Cantonese Songs and Chinese Vietnamese Women’s Consciousness of Being Chinese in Cho Lon Community of Ho Chi Minh City, Socialist Repubic of Vietnam

Abstract

This article is based on research aiming at examining Chinese Vietnamese women’s creation of consciousness of being Chinese through performances of Cantonese songs in Cho Lon community of Ho Chi Minh City, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which is widely known as the biggest China Town in Vietnam. The study found that the Vietnamese government’s policies towards the Chinese Vietnamese group after the Doi Moi or renovation period were aimed at strengthening their Chinese identity and harmonious integration into Vietnamese society. Holding performances of Cantonese songs in Cho Lon were considered to be one of the ways of implementing the policies. The study also indicated that listening to Cantonese songs and watching the performances of Cantonese songs were not only recreational activities but also ways of creating consciousness of being Chinese for the Chinese Vietnamese women who were overshadowed by the Chinese Vietnamese men in the area of identity building in their own important cultural and religious activities in Cho Lon community.