เอกลักษณ์ชาติพันธุ์ของคนไทยเชื้อสายจีนในชุมชนอ้อมใหญ่ / ธมลวรรณ ตั้งวงษ์เจริญ = Ethnic identity of Chinese Thai in omyai community / Thamolwan Tungwongcharoen
The objectives of the study are as follows: (1) to study socio-cultural aspect of Chinese-Thai in Omyai Community, (2) to study process which Chinese ethnic identity is maintained among Chinese-Thai in Omyai Community, and (3) to study education attainment and career path of Chinese-Thai in Omyai Community. Qualitative research method was adopted using mainly life history in-depth interview and participant observation techniques. Ten families with at least 3 generations of Chinese descendants were selected as case studies. In term of cultural identity it was found that the first generation Chinese who immigrated to Thailand was conscious of Chineseness and decided to keep their cultural identity. Members of second generation Chinese followed Chinese tradition similar to the parents. At the same time, they learn Thai tradition and culture from schools and friends. This adjustment to Thai culture was clear in the third generation when they decided to live in Thailand. During that time the Thai government tried to promote Thai nationality for national security reasons. Therefore Chinese-Thai people decided to maintain Chinese cultural identity and adopted Thai nationality based on rational choice theory. The research found that most of the Chinese in the case studies started making their livelihood in agriculture which required less capital investment than trade. The first generation Chinese in the study did not play the middleman role as suggested by Bonacich. Some second generation Chinese left agriculture for other career. In terms of education attainment, Chinese parents put emphasis on trade more than schooling for their children. Chinese-Thai who completed compulsory education decided to follow the occupation of their parents, while Chinese-Thai with higher education attainment gain better opportunity and seek other type of employment. In terms of relationship between settlement and career pattern, the study found that after the Chinese decided to settle in Thailand, career before and after the decision to settle remained the same. Change of career happened in the second and the third generation as Chinese-Thai prefer trade to agriculture. The selection of occupation also reflects settlement choice. Many moved to urban areas. After triumph of the Communist Party in China in 1949, the Thai government adopted nationalistic policy opposing the allegiance of ethnic Chinese to Mainland China. Many Chinese decided to settle in Thailand and made adjustment by abandoning some Chinese identity and adopting Thai nationality. Chinese-Thai has assumed double identity by maintaining both Chinese and Thai ethnic identity simultaneously.