Transcription
Welcome to "International Studies." I am Jin Yu Da. Today, we will discuss a movie. To be precise, it is a film about the Chaoshan people. 95% of the dialogue is in Chaoshan dialect. The budget was only a little over ten million. This is not some kind of online big-budget movie production, is it? But its score is surprisingly 9.2, the highest among films released in 2016. It grossed 1.6 billion, ranking high in the 2016 box office. As for this super blockbuster, it was released globally on June 10th. China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Malaysia led the charge. Afterwards, it will be released in over a dozen countries and regions including the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. How did this small-budget Chaoshan dialect film, which not many people had high hopes for, become so popular? What made it so successful? Although it tells a Chaoshan story, the majority of its producers are local Shenzhen enterprises. The director, Nan Hongchun, is also a long-term creator in Shenzhen. To put it plainly, it is "Made in Shenzhen." Shenzhen has a small-budget film support plan. From the script to the filming, production, and final review, the entire process is mechanized. Therefore, the fact that this film was produced is not accidental. It is supported by a systematic mechanism. So, why is it so popular? Well, it actually has a lot to do with the immigrant nature of Shenzhen. Over 70% of Shenzhen's population are outsiders. This city itself carries memories of leaving home. When a film about leaving home and being far away from one's roots resonates strongly, it is understandable. In Shenzhen alone, it contributed over 100 million yuan. How did it go global? Well, the logic is quite simple. Overseas, there are Chaoshan people. Chaoshan people have hometowns. Southeast Asia is the most concentrated area for Chaoshan Chinese. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia all have large numbers of Chaoshan people. Their ancestors migrated from Chaoshan to settle and live in the southern lands. The "qiao pi" (remittances) that appeared in the film, the masters who later became rich, and the mothers who looked forward to their children's return – these are their own stories. Therefore, the global release is not simply about trying one's luck, but a precise matching of demand. Where there are Chaoshan people, there are potential audiences. Alright, the movie is finished, but where does the real meaning lie? It lies in the core clue within the movie, which is the "qiao pi" mentioned earlier. What is "qiao pi"? It's not a bank, right? How does it work? It's a letter. In the letter, there are greetings. Also, the 2013 "qiao pi" archives were selected by UNESCO as part of the Memory of the World Register. But in that era without banks, the internet, or even a postal system, how did money cross borders and get sent back home? From the 19th century to the mid-20th century, large numbers of Chaoshan people went south to make a living in places like Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. They rode tricycles, did business, and worked as laborers. Each month, they would work hard, earn some money, and want to send it back to Chaoshan. At that time, there was no remittance system like Alipay, nor any legal guarantee that a Chaoshan person riding a tricycle in Bangkok could safely deliver money to their family. So, what did they do? The people created their own network: "shui" (water carriers) and "pi" (remittance agents). The "shui ke" were specifically private couriers between the south and Chaoshan. Later, as the volume of business grew, "pi ju" (remittance bureaus) emerged, similar to民间 (folk) organizations. How was a system of credit established? Without contracts, legal guarantees, or any collateral, what did it rely on? It relied entirely on a person's reputation. If a remittance bureau cheated someone, news would spread throughout Chaoshan, and they would lose business. Reputation was the most valuable asset. Today, even more so. As a result, this financial system without supervision, contracts, or collateral surprisingly had extremely low default rates. It operated for nearly a century. Isn't that amazing? In the movie, the mother guarded a remittance bureau for decades. To outsiders, she was guarding emotions. But from a financial logic perspective, she was also guarding a cross-border credit system. That bank receipt was even more effective. Let's talk about another detail. In the movie, there is a character named Xie Zhi. Everything he did, in today's terms, was to act on behalf of his deceased father, to reassure his mother with news, and to maintain the superficial completeness of a family that had actually been broken. This seems quite profound. But this matter also profoundly integrates an economic aspect. In those days, many overseas Chinese had limited education and could not write. Therefore, there were professional "letter writers." They not only wrote letters but also bridged the information gap between two living environments, ensuring that the emotions and promises of the remittance could be accurately received by the other party. If communication was lost, the concept of family belonging would be lost. Objectively, it maintained the emotional stability of the family. The value of this emotional bond could not be quantified economically at the time, but without it, the operation of cross-border families would collapse. Looking back at the financial operations of "qiao pi" is even more interesting. In the remittances between Thailand and Chaoshan, Hong Kong dollars were always the most important settlement currency. The process was as follows: A Chaoshan Chinese would go to the remittance bureau and tell them the exchange rate for the day to convert it into Hong Kong dollars. The letter would then directly state the amount in Hong Kong dollars. So, why was Hong Kong dollars always used? There were mainly three reasons. First, before 1935, the silver standard was volatile, while Hong Kong was a free trade port, and the Hong Kong dollar was relatively stable. Second, in the later period of the 20th century, the remittance systems between Chaoshan and Bangkok were immature. Often, remittances had to go through