The Ancestral Country: Changing Fast

Practically all Huaqiao, however they may differ, and wherever they may be, still look to China, their ancestral land. An Overseas Chinese may only be able to speak his native dialect with difficulty, still less any Mandarin, and barely write a character; or he may have such a close affiliation going back 200 years or more with the country of his adoption as to be almost indistinguishable from the local population. Or he may be fluent in Mandarin, well versed in Chinese literature, an avid reader of the Chinese press, active in local clan affairs, an investor in the motherland with distant relatives still living in the native village in Guangdong, or Fujian, or Hainan. For all there is a certain bond that ties, a sense of so called Chineseness, whereby Chinese stick together, help each other, feel different to the rest. This of course will not stop them quarrelling with each other, even fighting or having totally different strongly held views. Nor does it obviate regional feelings, where Chinese from one province are wary of those from another and make rude remarks about their language and habits. These are the people who still, in the vernacular, often call themselves ‘sons and daughters of the Yellow Emperor’. Origin and history are as relevant now as it was when their forbears first left home. To understand the Huaqiao you must appreciate their Chinese roots.