77

Chapter 5 Our own Little Box: Cultural and ethnic identity 107

Chapter 6 After Apartheid: The impact of exclusion and globalisation on identity and 'home' 125

Chapter 7 Movements in and out of South Africa: New identity constructions 148

Conclusion 173

Notes 179

Bibliography 198

Research Methods and Sources 208