Chinese Business in the Making of a Malay State, 1882-1941

Wu Xiao An received his PhD from the University of Amsterdam. He held a lectureship at Xiamen University (1991-93) and was awarded fellowships at the University of Amsterdam (1993-99), The National University of Singapore (2000-1) and Kyoto University (2002).His research interests include the modern history of Southeast Asia and the Chinese overseas.

'The richness of both the thematic approaches as well as the breadth of the source materials used will surely make this book compelling reading. Readers interested in colonial history, state formation, social change, family business networks, and legal institutional development will all find challenging views and interesting description. Moreover, Wu Xiao An has shown us convincingly that these diverse issues not only can be analysed in an integrated fashion, but that they should be.' - Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society'The book is a major contribution to studies of nineteenth and twentieth century Malaysian history, studies of the overseas Chinese and studies of colonialism and it should be seen as an important complement to other works which show the role played by Penang in its neighbouring territories.' - Journal of Southeast Asian Studies'Dazzling with empirical richness, judicious in its understanding of state formation's complexities, the work shows up the confluences of power and economic relations across Kedah, Penang and Thailand... Putting Chinese business in such a cross-regional context is both new and innovative... Chinese Business in the Making of a Malay State is an important scholarly achievement not the least because it is provocative of thoughts and analytical visions.' - YAO Souchou, SOJOURN, Vol. 22 No. 2, 2007"[T]his study demonstrates the crucial role played by Chinese immigrants in the transformation and modernisation of Southeast Asia, and presents another type of Chinese immigrant economy. In contrast to the works based on North American experiences that depict Chinese immigrants as an underclass and a marginalised category under the dominant structure of host countries, this study suggests that Chinese immigrants actively participated and played a major role in shaping the expanding economy and emerging new society in Malaya...All in all, this book is a major contribution to the study of Chinese in Southeast Asia. It has greatly enhanced our knowledge and understanding of the formation of Chinese business networks in Southeast Asia in general and Malaya in particular. Students in the study of Southeast Asia and Chinese Diaspora will find this book a valuable reference." - Wang Cangbai, Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, Vol 3, 2007

• 1. Introduction2. Settings3. Networking Regional Interactions 1882-18894. Family and State 1889-18955. Old Framework and New Development 1895-19056. Transition 1905-19097. Confrontation and Accommodation 1909-19188. Another Round of Adjustment 1918-19289. A New Profile of Community and Business 1928-194110. Conclusion