The New Chinese America
Class, Economy, and Social Hierarchy
In this detailed and comprehensive study of contemporary Chinese America, Xiaojian Zhao uses class analysis to illuminate the difficulties of everyday survival for poor and undocumented immigrants and analyzes the process through which social mobility occurs. Through ethnic ties, Chinese Americans have built an economy of their own in which entrepreneurs can maintain a competitive edge given their access to low-cost labor; workers who are shut out of the mainstream job market can find work and make a living; and consumers can enjoy high quality services at a great bargain. While the growth of the ethnic economy enhances ethnic bonds by increasing mutual dependencies among different groups of Chinese Americans, it also determines the limits of possibility for various individuals depending on their socioeconomic and immigration status.
Zhao's book provides the most detailed and relatively comprehensive look that we have of the ways in which Chinese America works and aspires.
The New Chinese America is a path-breaking study that tackles contemporary issues from a historical perspective. Employing multiple sources of data, from census statistics and archival material to oral histories and face-to-face interviews, Zhao presents sufficient evidence to demonstrate how class is reproduced in the Chinese American community and how internal class dynamics involve conflict and exploitation as well as shared struggle, negotiation, and interdependence.
Zhao gives us an engaging, well-researched, and thoughtfully contextualized book. It offers refreshingly rich insights into the transformation of Chinese America in recent decades. This important book will also benefit those interested in immigration and ethnicity in American society.
Note on Translation
Introduction: Rethinking Chinese America
1. Contemporary Chinese American Population: The Documented and the Invisible
2. Drawing Lines of Class Distinction
3. "Serve the People": The Ethnic Economy
4. The "Spirit of Changle": Constructing a Regional Identity
5. Surviving Poverty in an Ethnic Social Hierarchy Conclusion: Inclusion or Exclusion!
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
