东南亚华人的同乡同业传统——以马来西亚芙蓉坡兴化人为例

The Tendency of Fellow Townsmen Being in the Same Trade:A Tradition in the Southeast Asian Chinese Communities

本文通过对马来西亚芙蓉坡兴化人的个案研究,探讨同乡同业传统在海外华人社会中的传承与运作机制。芙蓉坡兴化人的移民过程和聚居形态,始终受到原籍村社和家族关系的制约,而他们的生计模式和经营策略,也是尽可能利用同乡、同族、姻亲和师徒关系,建构以分工协作为基础的商业网络。在这种同乡商业网络中,私人企业之间的信用关系是至关重要的,而这种信用关系主要依托于乡土社会文化网络。因此,芙蓉坡兴化人创建了各种不同形式的同业组织、同乡会、宗亲会和宗教仪式团体。考察东南亚华人的同乡同业传统,有助于深化对离散社群理论和华人商业网络的认识。

This article,based on a case study of Henghua Chinese in Ujong,Malaysia,investigates the tradition of fellow villagers being involved in the same industry. The emigration processes and settlement patterns of the Henghua people in Ujong were conditioned by the original relations and lineages in their hometown as well as the master-apprentice relationship. In terms of the modes of living and management strategies,these groups relied on shared origin and clan ties,as well as marriage relationship,to construct a commercial network based on division and coordination of labor. In such a commercial network,credit was of crucial importance between private enterprises,and the trustworthiness of credit comes from shared origin of birth and culture. As a result,Henghua people in Ujong established various kinds of guild organizations,hometown associations and ritual communities,all of which played crucial roles in preserving the commercial networks and the tradition of native villagers working in the same industry. An investigation into them helps to deepen our understanding of the diaspora communities theory and the Chinese business networks in Southeast Asia.