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Mapping Chinese Rangoon: Place and Nation among the Sino-Burmese Jayde Lin Roberts Seattle and London : University of Washington Press , 2016 xvii + 200 pp. $50.00 ISBN 978-0-295-99667-7
Book Reviews
Since the major policy change of 2011, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) has been a hotspot for many from outside the country, including social scientists, who are eager to explore one of the least understood, yet fastest changing, social landscapes of our time. Among many topics about Myanmar, its relationship with China and the Chinese people remains one of the most talked-about issues in the context of geopolitics, and any breakthrough here is considered highly desirable and hotly debated. Yet, Myanmar is not that easy to understand, nor accessible, for most recent converts. It requires painstaking work in the field, deep understanding of and respect for its languages, cultures and peoples, and a full dedication and long-term commitment undeterred by ups and downs of Myanmar's unpredictable political climate. Fortunately, in the last few years we have seen the fruits of a new generation of international scholars who approach the subject through everyday life and ordinary people, and whose researches are often drawn from decades-long fieldwork despite the country's isolation prior to 2011. Roberts's ethnographic study on the Hokkien Sino-Burmese in Rangoon (Yangon) therefore provides an invaluable and timely picture of contemporary life in Myanmar. Along with recent publications such as Eric Tagliacozzo and Wen-Chin Chang's edited volume Burmese Lives: Ordinary Life Stories Under the Burmese Regime (Oxford University Press, 2014), Chang's Beyond Borders: Stories of Yunnanese Chinese Migrants of Burma (Cornell University Press, 2014),...