Abstract

As Chinese living abroad and their descendants, overseas Chinese share same bloodlines, common spirits and interests with their motherland—China, which is a unique resource for us. Ever since the end of 19th century, overseas Chinese have made great contributions to the construction and development of our country. After the establishment of People's Republic of China, overseas Chinese contributed a lot to the development of our socialism, and it became one of the most key roles which pushed the economical growth of our country ever since the implement of the Opening-up policy. Besides helping our economy's rapid development, overseas Chinese also give us positive responses on political issues, and they have become a unique force in supporting the peaceful reunification of our ancestral countries and opposing separatism. As an important external force in realizing Chinese Dream, overseas Chinese helped to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Based on analyzing the logical relations between the development of overseas Chinese community and the realization of Chinese Dream, this book carries out specific-subject studies on some key or hot issues on overseas Chinese in recent years. There are two purposes: one is to share our research results with more scholars; the other is to convey the information related to overseas Chinese to more readers beyond academic circles, and let them know more and get an in-depth understanding of overseas Chinese.

The book is divided into 8 chapters: Chapter 1 is a brief historical overview, and Chapter 2-8 are several thematic studies.

Chapter 1mainly includes two aspects. Firstly, it makes a brief survey of the developmental history of overseas Chinese community, generally summarizing the characteristics of China's foreign exchanges, immigration and the basic situation of the formation of overseas Chinese community in various historical periods. Secondly, on the basis of a 3-stage periodization of“1840-1949”，“1949—the end of 20th century”and“the new century”，it discusses the practice with which overseas Chinese participates into helping to realize Chinese Dream. The study indicates that in the past over 100 years China has developed from“semi colony”to national liberation, from poverty to self-reliance, from separation to peaceful reunion. The 100-year Chinese dream mainly reflects the changes of three themes: independence, prosperity and unity, and in each period, overseas Chinese are all actively involved in a variety of ways to practice to promote“China dream”. At present, to pursue the“unity”and“confidence”of Chinese dream in the new century, overseas Chinese will continue to play a positive and unique role. Chapter 2—8 focus on specific subjects including political participation, ethnic relations, identity, new immigrant, new generation, transnational network, harmonious overseas Chinese community. The basic structure of each chapter is generally as follows: the first part is a theoretical discussion or the historical background summary, the second part is an analysis of the current situation and characteristics of the related problems, the third part is problem thinking or the countermeasure suggestion.

The outstanding features of this book are as follows.（1）It is a combination of historical research and realistic investigation, also a combination of theoretical study and empirical analysis. Whether it is an analysis on the logical relationship between overseas Chinese and Chinese Dream, or thematic discussions on specific issues, both pay attention to the historical background and the development of reality, theoretical discussion and empirical analysis. Therefore, in terms of structure and content, the study is systematic and complete.（2）It is worth paying attention that it's the first time some arguments have been involved, and the point of view is innovative. For example, the argument about the logical relationship between overseas Chinese and Chinese Dream in the second part of chapter 1 is the first systematic discussion on this issue in academic circles, which puts forward the views of“three stages”.“（Chinese Dream）different themes”are also quite creative, and should be the first to mention on this issue.（3）A lot of materials have been collected by field work, especially for the contents on the status quo of identity, new immigrant, new generation, and most materials are based on field investigations. These materials not only enriches the content of the research, but also highlights the practical significance of this study.

Keywords: Overseas Chinese; Social Development; China Dream