Template:Did you know nominations/Bamboo network

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Orlady (talk) 13:31, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

Bamboo network

(

• Back to T:TDYK
• Article history

)

• ... that the bamboo network of overseas Chinese businesses in Southeast Asia has been called the "the greatest Asian economic power outside of Japan"?

Created/expanded by Beijingdemocracy (talk). Self nominated at 07:22, 30 May 2013 (UTC).

• Article is new, created by Beijingdemocracy on 29 May 29 2013.
• Article meets DYK length standards, with 3048 characters.
• User:Beijingdemocracy has not reviewed another article
• Looking at the article's sources, I was initially a little suspicious that the "bamboo network" might be an invention of Murray Weidenbaum. He wrote a book about the topic that was published in 1996. I do see that a few others use the term. (For example, this looks relevant: this looks relevant.) I have some questions/concerns about the article that maybe we can just talk out, or discuss with some (other?) experts, or find some new sources to address:

1. Is the "bamboo network" a pretty specific wave of specifically Chinese expatriate families, as suggested now in the article and elsewhere on the web? (Even at the Free Dictionary! No idea if FD is a reliable source but I smiled when I saw the entry.) Or, should we use the definition from this sentence at the beginning of Weidenbaum's book: "The remarkable and pervasive cross-border movement of people and goods in Southeast Asia (which I dubbed the 'bamboo network'") was a fine example of my broader point that economic pressures are making political borders less important." (Weidenbaum's next reference suggests—I think, based on my naive reading—that the network of Chinese family businesses is one of multiple possible specific bamboo networks. In other parts of the book available on Preview, he definitely focuses on China.
2. Is the term "bamboo network" a little ... well ... Orientalist? (In the Said sense.) The main source is a White American; there aren't any Chinese sources. "Bamboo" is a weirdly racialized term to use just because something is Chinese Asian. It would be good to investigate Chinese nomenclature and perspectives on the topic, not only because we need these to check against Wikipedia:Systemic bias but also based on Wikipedia:Names policy and on Neutrality policy (see, e.g.: Anglo-American focus) It would also be good to include more discussion of how the facts were gleaned.

• Hook comes from this source here. I'm not 100% that the hook conveys Pankaj Mishra's intended meaning, since under discussion are both Chinese expatriates and Indonesian money. I think it would be better to choose a hook based on a verifiable fact. (And I'm not finding materials that really support the "largest economic power" claim.

• OK, sorry to give you so much at once! I hope some is helpful or thought provoking. Welcome to DYK! groupuscule (talk) 21:11, 31 May 2013 (UTC)
  • Thank you for reviewing.

1. Weidanbaum did coin the term, and it was from reading his book that I was inspired to create this article. I decided to create an article on the concept, instead of the book, because the term has been adopted by numerous other scholars and analysts. For another example, see this 2007 article by a Bank of America analyst.
2. The bamboo network refers to the overseas Chinese community. Weidenbaum does postulate a broader definition, but his book, and the term as used by other sources, remains focused on overseas Chinese.
3. Most sinologists in the West are not Chinese, but that does not diminish the quality of their research. Bamboo is not an epithet and the bamboo network is not a derogatory label. Orientalism has not been one of the major criticisms of the concept (although overoptimism is).
4. Indonesian Chinese are a large segment of the bamboo network, but the claim is somewhat hyperbolic. I will find something more objective.--Beijingdemocracy (talk) 06:00, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

• An alternative hook: "... that the bamboo network of overseas Chinese businesses links the economies of Southeast Asia with the economy of China?"--Beijingdemocracy (talk) 06:03, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

• This hook is legit. Although I would recommend additional research to supplement the article, the basis is there for an article and for the hook. Thanks for your work. groupuscule (talk) 07:34, 7 June 2013 (UTC)