| The history of Chinese immigration to the United States dates back to 1781 and the demographic composition of immigrant Chinese has changed from a more homogeneous population among early arrivals to a more heterogeneous population among new comers regarding their education and occupational status.; This study examined the leading factors that influenced the changing pattern of Chinese immigration to the U.S. during the periods of free (before 1882) and exclusive (1882-1943) migration. The study found that Chinese immigration occurred at multi-levels. At the micro-level, individuals consisted of primarily the migration population. But the decision of migrating to the U.S. was likely to be jointly made by households and influenced by relatives, friends, or clansmen. At the macro-level, the contextual factors in the expanding world economy together with the structural components in the sending and the receiving countries induced the migration of Chinese immigrants and influenced the changing pattern of such movement. Meanwhile, the U.S. foreign and immigration policies, which were shaped by the expansion of the world economy and the U.S. position in the world market, also affected the changing pattern of Chinese immigration.; The crucial link between micro- and macro-levels is social networks used by immigrants in the migration process. A key factor here is the world capitalist economy that influenced the conditions of the sending and the receiving countries; affected the formation of the U.S. immigration policy, which prompted the Chinese immigrants to use social networks to fight hard against the discriminatory immigration policy and changed the pattern of Chinese immigration. In a word, the penetration of the world capitalist economy into peripheral countries creates a migratory population that tend to flow into developed countries. And the expansion of the world economy influences the social and economic structure of the sending and the receiving countries that also induce migration across national borders. |
