What Is Qiaopi? The Letters That Fed a Generation
Short answer: Qiaopi (侨批) are combined letter-and-remittance documents sent home by overseas Chinese — especially from Southeast Asia to Chaoshan — from the 19th century to the 1970s. They are a UNESCO Memory of the World heritage, and for roots researchers they are the single most valuable family artifact.
What exactly is a qiaopi?
"Qiao" means overseas Chinese; "pi" is the Chaoshan dialect word for letter. A qiaopi was two things at once: a family letter, and a money transfer. A worker in Singapore or Bangkok would hand cash and a letter to a remittance house (批局, piju); the piju's network delivered both to the family village, and brought the reply back.
The system behind it
This was a private, trusted courier banking system decades before modern banking reached the countryside. Hundreds of piju operated between Southeast Asia ports and Chaoshan market towns, with coded receipts, serial numbers and honest settlement — families in the village received silver dollars, and the letters that came with them were often the only news of a father or son for years.
Why qiaopi matter for roots research
Each envelope can carry: the sender's full name, the foreign address and employer, the recipient's name and relationship, and — most valuable — the exact village and lane of the family home, written in characters, dated. For a family today trying to locate an ancestral village, one surviving qiaopi envelope can be worth more than every other clue combined.
Where to see them
Shantou's Qiaopi Museum (侨批文物馆) and the archives in Chaozhou hold large collections — we include them on roots trips when relevant.
If your family has qiaopi
Photograph every envelope front and back, and the letters inside, and send them to us. Even damaged fragments help: a partial address, a piju chop, a date.
FAQ
Are qiaopi still being written?
The system faded by the 1970s as modern banking arrived. What survives are family-held archives — and many families don't realize what they have.
Can you read the old handwriting?
Yes — our researchers work with cursive Chinese, old romanization and dialect place names routinely.