Performative filiality and Chinese voluntary associations in transnational commemoration of the Second World War

Abstract

This article examines the transnational commemoration of the Second World War through the Chinese Expeditionary Force (CEF) Fever campaign. The campaign focuses on repatriating the remains of Chinese soldiers who died in the China-Burma-India Theatre. These fallen soldiers have been glorified as national forefathers of the Chinese community in commemorative events. The campaign involves cooperation between Chinese Voluntary Associations (CVAs) in Myanmar and memory activists in China, while revealing conflicts over ownership of the remains and patriarchal leadership in remembrance. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, this study explores the gendered perspective of Chinese transnationalism and the involvement of CVAs in transnational remembrance. The concept of performative filiality is introduced to analyse the gender dynamics in the memorial network, emphasising the practices that demonstrate filial piety towards the war dead. This research highlights the complexities of transnational commemoration, power dynamics within CVAs, and the gendered dimensions of Chinese transnationalism in war remembrance.