摘要
East Asia during 17th to early 20th century witnessed many mass migration flows of South Chinese into Southeast Asia and other parts of the world, including Vietnam. They are the Cantonese, Hokkiens, Hainanese, Chiuchow Hoklo Clan, and Hakkas. Over the course of long history and with the impact of the natural environment and historical-social backgrounds of each country in Southeast Asia, the South Chinese communities have settled and created their livings under different forms. This long process includes the obvious ＂fossilization＂ of immigrant culture and the interesting cultural transformation to achieve harmonious and sustainable development. The Hakkas in Buu Long （Bien Hoa, Dong Nai, and Vietnam） migrated from the Stone-Carfting Prefecture of Huiyang, Guangdong Province （South China） to live preferably in Buu Long granite mountain area to continue their traditional professions and maintain their migrant culture. They brought to Vietnam the cult of three Professional Masters： Gods of stone-crafting, carpenter, and Blacksmithing. However, under the strong impacts of French colonial policies and local social movement in the early 20th century, the Hakkas changed the form of the cult of three Professional Masters into the cult of Goddess Tian Hou in order to attain the full integration with the other Chinese communities and with the local Vietnamese, socially and economically. Throughout the cultural shift, both the continuity and the change have been proven as the inevitable way to balance two opposite poles： Cultural identities and social integration.
