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Dr. Chansiri thus traces both evolutions in this book—that of the Chinese, who came many centuries ago but in larger numbers after the revolution on the mainland, and that of the Thai, whose own prosperity and present wealth owes so much to the energies of the Chinese immigrants of the different waves over six centuries.
But it is the synergy ultimately that is of interest. Why were the Thai so willing to receive the Chinese, and why were the Chinese so willing to adapt to Thai customs and traditions? The answer is here.
The other major question then to be answered is how much assimilation has, in fact, occurred. Dr. Chansiri has given us survey data and in-depth reporting from extensive interviewing with both elite and street Chinese. It would be unfair to give away his stirring answer though it should be obvious by now. The fact is that he builds up to it systematically and logically.
This book, which is developed from the author’s doctoral thesis at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy—one characterized by the most brilliant thesis defense I have ever witnessed in over thirty-five years on the faculty—is thus the result of several stages of work, and will no doubt provoke new work: attempted refutations, new data, and maybe even consternation.
That is all to the good. This is now the definitive work on an old and important subject, but it points the way to comparative studies of assimilation—at its base the process by which all nations on earth have been formed. After all, if DNA now tells us that the English are 87% German, but that Celts English are much alike genetically, then we know how much nation formation has been assimilation-driven. The Chinese in Thailand surely are one of the most spectacularly successful examples of this process, and Dr. Chansiri is to be lauded for his brilliant diagnosis of the Thai case.
The author is ideally placed to tackle this problem—why has assimilation been so successful in recent years? One is tempted not to be personal, and thus imply that one must be a Sino-Thai to handle the issue properly. After all, Americans study—and try to dominate the academic rewards in—most fields.