View source for Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home

=== Madeline Y. Hsu, ''Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home: Transnationalism and Migration between the United States and South China, 1882-1943, 2000 ===

{{Infobox book
| name           = Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home: Transnationalism and Migration between the United States and South China, 1882-1943
| image          = [[File:dreamingofgold.jpeg|200px|alt=Cover]]
| author         = Madeline Y. Hsu
| country        = United States
| publisher      = Stanford University Press
| pub_date       = 2000
| pages          = 271
| isbn           = 0804746877
| oclc           = 44700866
}}

Around the turn of the twentieth century, the United States became a popular destination for immigrants from Asia.  The immigrants came for a number of different reasons, but all faced similar reactions from white Americans.  As immigrants became more successful within the United States economy, white Americans became less receptive of them.  This growing disdain culminated in a number of laws that made life very difficult for immigrants from Asia.  In ''Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home: Transnationalism and Migration between the United States and South China'', Madeline Hsu looks at the patterns of migration between the United States and southern China and the ways in which these migrants and their families dealt with the specialized situations migration created in the United States and China.  The book is split into seven chapters, each of which, aside from a rather specific case study in chapter six, looks at a different aspect of the Taishanese migration culture.  As Hsu points out, more than half of the Chinese immigrants in the United States between 1882 and 1943 were from the Taishan area of China.  This massive migration from a single area created an interesting culture within Taishan that depended on able-bodied men to go abroad to support their families. The popularity of this economic option was based on the idea that immigrants could get rich quickly and easily in America, a situation that didn’t really pan out for most Chinese, especially after 1900.  While many of the Taishanese migrant workers did make enough money to allow their families to live in semi-luxury, most failed to save up enough money to be able to return home in a timely fashion.  These Taishanese did, however, manage to create a sense of community within the United States through a series of organizations and magazines that allowed them to network with other Chinese immigrants and stay abreast of events happening in their hometowns.  

Hsu has done an outstanding job of collecting sources, both primary and secondary, for this project.  Many of her sources include the community magazines to which she devotes an entire chapter.  However, Hsu also seems to rely rather heavily on statistics that she admits do not actually exist.  In many of her justifications for the importance of looking at Taishan specifically, Hsu admits that her statistics are simple estimations at best and hearsay at worst.  Many of her numbers are based on the observation of Chinese diplomats who traveled to the United States.  It would be quite impossible for a single diplomat to calculate an accurate number of Taishanese living in the United States after a single trip.  Also, the diplomats very well could have had an interest in adjusting the numbers up or down depending on their affiliation with Taishan.  It seems that such an important part of Hsu’s justification should have a stronger foundation.  Overall, however, Hsu seems to make good use of the limited primary sources, though with at least one caveat.

''Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home'' seems to position the Taishan immigrants in a position of complacency.  The Taishanese came to the United States, they suffered under white racism, they made money, and they then went home (if they were lucky).  Aside from a very few active organizations, Hsu, or possibly her sources (the problem is that it is unclear here which), portray the Chinese immigrants as just suffering along as the laws got harsher.  The extent of their fighting back against stricter immigration laws seems to have rested almost exclusively with the massive number of Chinese sneaking into the United States illegally.  This is a bit surprising when compared to other migrant histories that almost always feature at least some sort of push back against racial norms (such as the Japanese community groups suing states in the early twentieth century).

This differing level of agency within the immigrant communities could also be related, though, to the Taishanese immigrants’ expected length of stay in the United States.  The Chinese immigrants in ''Dreaming of Gold'' came to the United States with a very short time frame in their minds.  They expected to come, make money, and return home with their riches.  This time frame often was not successful, however the dream of returning home gave the Chinese immigrants hope for a better future.  This very well could have had an effect on the level of agency seized by the Chinese immigrant communities.

The Chinese immigrants of the early twentieth century also had an interesting relationship with their home country.  This relationship was less on a national scale and more concerned with their local area.  Especially within Taishan, families of sojourners became completely dependent on the remittances being sent back from the United States.  Knowing this, the Chinese immigrants created a number of community papers that allowed them to stay abreast of what was happening in their hometowns.  This knowledge of local events allowed the Chinese immigrants to have a closer sense of belonging, even though they were so far home.  The national Chinese government failed to realize until much later the use it could make of the overseas Chinese, and its efforts never really had an impact.  

Overall, Hsu’s ''Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home'' gives an interesting look at the ways in which migrant workers impact not just the culture of the area in which they immigrate, but can also fundamentally change the culture of the area from which they emigrate.  This is an important idea to realize, as many migration histories look solely at the people migrating, and not the areas they leave behind.  Migration itself should always be looked at globally rather than locally, and with that Hsu excels. 

[[Category:Book Summaries]]
[[Category: U.S. History]]
[[Category:Asian History]]
[[Category:Madeline Y. Hsu]]
[[Category:Twentieth Century United States]]