摘要
美国铁路华工在美国西部开发中做出了卓越的贡献。已有的研究成果大都以美国为中心,主要根据美国官方或者私人的档案和新闻媒体、铁路华工后代的追忆,以及学者的田野调查资料来建构铁路华工的历史,华工群体自己的声音严重缺失。21世纪以来,在素有"北美华侨之乡"的江门五邑地区发现的晚清、民国时期的各类侨乡文书,为追寻"沉默的铁路华工"的历史,倾听他们的声音,建构研究中的华工视野、侨乡视野、中国视野提供了可能。透过侨乡文书可以发现,铁路华工主动筹款出洋,通过美国—香港—侨乡的商业网络给家眷寄送侨汇和家信。铁路华工通过拼搏奋斗源源不断地输入血汗钱和思想观念,提升了家庭的经济和社会地位,编织起侨乡民众赖以谋生的移民网络,启动并促进了广东五邑侨乡的现代化进程。
Chinese railroad workers in North American made great contribution to the American Westward Movement. The study of those workers has been mostly based on American sources,constructing the Chinese railroad workers' history with American public and private documents,news media reports,recollections of the workers' offsprings,and scholars' field research data.However,the Chinese railroad workers as a group were silent. Since the21 st Century,various Qiaoxiang documents dated in the Late Qing and Early Republican Era of China have been found in Wuyi Area in China,known as "Hometowns for Chinese in North America". These documents make it possible to learn the silent railroad workers' history,have their voice heard,and make research in the perspective of Chinese railroad workers,Qiaoxiang and China at large.
出处
《美国研究》
CSSCI
北大核心
2017年第6期73-89,共17页
The Chinese Journal of American Studies
基金
广东省哲学社会科学"十二五"规划2013年度特别委托项目"清末民国时期广府华侨社会资本与移民网络:以华侨书信为主要文献"(GD13TW01-13)的阶段性成果
