An Anthropological Study of the Chinese Charitable Associations in Southeast Asia: The Ethnicity and Networks of Chaozhou People

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24520920
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cultural anthropology/Folklore
• Research Institution: Ibaraki Christian University
• Principal Investigator: SHIGA Ichiko 茨城キリスト教大学, 文学部, 教授 (20295629)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): SERIZAWA Satohiro 奈良大学, 社会学部, 教授 (60299162) ; HUANG Yun 関西学院大学, 付置研究所, 講師 (10387384) ; ISHITAKA Shingo 大阪大学, 学内共同利用施設等, その他 (70511799)
• Research Collaborator: TAMAKI Mitsuko 拓殖大学, 海外事情研究所
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 華人 / 潮州人 / エスニシティ / 善堂 / 慈善団体 / タイ / ベトナム / マレーシア・シンガポール

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research project is intended as an investigation into sub-ethnicities of the Chinese population in Southeast Asia, focusing on Chaozhou people (also known as Teochew), originating from the Chaozhou area of eastern Guangdong, China.Within this study we paid particular attention to the cultural resources of their charitable associations, known as shan tang (“halls for good deeds"), whose main activities are general relief work for the living and rituals for the dead, which originated from the cultural traditions of Chaozhou in Mainland China.We researched into a large number of shan tangs in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore and considered the creation and maintenance of Chaozhou ethnicity, the assimilation into the host societies and the interethnic relationships with non-Chinese by the comparative study of several national contexts, based on the ethnographical data collected and by referring to historical documents.

Free Research Field

文化人類学