China's Three Immigrant Epics: Going East, Going West and Going South. What drove them to leave their homes?

As an important period in the history of population development in modern China, the population soared, coupled with the war and famine in the late Qing Dynasty, the contradiction between man and land was acute, and a large number of poor people in the mainland were forced by the pressure of life, forming the most famous three immigration waves, namely, "going to the East", "going to the West" and "going to Southeast Asia".

The first wave: going to the East.

Breaking through the Kanto is a tragic history. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the lower reaches of the Yellow River suffered from famine for years, but the Qing government still banned bankrupt farmers in Shandong and Hebei, ignoring the ban, and thousands of farmers ventured into the Northeast. During the Republic of China alone, the number of people visiting Kanto in one province of Shandong Province exceeded18.3 million, which was one of the largest population movements in human history.

This great migration not only changed the once barren "barren land", but also changed the vast territory and sparsely populated situation of kanto region, and promoted the great integration of Manchu, Mongolian and Han nationalities. They are very similar not only in language intonation and diet style, but also in regional characteristics and cultural symbols. Today, whether he comes from Heilongjiang, Jilin or Liaoning, he has the same name: Northeastern. The earliest immigrants to Kanto were mainly reclamation, but also from other industries. Today, most farmers are still their descendants. After several generations of struggle, some families have changed their fate and started to enter various fields of society.

The second wave: going west

Walking to the west is an immigration activity in which thousands of Shanxi and Shaanxi people flocked to Tumote, Chahar and Erdos to make a living since the Qing Dynasty. Xikou, namely Shahukou, is located in the northwest of Youyu County, Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province. During the three to five years of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, there was a three-year drought in Shanxi and other provinces. There is no rain in some areas, and natural disasters occur frequently, resulting in a large population migration. Groups of immigrants from Shanxi and Shaanxi left their homes and went north to Mongolia. According to statistics, at the end of Guangxu, there were millions of people going abroad. The number of Shanxi farmers going abroad in Qing Dynasty is a huge number. Shanxi immigrants in Qing dynasty130,000 people.

This wave of immigration has changed the socio-economic structure and lifestyle of Inner Mongolia, and brought advanced farming culture to the central and western Inner Mongolia, which is in a backward nomadic state, and evolved from a traditional nomadic society to a diversified society where grazing and farming coexist. It can be said that many Han Chinese living in Waikou Mongolia are descendants of western immigrants, engaged in all walks of life, and craftsmen and farmers account for the majority.

The third wave: Lower Nanyang

"Lower Southeast Asia" is the most widely distributed point, and the traditional concept mainly refers to Southeast Asia. According to the China Pacific Society 1935 survey, 69.95% of people go abroad because of "economic oppression". There are people who are full of hope for the future, and there are also people who can't stay in their hometown; Finally, the demand for labor is also the reason why China people go to Nanyang. Nanyang, which was colonized by Britain and the Netherlands, is in the process of accelerated development and has a great demand for labor. In order to attract Chinese workers, Nanyang countries have successively issued a series of preferential policies, which have also attracted a large number of Chinese workers immigrants. According to statistics, from 1860 to the early 1950s, about150,000 China people sought opportunities in Southeast Asian countries.

This wave of immigration has had a far-reaching impact on Southeast Asia. Immigrants come from most provinces and regions in China, but Fujian people and Cantonese people account for an absolute majority, exceeding 95%. A large number of Chinese engaged in commercial activities or handicrafts in their host countries have actively promoted local production, life and economic construction and become the main force of local economic development. When the Chinese are changing the economic situation in their country, many people have completely changed their own and their families' fate. There are hundreds of millionaires and multimillionaires among Chinese in Southeast Asia. At the same time, its political status is getting higher and higher. Of course, there are also China civilians living at the bottom of society.

In addition, there were two large population migrations in modern times, namely, crossing the ancient road and going to Jinshan.

The ancient road refers to the ancient tea-horse road from Shaanxi to Kangzang area in Sichuan, that is, the Southwest Silk Road. Although the Shu Road is difficult, the Guanzhong area has been connected with the southwest since ancient times. In order to maintain the central government's rule over Bashu area, the Qin Dynasty built an ancient road from Chang 'an to Chengdu, which passed through Kangding area.

Going to Jinshan is a painful history of China workers being cheated. Jinshan is the San Francisco of America. San Francisco is called San Francisco in the United States, and its name is related to China people going to Jinshan. In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the United States discovered a gold mine in San Francisco, boasting that if you go to the other side of the sea, you will have money. arachis duranensis defrauded a large number of cheap Chinese workers to cross the sea. Of course, it was not until I got on the thief boat that I realized that they were just the products of others selling their heads. Later, a gold mine was discovered in Melbourne, Australia, which was called "New Golden Mountain". For the sake of distinction, San Francisco is called "San Francisco". So there are many Chinese in San Francisco. Now these descendants of Chinese workers are rich and poor, more of them are middle class, and some of them open Chinese restaurants and Chinese medicine clinics. There are still some new generations who can't speak Chinese.

This time and again, the population migration is a hard history of immigration.

Today, looking back at the history written by our ancestors with blood and tears, most people are forced to leave their homes under the pressure of life, which makes people sigh! Suppose we are in it, what should we choose in that era of hunger and misery?