Return to Lesser's respective discussions of Brazilian's views upon Chinese and Japanese culture to critically summarize the essential features of these ideas in the Brazilian context by citing examples from other of our readings related to the nineteenth century in the case of the Chinese and to the first half of the twentieth century in the case of the Japanese.

Student’s Name: Tutor: Class: Date: Chinese and Japanese Immigration to Brazil: Historical Contexts, Scientific Racism, and Cultural Eurocentrism Immigration, as a specific form of international movement, significantly impacts both immigrants and different components in the receiving host nation or society. It affects the aspects of culture, economy, politics, and demography. Based on various studies, immigration emphasizes the connection between host nations and migrants, who carries new foundations to society with their exclusive cultural and social experiences. Research displays that the migration of culturally varied individuals presents nation-states with a predicament, including the integration of the immigrants as citizens might challenge traditions of cultural homogeneity, but a failure to integrate them might result in divided societies. The following paper explores Jeff Lesser's work on Chinese and Japanese immigration into Brazil. The goal is to critically summarize the significant features of Brazilian views on Chinese and Japanese cultures. Through a comprehensive analysis, this essay highlights how such views influenced societal attitudes and policies towards these immigrant groups in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chinese Immigration in the Nineteenth Century Jeff Lesser’s work describes the intricacies surrounding Chinese immigration to Brazil in the 20th century. Since the mid-20th century, Lesser provides that the world of non-European migrant culture might be initiate in large and small cities all over Brazil, from “Porto Alegre in the South Belem near the mouth of the Amazon” (Lesser, 3). Lesser describes such a shift with the push-pull theory, where most of the Chinese moved to Brazil due to the pull factors, such as political stability, natural resources, job opportunities, and a better climate for farming (Lesser, 3). The Brazilian elite perceived Chinese immigrants through a prism of scientific racism, deeming them racially inferior and unassimilable. Lesser states that “Nineteenth-century policymakers would argue for decades over whether and how Chinese labourers might fit into Brazilian society” (Lesser, 14). Lesser underscores how such perceptions were influenced by the wider global discourses on race and labour. For example, Chinese labourers were mostly seen as a resolution to the labour shortage following the ending of slavery but concurrently considered a threat to the racial purity of the Brazilian. In his work, Lesser states that “Chinese labour provided a perfect solution to the dual problem: a servile yet nonslave class could be created that would help de-Africanize Brazil" (Lesser, 14). However, regardless of the available labour, a work/culture debate emerged during this era over whether Chinese workers might harm the country by transforming it from "European" to "Asian” (Lesser, 14). Entrenched in the dispute over Chinese labour were deep separations on how the entry of new racial groups might affect Brazilian national identity. Based on Lesser, Chinese entry had Brazilians divided into those in favour and those opposed. Those who favoured emphasized the rise in production, while opposers feared the social "pollution." For instance, significant intellectuals, such as politicians and planters, spoke effectively and fervently about the "Chinese question" (Lesser, 15). Based on Lesser, the position they took was not always effective with their Conservative and Liberal relationships, and inexplicable political coalitions were the rule. The "anti" group collected fervent nationalist/racists who provided that the Chinese were physically disintegrated and opponents who trusted that Chinese labourers might form a neo-slave class (Lesser, 15). Moreover, the few planters who owned larger fields were persuaded that only Africans were biologically appropriate for backbreaking farmstead work. The other side comprised a mixture of farmstead owners who needed to substitute African slaves with a low-priced and more submissive group, other plant-holders who trusted that Chinese labourers were biologically suitable for farming work and might help make the country competitive in the global economies, and opponents influenced that “Chinese contract labour might be a step forward on the path to full wage labour” (Lesser, 15). However, Lesser provides that what every group decided was that Chinese laborers were little more than products (Lesser, 15). Therefore, Lesser's exploration shows how such global discourses were adapted to fit the Brazilian context, where economic necessities conflicted with nationalist and racist opinions. Such pressure highlights the larger conflict between economic requirements and racial philosophies in Brazil's nation-building efforts. Further readings explain the dichotomy of Chinese immigrants being both necessary and unwanted. Fausto identifies that the economic necessities of coffee plantation owners mostly conflicted with the nationalist and racist sentiments of the bigger society and government. For instance, owners of the plantation saw Chinese workers as a pragmatic soluti...