华侨华人社团的“拟村落化”现象——荷兰华侨华人社团案例调查和研究

通过对荷兰华侨华人生活的实地调查和研究,分析了华人社团的类型、功能、运作方式及其在社会融合中的作用。认为华侨华人社团在华人世界中扮演着一个关键性的角色——拟村落化,提供了一个非常重要的社会生活和活动空间。他们凭借着原有的历史经验和记忆,将社团当作村落来经营和管理,在社团内进行博弈和地位实现,在一定程度上缓解了他们在移入国的边缘化感受,缓解了因失落而对主流社会的抱怨,这在一定程度上降低了华侨华人与主流社会的对抗。由此可见,荷兰的华侨华人社团不同于专业化的行业组织或政党组织,有着多样的、综合性的社会属性,是一个村落式的我群社会。

The Village-Simulation Phenomena and the Overseas Chinese Associations:A Case Study on the Ethnic Chinese Associations in the Netherlands

Based on the fieldwork research conducted among ethnic Chinese in Holland,this article examines the types,function and operation of Chinese voluntary associations and their role in local social assimilation. The author argues that the Chinese associations have played a key role in local Chinese community by simulating the function of a Chinese village,which in turn provides Chinese migrants with a very important social space for their lives and actions. Assisted by their old memory and experiences about home villages,Chinese migrants not only operate their associations as a village but also compete each other while enhancing their social status within the associations. Such a practice could to some extent ease their feeling of being marginalized in the host society,lessening their complaint and reducing their conflict with thehost society. Unlike other specialized guild organizations or political institution,the ethnic Chinese associations in the Netherlands exhibit a multi-faceted social properties and thus could be termed as a self-enclosed village-simulation community.