The Context

Today, we’ll talk about one of the largest and most overlooked migrations in modern history, a movement of millions from China’s coast to Southeast Asia that lasted for centuries, driven by hunger, lured by colonial promises, and marked by unimaginable suffering as well as astonishing resilience.

Today, we’ll talk about Luoyang Bridge, a nearly thousand-year-old stone bridge in southeastern China whose ingenious use of oyster reefs, tidal forces, and innovative engineering helped it survive the ravages of the sea and become one of the world’s earliest and most remarkable coastal bridges.

Today, we’ll talk about a famed temple in Quanzhou, a thousand-year-old landmark where legend, maritime exchange, and cultural fusion converge to reveal the enduring openness of China’s ancient coastal civilization.

Today, we’ll talk about Tianyi Post Office, the pioneering remittance and postal agency that connected overseas Chinese communities across Southeast Asia with their families in China, creating a vital network of letters, money, and trust long before the advent of modern banking and communications.

Today, we’ll talk about the Yongle Encyclopedia, a monumental Chinese text dating from the Ming dynasty, and provide you with a fascinating narrative detailing its six-hundred-year journey, tragic dispersal, and ongoing global recovery.