| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === (考古)人類學系 === 84 === The people whom I describe in this thesis are Burmese-Chinese
immigrants in Chung-ho city, Taipei, Taiwan. From their
internal cultural life and external social contact, I ask the
questions that whether they possess ethnic traits and formulate
new identity or not. Since 3th A.D., Chinese began to move in
Burma, but the high peak cameout until the 18th century. Most
of them gathered in China town, and maintained traditional
Chinese ways of life. They named themselves "tayoulumyou"(means
Chinese), but the ancestral birthplace in reality decided
people''s social relations. After 1960''s, part of them
immigranted into Taiwan and gathered in Hua-hsin street of
Chung-ho city. They claim that they are "myanmapyipyan"(means
Burmese-Chinese immigrants). Taiwanese also name this area
"Burma street". The variety of cultural performance of this
group of immigrants include religious, non-religious, and
linguistic spheres. Theravada Buddhism, Burmese food, clothing,
aesthetic materials, language, and music symbolize their common
origin and formulate the awareness of "shared descent". They
construct different images and ethnonyms(for example, they name
Burmese as "myanmalumyou" and Taiwanese as "myeibe") from their
interactive experiences and impression. According to this
categorization, they set up ethnic boundary and define
themselves as Chinese or immigrants. The Immigrants also
develop a set of naming system to switch their identities in
different situations. Therefore, Burmese- Chinese immigrants
have been developing themselves from an "ethnic category" into
an "ethnic group".
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