Inspired by one of the themes of the “Boundaries and Bonds: An International Conference on Chinese Diaspora,” hosted by Nanyang Technological University in October 2021, this article explores conceptual boundaries in the study of Cantonese migration during the pivotal nineteenth century. Based on research on internal Cantonese migration along the West River, but set in a comparative framework of overseas Cantonese migration, I consider in turn natural or topographical barriers, political boundaries, regional and class discrepancies, and gendered imaginings and practices of migration. Focusing on villages and townships along the West River, I show that emigrant communities with prior access to a long, navigable, and commercially important river readily adapted to new experiences of overseas migration after the mid-nineteenth century.

中文翻译：

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上游与海外：重访 19 世纪广东人移民研究的边界

受南洋理工大学 2021 年 10 月主办的“边界与纽带：华人侨民国际会议”主题之一的启发，本文探讨了关键的 19 世纪广东人移民研究中的概念边界。基于对沿西江的广东人内部迁移的研究，但在海外广东人迁移的比较框架内，我依次考虑了自然或地形障碍、政治边界、区域和阶级差异，以及移民的性别想象和实践。我以西河沿岸的村庄和乡镇为重点，展示了在 19 世纪中叶之后，移民社区很容易适应一条长长的、通航的、具有重要商业价值的河流，很容易适应海外移民的新经历。