Chinese diaspora in France

Chinese diaspora in France

Total population
600,000 (2005)[1] 0.91% of the French population
Regions with significant populations
Rhône-Alpes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Paris (Choisy, Belleville, Marne-la-Vallée), Lille
Languages
French, Chinese languages, others
Related ethnic groups
Overseas Chinese

The Chinese diaspora in France consists of people of Chinese ancestry who were born in or immigrated to France. They form a small part of the Chinese diaspora. Population estimates vary, ranging from 600,000 to 700,000 as of 2010^[update].^[2]

History

17th century

The first record of a Chinese man in France is Shen Fo-tsung in 1684, and soon after Arcade Hoange, also known as Huang Jialü (1679-1716). He was brought back by Jesuit missionaries to the Versailles court of the Sun King in the late 17th century, and oversaw a collection of manuscripts sent as a gift from the Chinese emperor Kangxi.^[3]

World War I

The entrance of the WWI Chinese cemetery at Noyelles-sur-Mer

A tomb in the WWI Chinese cemetery at Noyelles-sur-Mer

Between 1915 and 1916, with the World War I conflict at its height between the allies and the Central Powers Germany and Austro-Hungary, the British recruited more than 100,000 Chinese (Chinese Labour Corps) and their French allies some 40,000, and shipped them to the French western front as desperately needed labour to relieve an acute manpower shortage.^[4] They cleared mines, repaired roads, unloaded ships. Their contribution went unrecognized for decades. Mainly aged between 20 and 35 and hailing from the northern Chinese provinces of Hebei, Jiangsu and particularly Shandong, they served as labour in the rear echelons or helped build munitions depots, repair railways and roads, and unloaded ships at Allied ports. Some worked in armaments factories, others in naval shipyards, for a pittance of three to five francs a day. At the time they were seen just as cheap labour, not even allowed out of camp to fraternise locally, dismissed as mere coolies. When the war ended some were used for mine clearance, or to recover the bodies of soldiers and fill in miles of trenches.^[4]

After the Armistice, the Chinese, each identified only by an impersonal reference number, were shipped home. Only about 5,000 to 7,000 stayed on, forming the nucleus of the later Chinese community in Paris. Most who survived returned to China in 1918.^[5] However, some were trapped in France by the 30 June 1920 collapse of the Banque industrielle de Chine. An estimated ten thousand died in the war effort, victims of either shelling, landmines, poor treatment or the worldwide Spanish flu epidemic of 1918. Their remains still lie in 30 French graveyards, the largest at Noyelles-sur-Mer on the Somme, where some of the fiercest battles occurred.^[6] The cemetery contains 842 gravestones each engraved with Chinese characters, guarded by two stone lions, gifts from China.^[4][7]

After decades of neglect, the Chinese World War I labourers were ceremoniously recognized for their effort. An annual ceremony of tribute has taken place since 2002 at the cemetery at Noyelles-sur-Mer each April to coincide with the Chinese Festival of Qingming, attended by representatives of the French veterans' associations, the Chinese ambassador to France and members of Chinese associations in France. A 2004 documentary film, "Journey With no Return," (Voyage sans retour), was shown on French television.^[8]

Post World War I

Chinatown, Paris

Since 1919, the number of Chinese in France was slightly bolstered by an influx of students (including Zhou Enlai,^[9] who would later become the Premier of the People's Republic of China and Deng Xiaoping,^[9] later de facto leader of China), who would play a crucial leadership role in organising community institutions for the Chinese there.^[10] The few thousand who remained formed the first rooted Chinese community in Paris, based first around the Gare de Lyon in the east of the capital, then near the Arts et métiers metro station in the 3rd arrondissement.^[11]

In the 1930s and 1940s, Chinese from Wenzhou settled in Paris (as well as in many other European cities such as Madrid, Frankfurt, Florence, Milan). They worked as leatherworkers near the Jewish neighborhood in the 3rd arrondissement and setting up sundries and mini-markets. Taking over the wholesale trade lost by the Jews during the German occupation of France during World War II, the Chinese community continues to exist today.^[12]

Recent immigration

Chinese and American cultural influences in Paris

The expulsions of ethnic Chinese from Vietnam in the 1970s led to a wave of immigration and the settlement of the high-rise neighbourhood near the Porte d'Italie, the Porte de Choisy and the Porte d'Ivry, where Paris' Chinatown is located. Located in the 13th arrondissement, the area contains many Chinese inhabitants predominantly living in high-rise apartments.^[13]

Since the 1980s, immigration has been increasing steadily, with the main source countries being mainland China, notably from Wenzhou and the countries of former French Indochina. In Paris, settlement is spread across both urban and suburban districts, notably the 13th arrondissement of Paris, and the Templetowns of Lognes, Torcy, Noisy-le-Grand. Lyon and Marseille also have significant Chinese communities.

References

1. ^ [1] Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, R.O.C.
2. ^ (French) Chinois de France ne veut rien dire, 28 June 2010.
3. ^ Lycée Fustel de Coulanges [2]
4. ^ ^{a b c} Picquart, Pierre (2004) (in fr). The Chinese Empire (L'Empire chinois). Favre S.A.. ISBN 978-2-8289079-3-8.  Picquart, a French China specialist, gives a description of the fate of the Chinese workers.
5. ^ Condliffe, John Bell (1928). Problems of the Pacific: Proceedings of the Second Conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations Conference. United States: University of Chicago Press.  (page 410)
6. ^ fr:wikipedia entry on Noyelles-sur-Mer
7. ^ FRANCE, Noyelles-sur-Mer 1st War Chinese cemetery (images) [3] [4] [5] [6]
8. ^ "The 140,000 Forgotten Chinese who helped win World War I". Agence France-Presse. 11 November 2004. http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t1565.html. Retrieved 2007-11-01. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Beardsley, Eleanor (7 September 2007). "Chinese in Montargis". Network Europe. http://www.networkeurope.org/feature/chinese-in-montargis. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
10. ^ Levine, Marilyn Avra (1993). The Found Generation: Chinese Communists in Europe During the Twenties. United States: University of Washington Press.  (pages 116-120)
11. ^ Roy, Anustup (7 September 2007). "Eviction rate of Chinese illegal immigrants in France on Rise". Network Europe. http://www.networkeurope.org/feature/eviction-rate-of-chinese-illegal-immigrants-in-france-on-rise. Retrieved 2007-11-01. 
12. ^ "Wenzhou: Chinese City Echoes Paris' Fashion". People's Daily. 25 December 2000. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/200012/25/eng20001225_58739.html. Retrieved 2007-11-01. 
13. ^ Smith, Craig S. Face behind Paris 'bistro' counter becomes Asian. International Herald Tribune, 10 May 2005.

Further reading

• Liu, G Ames. "France" in L. Pan Ed. (2006) Encyclopaedia of the Chinese Overseas, Singapore: Chinese Heritage Centre (revised edition).
• Subject Area - Chinese in France (Total: 38) Chinese Overseas Collection, CUHK Library Collection.
• Carine Pina-Guerassimoff. Gender and Migration Networks: New Approaches to Research on Chinese Migration to France and Europe. Journal of Chinese Overseas. May 2006, Third Issue.
• Guerassimoff, Carine (September 2003). "The New Chinese Migrants in France" (abstract page). International migration 41 (3): 135–154. doi:10.1111/1468-2435.00244. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-2435.00244. 

External links

• The Chinese In Paris Ma Shumin
• Chinese in France Asiawind
• Chinese Workers in France Article published in Échanges et Mouvement #121, summer 2007