Trust, identity, and commercial advantage: Hainanese upward mobility in the rice trade on the east coast of peninsular Thailand (mid-19 th century--1980s).

摘要

This thesis examines the rise and decline of the rice trade on the east coast of peninsular Thailand from the middle of the nineteenth century to the 1980s, in order to rectify the image of the Chinese middleman in Southeast Asia as the evil "blood suckers"; furthermore, to demonstrate the heterogeneity inside the Chinese community in Southeast Asia, and the hierarchical structure and mobility within a specific trade; in addition, to emphasize the significance of personal trust and credit relationships embedded in particular exchange relations, in the traditional markets characterized by contract uncertainty where the legal framework for the enforcement of contracts is not well developed.