| With the increase of international exchange of students with China in the last decade more and more overseas Chinese come to China for their studies in the tertiary education. Due to being only a recent development, this phenomenon could not have been studied yet. This research investigates who these students are where they come from.This thesis belongs into the field of biographical research applying the qualitative biographical research as the theoretical approach. The main goal is to analyze the biographical construction of overseas Chinese who come to China for their studies.The term biographical construction is being applied in this thesis instead of the term identity, which is often understood as something stable. The term biographical construction implies that the individuals construct their identities depending on the social context, which can often change and in this way it is understood as a constant process of construction.For this thesis thirteen semi-structured interviews with overseas Chinese from seven different countries belonging to different migration waves and thus being different migrant generations were used and analyzed in terms of their biographical construction in general, while being in China and while being in their host country. Also their feelings about themselves and about where they feel like belonging to were researched. Though prior to that their migration background and being in contact with China (before actually coming to China for their studies) has been looked at as these factors have great impacts on the perception of oneself and of the social environments one has lived in.Altogether the interviewees belong to two different migration waves:the ancestors moving between1900s and1940s belong to the migration wave which took place from decline of Imperial China through the Republican period; and the families migrating from1970s till1990s belonging to the migration wave which started with the opening reforms of China and is still going on up to date. According to the migration time and destinations the interviewees can be divided into four groups: a) three overseas Chinese belonging to second generation of migration whose parents have moved to Anglophone countries; b) two overseas Chinese of second and second/third generation of migration whose parents and grandparents have moved to France; c) two overseas Chinese of third generation of migration whose families migrated twice:first to Southeast Asian countries and later to Anglophone countries; d) and six overseas Chinese of third and fourth generation whose families migrated to Southeast Asian countries.The outcome is that the biographical construction is very complex and each interviewee has his or her own view on who and where they are. Generally it can be said, that the interviewees of the third and fourth generation are often defining themselves as citizens of the host country while feeling culturally connected to both. The interviewees of the second generation define themselves differently depending where they are:being in the host country they rather define themselves as Chinese in respective countries, f.ex. Chinese Canadian; being in China they rather define themselves belonging to the host country. Only the two interviewees from France are being exception defining themselves while being in China as overseas Chinese. The broadest understandings of their biographical construction have the interviewees of versatile migration history whose families migrated for several times. An interesting observation is, that the many interviewees often switch their identities while being in China telling that there are Chinese while bargaining in order to get a better price.All in all it can be said, although there are many similarities among overseas Chinese students, nevertheless having different migration background and being raised in various social environments they have also their differences, which are important in understanding of their biographical construction. |
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