The Cross-domain Life Of Meizhou Overseas Chinese Family During The Republican Period

Since modern times,Countless of Meizhou Hakka go to Southeast Asian to make a living.At the late 19 th and early 20 th century,the society of the hometown of overseas Chinese in Meizhou began to form.Overseas Chinese contact with they family member mainly though the Overseas Remittance.Overseas Remittance that a type of letter between Overseas Chinese and their family member is a kind of carrier that they use it send money and letter.This paper centers on Zhang Chuxian family in Pan Gui Fang in Meizhou of Eastern Guangdong,from the formation of the overseas Chinese family factors?economic life?medical health activities and funeral activities of these four aspects,to discusses the daily life of ordinary overseas Chinese,between hometown and Southeast Asia,under the influence of internal and external circumstances.When “sea ban" begin in the late Qing Dynasty,the Southeast Asian's region requires a lot of cheap labor that attracting many poor people in eastern Guangdong“sailing to Southeast Asia”.Zhang Chuxian family members began to make a living in Southeast Asia in the early years of the Republic of China.Because of Meizhou people would spend a lot of time and money to Southeast Asia,tribe and fellow provide them with money and job opportunities to Southeast Asia,so that they can successfully go to Southeast Asia.Affected by the strong business atmosphere of Southeast Asia,overseas Chinese family attaches great importance to cultivating family business skills.The contact,in economic,between overseas Chinese and their family member is frequent that mainly embodied in which overseas Chinese often send money that is used for family daily consumption to relatives,which cause their family people overly rely on the money.Therefore,the livelihood of the overseas Chinese family is affected deeply by the political and economic situation in hometown and the Southeast Asia.In the face of the disease,the overseas Chinese family will actively take various measures that including counseling doctors' medical methods,various methods of health and rely on immortal treatment.Under the influence of overseas Chinese,Chinese medicine,traditional Chinese medicine were spread to Southeast Asia and Southeast Asia's western medicine,proprietary Chinese medicine were also brought to Meizhou,which improved the medical level of the two places.Thus,Meizhou's health concept has a great changed during the Republic of China.Meizhou Hakka people pay attention to funeral etiquette,held funeral for the deceased when the "fragrant Buddha" and keen to find a good "feng shui”.Funeral customs of overseas Chinese of Meizhou Hakka in Southeast Asia deeply affected by their hometown,thus they attach importance to the family's ashes back home that flow Meizhou's funeral customs.All in all,a part of the overseas family members is in their hometown and another is in abroad during the Republic of China.Although far away from the ocean,overseas Chinese closely contact with relatives in the home through “shui ke”,overseas remittance and other ways.Overseas Chinese family's life ? death ?holiday and other daily life are formed under the influence of the Southeast Asian society and hometown society of overseas Chinese,which has characteristic of domestic and overseas as a whole and cross-domain that are the prominent characteristics of hometown society of overseas Chinese.Overseas economy and cultural interaction between home and abroad,which to promote the Meizhou society from the traditional to modern change.The processing of the affairs of the overseas Chinese family migrated overseas with their relatives,and crossed the countryside,national boundaries,and influenced by the changes of the international community,so it has international and become part of modern international relations.It is important to deeply understand the relationship between the overseas Chinese and hometown society of overseas Chinese through the overseas remittance to explore the intercultural daily life of overseas Chinese in the Republic of China and studying on close interconnection between family members at home and abroad and its social influence.