An examination of the Chinese emigrant experience, examining the history of Chinese emigration, its effects on emigrants and host nations alike and the culture and achievements of Chinese who have settled abroad. The Chinese diaspora, the most widespread varied and prolonged series of emigrations by one nation, began in the 1500s and continues to this day. This study covers the emigration from China to Britain, Canada, America, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines and ranges in subject from coolies to tycoons and triad bosses, from Fu Manchu to mini-biographies of the real Chinamen, from the origins of chop suey to the truth behind the gambling den myths. It includes topical material on Hong Kong and Tiananmen and the effects of the controversial British immigration policies and an insight into the American "Melting Pot" whose ideal has seldom been upheld, whether by government policy or by disaffected white Americans.