Book excerpt: This work is the first of a series of books principally dedicated to the publication of papers from seminars organized, either solely by the MAISON DES SCIENCES DE L'HOMME DU PACIFIQUE, or in partnership with other institutions. Upon the arrival in the nineteenth century, almost all of the first emigrants from Guangdong in French Oceania settled and developed family lines. Their descendants do not have same sort fo connections today that their ancestors did, with a China that was then led by the Qing dynasty or Sun Yat-Seng. Is the present generation still to be considered as part of the traditional network of diasporic relations, in the same way as those living in other regions of the world? Sponsored by the Pacific Human Sciences Centre (Maison des Sciences de l'Homme du Pacifique), this book examines this question from a previously unexplored angle, through films and contemporary art of the Chinese diaspora. Beyond a meeting between East and West, midway between what philosopher and sinologist François Jullien called "easy universalism" and "lazy relativism", this book does not question conventional cultural differences. Instead, it explores the play of fertile tensions used for creative and aesthetic representation, by communities that are both separated from and close to a various resources. This book brings together contributions from specialists in visual arts and film, including fiction and non-fiction Chinese-language film professionals.