Journal of Australia-China Affairs 2014

Chinese cultural events. Taking Brisbane as an example, the City Council frequently contributes to ensure the success of events such as Chinese New Year. During celebrations in 2014, performance troupes from the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province were invited to perform and were warmly received. We find, therefore, that in their reading habits, social activities, festive customs and in other areas, what can be said to compose the daily life of contemporary Chinese migrants acts also as a source of ethnic belonging and self-­‐identification. Lived out at a day-­‐to-­‐day level, it creates both an ‘identity’ (shenfen 身 份 ) and an ‘image’ (xingxiang 形 象 ) to which the Chinese in Australia can feel a sense of belonging. The Changing Status of Chinese Culture in Australia The Gold Rush of the 1850s saw a large influx of Chinese labourers entering Australia, forming the first period of Chinese migration into the country. During this period, white society attempted to isolate and exclude these migrants. The migrants of this time maintained the traditions of Chinese culture in their daily life, as well as its cultural values. The end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth was a particularly hard period for these migrants in joining Australian society. Owing to the needs of their occupations, they began taking the initiative to learn and understand the English language and Western culture, while continuing to maintain Chinese language and customs at home. The period between the abolition of the White Australia policy up to the present day can be considered the third period in the development of Chinese culture in Australia. During this time the maintenance of Chinese culture was not limited purely to the home, but extended to broader society. Indeed, it can be seen as becoming part of the wider multicultural environment, with some Chinese festivals and celebrations being aided financially by the government, thereby helping to promote a greater understanding of Chinese culture. At the same time, the shape of Chinese culture is reflected in the daily lives of Australia's Chinese communities. Taken as an expression of the patterns and habits of daily life, the act of reading Chinese newspapers, engaging in various dietary and culinary habits, festive rituals, social activities and so on, can all together be taken as expressing a particular cultural inheritance. This inheritance is one that has been passed on over the decades, gradually becoming a source of ethnic self-­‐identification for the community. Figure 3: Chinese Culture in Australian Society Figure 4: Chinese Daily Life and the Construction of Ethnic Self-­‐Identification JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIA-CHINA AFFAIRS 55