Letters / qiaopi
Date Published
Qiaopi (僑批), or "silver letters" (銀信), were remittance letters sent by overseas Chinese to their families in China, combining personal correspondence with the transfer of money. They formed a vital link between migrant communities abroad and their home villages.
Qiaopi (僑批), often translated as "overseas Chinese remittance letters" or "silver letters" (銀信), were a distinctive form of correspondence through which Chinese migrants abroad maintained economic and emotional ties with their families in China. Combining a personal letter with the transfer of money, qiaopi served as a vital mechanism for supporting households in migrants' home villages, particularly in the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. These communications conveyed not only remittances but also news of family affairs, business activities, migration experiences, and social conditions in overseas communities. As a result, qiaopi constitute an important historical source, providing detailed insights into transnational family networks, patterns of migration, and the everyday lives of Chinese migrants and their relatives during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
In Australia there are very few examples of letters sent from Australia (Chau letters) to the families in the villages of the Pearl River Delta. However there are numerous examples of return letters or letters sent to request that remittances be sent. Such as those to Tet Fong and Ah Chan.
For a comprehensive and fascinating account of qiaopi and the remittance system see: Dear China: Emigrant Letters and Remittances, 1820–1980 by Gregor Benton and Hong Liu, University of California Press, 2018.
Letter to Tet Fong
Qiaopi (僑批), sometimes translated as "overseas Chinese remittance letters", were letters sent by Chinese emigrants overseas back to their families in China, usually accompanied by money.
The term breaks down as:
僑 (qiáo) = overseas Chinese, emigrant.
批 (pī) = remittance letter, written instruction accompanying money.
Alternatively the traditional Chinese term 銀信 (yínxìn) literally means:
銀 = silver (money)
信 = letter
Hence the common English translation "silver letters."
The name reflects the fact that the letter and the money travelled together. For many families in Guangdong and Fujian, the money was often more important than the letter itself. In fact many did not sent a letter if they had no money to sent and the family simply heard nothing.
