SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with Burmese and European accounts rather than the Chinese sources because the latter have received thorough attention from scholars well-versed in the Chinese-language literature. The Chinese tribute system governed the Celestial Empire’s relationship with the small states along the rim of the middle kingdom. Diplomatic ties between Chinese and Burma were so regular and intimate; some Burmese officials were able to converse with the Chinese envoys in Chinese. The British view of the Chinese in the Straits tended to reflect more of a local perspective toward the Chinese in the area. British perspectives of the Chinese in Burma appear to have been adjusted due to the need for Chinese settlement in British Tenasserim. British rule was also extended to Tenasserim at a time when economic growth in the Straits spurred the large-scale immigration of Southeastern Chinese and this migration pushed northward into Burma.