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Borderlands of China had been the main battleground where the multiple empires and small kingdoms contended for control over human and natural resources for centuries. When the Western colonial empires with modern cartography and technology joined the competition in earnest from the nineteenth century, border-making began. Drawing international and internal boundaries intensified the empire’s desire to territorialize the sphere of influence, inevitably pressuring people to move. In particular, numerous people who did not belong to a dominant ethnicity lost their homelands and livelihoods and were forced to migrate. As the Second World War accelerated the decolonization process, more people from China migrated to “other” Asia. They sought new lands where they could preserve their own identities and traditions. While some amalgamated into a nation-state, many have remained in the margins. They now constitute the so-called “ethnic minority” of China and Southeast Asian countries or “stateless” people in between.

This international conference intends to survey the history of these minorities and migrants in China, Southeast Asia, and Korea under the general theme “Asia and the People without History.” “History” in this survey is broadly defined, not limited to the chronological records. The meaning and role of history here extend to the process of forming identity and asserting sovereignty, legitimacy, and autonomy of beings. The history of migrating minorities came to receive international attention as the newly established nation-state’s desire to create a hierarchy in the racial, social, and cultural spheres engendered clashes between the states and  the  minorities.  To  assimilate  the  ethnic  minority,  nation-states  have  attempted  to depoliticize their polities and denied their own histories and identities, making them the “people without history.”  In turn, the migrating minority have endeavored to restore their history to uphold their identity, unity, and autonomy.

Under the general theme, the conference will delve into the five questions. First, in what context  did  the  lands  between  empires  in  China,  Korea,  and  Southeast  Asia  become “bordered” by the international boundaries? Second, what are the factors and conditions that forced the people in China to seek new homes in Korea and Southeast Asia? Third, in what ways did the border-making by the empires and consequent migration of the ethnic minority people influence the latter’s sense of belonging? Fourth, how have the ethnic minority migrants negotiated their community’ autonomy and identity through the process of making their own history? Fifth, how have the Southeast Asian, Korean, and Chinese governments responded to the movement and migration of people across international boundaries, and what are the implications of their policies?

The conference consists of four sessions with the following subthemes.
• MigraQng to the Margins
• Historicizing Homelands
• IntegraQng or IsolaQng IdenQQes
• SeparaQng or StraQfying Status

Enriched by lengthy fieldwork and inspired by firsthand experiences, twelve presentations will provide insights and inspiration for understanding the meaning and role of "people without history" in Asia.