Although we can go back to the 1600s to view the Chinese in residing and carrying out commerce in Lima, as with the majority of communities from around the globe, it was not until the mid 19th Century, when the Chinese joined the mass global migrations that Peru became a geography with a considerable concentration of Cantonese communities due to the infamous ‘coolie trade’.
The author to my knowledge is one of a handful of people detailing contemporary Chinese communities in Lima (and elsewhere in Peru). This is of great value because much of the attention on Chinese migration concentrates on the ‘Coolie Trade’.
Lausent-Herrera takes us deep into the heart of today’s Barrio Chino as much as she can. She can do this because she’s been working on the Chinese in Peru since the 1980s, which makes her an invaluable source of information and knowledge on contemporary movement from across the Pacific, and across Lima’s districts.
It’s important to note what Lausent-Herrera points out, the difference between Cantonese and Fujianese. There really was no ‘Chinese’ migration per se. When we talk about ‘Chinese’ migration to the Americas, the populations that we are mostly talking about are Cantonese-speaking communities from Guangdong Province in southern China (where Hong Kong and Macau are located). So when the author mentions the arrival of the Fujianese, it is a big deal since between 95-98% of the Chinese in the Americas are Cantonese from southern China, which also helps to explain the strength of their networks.
The author delves into a continuous history within the Barrio Chino that continues till today. From its early settlers from Hong Kong, to runaway and former coolies to a more even migration between men and women, to a new injection of life brought by Fujianese migrants, who for the most part got ‘stuck’ in Peru on their way to the US and Canada, life in the Barrio Chino continues today as it did over 150 years ago.
The Barrio Chino is also a representation of how neighborhoods shift and change over time. We all know neighborhoods and districts where we grew up, and how they were when we lived there, how they used to be from the stories that older generations tell, and how they have changed since we moved out (gentrification, the good and the bad, comes to my mind when I think of my old neighborhood in Toronto).
For many that I’ve talked to, it is difficult to see Fujianese migrants take over, or at least settle in the alleys and streets of the old Barrio Chino, a nostalgia, in the minds of a number of Cantonese of the way it ‘used to be’ comes to mind when they speak of Capon and Paruro.
What did you guys think of the article?
Die
Am 12. December 2016 um 00:07 Uhr
In her article, the author offers an exhaustive description of the formation, development and inner-dynamics of the barrio chino in Lima. By means of this detailed ethnography, it is quite evident how “Chinese” migrant communities are not monolithic clusters but diverse social groups integrated by a multiplicity of communities, differentiated by dissimilar ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It is noticeable how those differences among Chinese immigrants are also expressed in the relationships between the old migrants (the descendants of Cantonese settlers) and the new wave of Chinese (mostly Fujianese) migrants, since the former are well-integrated into Peruvian society, whereas the latter preserve their cultural and phenotypical singularities. This cleavage among old and new Chinese migrants can also be seen in the character of the economic activities in which this community is engaged: for example, the first generations of Cantonese migrants and their descendants were committed to the commercialization of traditional Chinese food, raw materials (vegetables, spices, etc.), and craftsmanship, whereas the new migrants are also engaged in the import of electric and electronic devises; the previous circumstance gives account not only of the fluid and constant relationship between Chinese immigrants and their homeland, but also of the modernization of finances, production and economy in the “mother land”, which has clearly influenced the nature of commercial activities and exchanges between Chinese settlers and their Peruvian neighbors. All in all, the author highlights the diversity of migrant groups – expressed in complicated interactions that include competition and even conflict-, which, nonetheless, tend to be perceived, by the host society, as unified or homogeneous.
Am 15. December 2016 um 19:00 Uhr
I really liked this article because the description the author gave was well and I could imagine the crowded streets and constant changes and development of the barrio chino. As Jesus already mentioned in some places it was kind of exhausting, because she described as detailed as possible every district, product and relation between the different actors in the chinese quarter.
I can imagine that it is hard for people seeing the barrio is changing and changing and that this is caused by the new migrants, as the author describes at p. 81 “the quarter’s return to life is essentially due to the new migration, the dynamism of the new immigrants and the intensity of the commercial exchanges with China”. Also the very important factor of globalization is causing an everyday change – not only in Lima, but everywhere in the world. As you mentioned in your comment, we all know it when we go where we grew up and see how everything changed. For me personally, I see my hometown more dying out than changing and growing and getting more international.
Am 16. December 2016 um 11:10 Uhr
As the others already mentioned the article was very informative and really “taking you into the Barrio Chino” as well as sometimes a bit long-winded.
What caught my attention is the fundamental change of the sentiments of Peruvians towards Chinese in Lima and other parts of Peru. I find it very interesting that it reaches from “death to the Chinese” in the early 20th century to “their presence has always been legitimate in the heart of the capital and in Peru in general”, when talking about the 1990s. Given the attempts to reduce Chinese immigration and the upheaval of the Peruvian working class against Chinese in the 1900s, I wouldn’t agree that their presence has always been legitimate.
To be honest I got kind of confused by the different Chinese origins and the vocabulary going deeper into China studies. It helped that you pointed to the importance of the difference between Cantonese and Fujianese, however, as someone who does not know much about China in general some details, I think, I didn’t quite grasp. Nevertheles I did get that the dialectical and cultural differences between immigrants from various Chinese regions is very important regarding the spreading of Chinese in Lima and the power shift between Chinese institutions and groups.
