Book Review

In studying Chinese immigration to the American West, people have become increasingly fond of bright aspects of this ethnic group. Several catchy words today are "opportunity," "mobility," and "success." As suggested by its title, Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home tells an original story about the Chinese continuous search of fortunes in the United States and the concurrent improvement of their community in China from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. During that period over half of all the Chinese immigrants to America came from a single county, Taishan, of Guangdong Province. Therefore, a case study of Taishanese economic mobility and transnational community has greater implications to making the generalization of Chinese American experiences.

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Wisely ignoring national boundaries in research and conceptualization, Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home depicts how Chinese overseas migration helped foster a unique transnational community. Since the California Gold Rush, generation after generation in Taishan County had been seeking a better livelihood through foreign adventure. Consequently, migration of males and separation of families became both economic necessity and cultural norm. Many immigrants never returned to their birthplaces. As a result, today more Taishanese are living abroad than in China. Despite their geographic dispersion, the Taishanese over the years maintained a strong sense of community. Personal remittances, family letters, Chinese magazines, and hometown projects all served as mediums for people's loyalty to their native land. Giving a great deal of attention to the impact of the immigrants on their homeland, Hsu authoritatively asks others to view "migration as a fluid process of mobility and diversification rather than as an invasion or uprooting" (p. 11).

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