Remembering the Samsui Women

Kelvin E.Y. Low is an assistant professor of sociology at the National University of Singapore. He is the author of Scents and Scent-sibilities: Smell and Everyday Life Experiences (2009) and co-editor of Everyday Life in Asia: Social Perspectives on the Senses (2010).

• Introduction1 Chinese Migration and Entangled Histories2 Politics of Memory Making3 Local and Transnational Entanglements4 From China to Singapore5 Beyond Working Lives6 Samsui Women, Ma Cheh, and Other Foreign WorkersConclusion: Social Constructions of the PastGlossary; Notes; References; Index

This book is a fascinating study of the Samsui women who migrated in the early twentieth century from Sanshui in China to what is today Singapore to work, among other occupations, as unskilled laborers in the construction industry … the wealth of materials consulted – from textbooks to films to oral histories – is impressive, making the book a salient resource for those interested in both Asian migrations and the politics of social memory-making.- Hamzah Muzaini, National University of Singapore (International Migration Review) This book is laudable research on how issues and discourses have been revolving around Samsui women … [it] is empirically rich and theoretically intriguing. It is worth recommending to those who are interested in gendered migration and social memory in national history. - Yow Cheun Hoe, Nanyang Technological University (Southeast Asian Studies)