Something this article made very clear, as well as some texts we had read before, is the importance of migration networks to facilitate migration as well as adaption. What surprised me though was that Lausent-Herrera mentioned that although the last wave of Chinese immigration was also backed up by family networks, the newcomers then felt conned, because it seems they were promised some kind of “el dorado” they did not find.
I find most interesting the changes globalization and capitalism have provoked in Lima’s China Town and how the institutions as well as the immigrants are adapting to these changes in order to be successful.
Am 18. December 2016 um 13:49 Uhr
First of all, I agree with Magdalena that sometimes you can get a little confused with all the different Chinese origins and specific terms.
As has already been mentioned by my fellow students, the author gives us a very detailed description of the life in the Chinese quarter, the businesses etc.
The historical overview she gives is quite interesting. I wondered why the Chinese sided with the Chileans during the war between Chile and Peru, and why the Chileans then attacked the Chinese? Did the Chinese side with Chile because they had already experienced racism and hostility by the Peruvian society?
Also, the paradox of anti-Asiatic demonstrations and the infatuation with the culture is quite interesting (cf. pf. 76). The fact that there was such blatant racism and hostility towards Asians in general and the Chinese in particular on the one hand, and on the other, people who supported such ideas were fascinated by the Chinese culture, cuisine etc., is quite ironic.
When the author speaks of new immigrants feeling they had been conned, I had to think of the many migrants to the USA, who had been told that there the streets were paved with gold.
The author provides her readers an insight into how the Barrio Chino has evolved over time, especially upon the arrival of new immigrants. The Cantonese’ mistrust towards the Fujianese due to their links to the Chinese mafia is hardly surprising. However, I think that the main reason for the distrust resulted mostly from the Fujianese representing a fierce competition for the Chinese community in Peru.
Am 18. December 2016 um 14:32 Uhr
Lausent-Herrera gives a good overview of the evolution of the Chinese quarter in Lima. As the others already mentioned she makes a detailed and in some parts (especially the description about the shops and the products) an exhaustive description of the development.
Like Magdalena already commented, I also got confused by the different Chinese origins. Your explanation helped a lot to understand why she pointed out the difference between Cantonese and Fujianese immigrants. These difference is getting obvious with the description of the commercial competition and the impact the Fujianese immigrants had on the development of the Chinese quarter. The second wave, mainly with Fujianese immigrants, re-established religious and cultural traditions, which got more and more lost with the adaptation of the first immigrants to the Peruvian society.
For me one interessting point of the article was the economic evolution of the quarter related to the different immigration waves and the globalisation. The first wave of immigrants established huge warehouses for the import of Chinese products and maintained relations with the motherland. But it was the second immigration wave which promoted the intensity of the commercial relations with China and the preservation of religious and cultural traditions. [“The quarter’s return to life is essentially due to the new migration, the dynamism of the new immigrants and the intensity of the commercial exchanges with China.” (p.81)]
Am 5. January 2017 um 12:34 Uhr
The exhaustivity of the article and my lack of knowledge on the topic (I didn’t understand the difference between the Cantonese and the Fujianese migrants before reading your post) made me slowly lost my attention during the reading. The focus on the modifications and adaptations of the Barrio Chino may have been completed by a deeper anthropological analysis. The author mentions the “Dragon Rojo” but does not really explains how and why this mafia started and its interactions within and without the Barrio Chino for instance..
Moreover the article only focuses on the Barrio Chino but does not mention the Chinese migrants that live outside this neighbourhood: Do they still take part in the community ? Are they more/ less integrated in the Peruvian society ? What are there representations ? ..
Am 7. January 2017 um 01:09 Uhr
Life in the neighbourhood was more or less forgotten until 1999, when the barrio was given new life due to 150th anniversary of Chinese migration to Peru. Chinese_Peruvians can range from outsiders to fully integrated; much has to do with how many generations their family has been there.
Am 7. February 2017 um 21:03 Uhr
‘Twas a marathon text alright now and a couple of sections left me a left confused. To begin with, at the bottom of page 74, the author claims, with regard to the conditions of the quarter and those who thrived in the wake of the Peruvian-Chilean war, that “this resilience […] poisoned the relations between Chinese and Peruvians”. Is the idea that many Peruvians suffered and felt jealous and angry because a section of the migrant community managed to persevere?
Though not central to the text. I found the section leading up to footnote 37 quite interesting as it mentions some educative institutions of the catholic church in ‘integrating’ certain Chinese-born and Tusan Peruvians. The Church seems to play an important role in ‘integrating’ potential citizens within a predominantly catholic state. Does anyone know if much research has been done on their role in ‘integration’ in Peru?
Am 14. February 2017 um 12:07 Uhr
I really enjoyed the information about the Barrio Chino reading the text, although I agree with the other students about the fact that sometimes it was a bit too descriptive. But all in one, with all this information I really could gain a overview about the spreading of the neighborhood.
I found really interesting the point about the importance of networks, that seem really a common fact in quite all the last texts that we were reading, although also in this case some migrants did not found what they were looking for.
While reading this article I was also thinking about the fact that sometimes neighborhoods are like a history’s book. They are like a big mirror of what is going on around them, globally speaking. I’m thinking about neighborhoods also in Berlin, like Kreuzberg or Neukoelln, years ago they were considered places only for Turkish people and nobody wanted to go there, and right now, because of gentrification processes, they’re are the coolest places to live in.