{"id":11366,"date":"2022-12-02T07:30:50","date_gmt":"2022-12-02T07:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=11366"},"modified":"2022-12-02T09:21:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T09:21:58","slug":"british-chinese-communities-and-culture-exhibit-opens-at-the-british-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/british-chinese-communities-and-culture-exhibit-opens-at-the-british-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the British Library’s ‘Chinese and British’ exhibition worth seeing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A free exhibition at the British Library, supported by Blick Rothenberg, explores the active role Chinese communities have played in British society in the 300 years since the first recorded Chinese person arrived in the UK up until the present day, writes CBBC\u2019s Juliette Pitt<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Tracing back the origins, exploits and stories of the British Chinese community, who can trace their heritage to regions across East and Southeast Asia, \u2018Chinese and British<\/a>\u2019 draws on the national significance of what it means to be Chinese and British. In addition, it celebrates the lasting impact of Chinese people on the UK, from wartime service and contributions to popular cuisine to achievements in art, literature, sport, music, fashion and film.<\/p>\n

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The exhibition presents personal artefacts from Chinese British communities alongside books, manuscripts, and maps from the British Library\u2019s collection. One of the highlights of the exhibition is a map from 1880 of Chinese communities around the docks of the East End of London. As Britain traded heavily with the Chinese in the 17th century, increasing numbers of Chinese people and sailors settled around the docks at Limehouse and set up businesses in the area.<\/p>\n

The exhibition also showcases Chinese efforts in WWI and WWII. In WWI, Chinese Labour Corps helped to build the trenches in northern France, and in WWII, many were deployed as seamen and often worked on ships as caterers. The exhibition highlights these efforts through trench art and personal memoirs. Importantly, the British Library also explores the forced repatriation of Chinese sailors, many of whom were unexpectedly deported after WWII. This was largely unknown until revealed in 2022 in a British Home Office internal investigation report on the incident, which acknowledged the degree of coercion and racial factors behind the repatriation operation.<\/p>\n