The remittance mail culture of Chaoshan area

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Outline

• Background• The financial service of remittance mail:

operations • An example of the remittance mail• Characteristics of the service• Importance of the service• Conclusion

Background• The Chaoshan region is a fertile plain in Eastern Guangdong

• It became highly populated and there was not enough land to support the population

• Chaoshan people began emigrating to, and trading with the Southeast Asia as early as 14th century, in search of fortune and new life

• This Chaoshan Diaspora reached its peak during the period from 1860s to 1940s, when wars, disasters, famines infested the region from time to time.

• Although the communication and transportation were very inconvenient, the ties between the emigrants and their relatives at home were never cut off.

• Instead, the emigrants kept remitting money that they earned overseas to their family at home, and sending letters telling their recent situations.

Background• This was made possible by a financial service known as remittance mail,

or 侨批 .• The service takes in money (often in local currencies) and a letter written

by the sender, and via a network of banking systems, delivered it to the recipient at home.

• The service was very important, because:– It remits a large amount of money to support families at home, often wives, elderly and

children.– It carries informative letters about the recent situation of the emigrant working abroad,

telling the family not to worry.

• Despite its seemly fragility, given the poor accuracy of communication, the system worked out surprisingly well. And a large percentage of the Chaoshan people depended on this for a living at that time.

• We are going to look at more details about the service in this talk.

The financial service of remittance mail: operations

• The service was usually operated by a system of banking networks.

• The networks have major branches in important towns and cities in the foreign countries where Chaoshan people concentrated.

• Each delivery consists of two items:– The money– A letter stating the address of the recipient, the

amount sent, and simple texts regarding the delivery.

• After some time, the branches sent somebody to go back to Shantou, together with the money and the letters.

• These mails were then delivered to the recipients in the villages of Chaoshan.

An example

As low as 20 HK dollars

recipients

address

sender

Country of origin,here, Singapore.

An accompanying letter

Characteristics of the service• The amount accepted can be as low as five HK dollars, which

could all the savings of an emigrant.• The amount can also be in the tens, or even hundreds of

thousands, from self-made entrepreneurs, of which the Chaoshan people excelled.

• The charge of the service is affordable to even grass-root laborers.

• The service is highly accurate, and with a confident credit. There were seldom cases of default.

• It gradually became formalized as large companies were involved in the business.

Importance of the service• It is estimated during its peak, as many as 60% of the

Chaoshan people depended on remittance for a livelihood.• In times of disasters, like typhoons and earthquakes, and

wars, these services are life-saving.

1918 Shantou Earthquake1922 Shantou Typhoon

1939 Jap-occupation ofShantou

Importance of the service• Apart from covering daily expenditure, the remittance may

also be used to fund housing, healthcare, education, and business at home.

The old town of Shantou.

Conclusion• The Qiaopi was a financial service of remittance mail,

targeting customers from the emigrating laborers and businessmen of Chaoshan.

• It was a very important means of banking for a lot of ordinary Chaoshan people.

• It is a also manifestation of the Chaoshan culture’s high esteem for business credit.

• The business faded after 1980s, when the government mandated that all such services be provided by banks only.

• The Shantou Remittance Mail Museum was set up in Shantou, with real items on display. You may visit there if interested.

Thank you

Q and A.