Hong Kong first, as Hong Kong was originally a hub. Third, many owners of remittance bureaus were also involved in trade, such as rice, shipping, and Southeast Asian produce. These were just part of their commercial empires. Therefore, they used their trade networks to send money back. To put it plainly, "qiao pi" was not an isolated industry, but a民间 (folk) financial network that spanned Southeast Asia, China, and Hong Kong. In an era without SWIFT or banks, they were already engaged in cross-border settlements. How large was the scale of "qiao pi"? I believe most people cannot imagine it. In 1931, China's imports exceeded exports, reaching 733 million yuan. Of this, Guangdong's remittances alone amounted to 253 million yuan. What does this mean? It means that remittances alone covered one-fifth of the country's foreign trade deficit. Looking further ahead, from 1950 to 1988, the total national remittance income was 9.61 billion US dollars, while the national foreign trade during the same period was 61.2424 billion US dollars. This means that remittances not only supported countless Chaoshan families but also served as a lifeline for the country's foreign exchange. Before 1921, tens of millions of yuan in remittances entered China annually. After 1921, this figure more than doubled to 200 million yuan annually. In that era, without the modern financial infrastructure we have today, the remittance industry played the role of cross-border currency. What many may not know is that behind these remittances lies China's long-standing trade deficit of 170 years. Let's extend the timeline a bit further. Starting from the 1820s, China entered a period of continuous trade deficit, with capital outflow. According to customs statistics, from 1850 to 1936, a period of 72 years, there were only 5 years of trade surplus; all others were trade deficits. The cumulative trade deficit alone reached 2.1 billion yuan by 1921. After the founding of New China, due to the need for industrialization and large-scale imports of equipment and raw materials, the pressure of trade deficits remained high. It was not until 1990 that China was able to completely reverse this situation and enter an era of continuous trade surplus. In other words, for most of the 170 years from the 1820s to 1990, China was experiencing capital outflow. So, who supported us during this period? Of course, it was the overseas Chinese mentioned earlier. The earliest scholar to systematically study overseas Chinese remittances was Mo. He estimated that by 1936, the total amount of overseas Chinese remittances exceeded 3.8 billion yuan. This figure is comparable to China's net trade surplus at the time. Even with conservative estimates, it was 300 million yuan, equivalent to 1.5 times the trade deficit. Therefore, there is a very important evaluation in China's economic history: the largest source of income to compensate for the trade deficit was overseas Chinese remittances. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the role of remittances became even greater. At that time, the total amount of funds from the Nationalist government's treasury exceeded 1.3 billion yuan, reaching over 9.5 billion yuan, accounting for one-fourth of the war expenditure. In the early years of the founding of New China, annual remittance income was about 300 to 500 million US dollars. From 1950 to 1957, the net trade surplus was only 1.37 billion US dollars. Remittances alone filled this gap. Therefore, without these remittances, the economic recovery and industrialization in the early years of New China would have been much more difficult. Their contribution was not just about sending money back. They also accomplished three major things. First, they boosted China's exports. After the 1870s, large numbers of Chinese went to Southeast Asia. Like us today, these people were accustomed to domestic products. When they found that the quality of local products was not good enough, they would seek alternatives. China's domestic exports, which were on the verge of collapse, increased tenfold within 20 years. Domestic agricultural households were saved by these overseas elders. Second, they made direct investments. The Chen Guangsi Silk Factory in Guangdong was the first enterprise founded by overseas Chinese. Later, the Yuhe Wine Company was founded in Yantai, which is the Yuhe you drink today. Shanghai Machine Bureau, Taiwan Business Bureau, and other public and private enterprises also attracted a large amount of investment from these remittances. Third, they supported the revolution and resisted foreign enemies. You have probably heard of the name Sun Yat-sen. He personally funded nearly 120 schools throughout his life. Besides the Xinhai Revolution, the support for the revolution and the war of resistance behind the scenes, the assets of wealthy merchants, and the contributions of ordinary people – this spirit is truly moving. After 1990, China finally broke free from the trap of a 170-year trade deficit. In 1990, foreign exchange reserves increased from 5.55 billion US dollars in the previous year to 110.93 billion US dollars. By the end of 2025, this figure had become 3,357.9 billion US dollars, making China the world's largest. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Malaysia, Indonesia, and others were devastated, but China held firm. During the 2008 global financial crisis, it also held firm. A very important reason is that we have continuous trade and foreign exchange reserves, which are a pillar of macroeconomic stability. This pillar did not fall from the sky; it was built up bit by bit from the trade deficit of the 1820s. Among them, overseas Chinese, with their remittances, supported us during difficult times. Today, overseas Chinese have integrated into their local communities, but the spirit of remittances, the heart that remembers home no matter how far away, the willingness to save money to support family members even if they have to eat less themselves, the sense of belonging from family to nation – this is precisely what is reflected in the mother's love in the movie. The thin remittance letter in the mother's hand left the deepest impression. This episode of "Economic Studies" ends here. I am Jin Yu Da. See you next time. Dad.