In the 1840s and 1840s, a famine broke out in Ireland. Millions of poor people had no food to eat and had to sail across the ocean, hoping to immigrate to other places to start a new life. Records of Irish immigrants during the Great Famine often consist of tiresome clichés, half-truths and cold statistics. The historical work "Coffin Boat: Life and Death at Sea during the Great Famine in Ireland" gives a different view of this history: when hungry people rush to the sea, the disappointing reality is before them: there are not enough ships for long voyages. And those who had gone to great lengths to step onto the deck also put one foot into the coffin at the same time-darkness, humidity, and congestion were the main themes of the long journey. Under the ravages of the epidemic, hunger, dehydration and dizziness were completely unbearable. Many people died on board and were then thrown into the sea, so the immigrant ships were also called "coffin ships" and became a notorious label on immigrant voyages in the 19th century. Author: Irish historian Cian T. McMahon. Dr. McMahon provides a vibrant new perspective on a crucial but often overlooked part of the immigration process-the journey itself.

On the afternoon of June 14, 2024, the Yangtze River Delta Historical Salon hosted by Associate Professor Wei Tao of the Department of History of Soochow University planned and held a roundtable discussion on "Coffin Boat: Life and Death at Sea during the Great Famine in Ireland"(hereinafter referred to as "Coffin Boat"). The speaker is Associate Professor Chu Qingdong of the School of History and Culture of Central China Normal University. He is the Chinese translator of this book. The interlocutors included Associate Professor Chen Yao of the School of History and Cultural Heritage of Xiamen University and Professor Wu Bin of the Institute of American Studies of Northeast Normal University. The global academic platform "Global Research Forum"(globalstudiesforum.com) founded by Chen Dandan, a professor at the State University of New York at Farmingdale, broadcast a live broadcast of the roundtable forum on the official account of Station B. The content of this article is compiled from the speeches of the guests and was reviewed and approved by the spokesperson.

Translator Chu Qingdong has mainly paid attention to the legal and social history of Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries in recent years. In his speech, he shared his experience of this translation work and talked about the academic inspiration of "The Coffin Boat" from three aspects:

1. From British history to British history: a significant expansion of research horizons.

"Coffin Boat" breaks through the barriers of nation-states, uses Irish immigrants as a link, pays attention to the experiences of the Irish in the "British Empire" and focuses on the migration of the Irish in "Britain". It sets off from Ireland to England, the United States, Canada, Australia and new Zealand. Chu Qingdong believes that this will undoubtedly help domestic academic circles think about the research perspective of British history, because domestic academic circles have long regarded British history as basically the history of England, but have not paid enough attention to the history of Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The full name of the United Kingdom is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland have complex relationships in the process of modern and modern history of Britain. How to choose effective concepts to include the four has become a topic in the academic world after World War II. A proposition of the times that continues to ponder in the historical changes of Britain's accession to the European Community and the wave of colonial independence. "British History" is the key for British academic circles to answer questions about the times and history.

According to John Pocock, a famous historian of political thought and one of the "Three Cambridge Musketeers","we should break through the traditional historical narrative with English history as the main body and emphasize historical diversity and cultural diversity. This diverse culture lies first of all in how to position Irish history. It must not only ensure the uniqueness of Irish history, but also not separate it from the British historical narrative. In order to accommodate the traditional opposition of Irish historians to the British Isles, Pocock used British history to discuss the history of early England, Scotland, and Ireland." "History of Britain" has become the consensus of contemporary British academic circles. The seminar convened by historians such as Steven Gunn of Oxford University is named after "Early Modern Britain" rather than the more well-known "History of Early Modern Britain" in China."is an example.

Second, listen to the voices of immigrants themselves: innovative research methods.

McMahon, author of "The Coffin Boat", focuses on the personal experiences of Irish immigrants by combing through Irish immigrants 'letters and diaries, government documents and newspapers stored in archives and libraries on three continents. He devoted a chapter to detail the sources and research methods. His purpose was not to describe facts and figures in a dry manner, but to affectionately regard these objects as a means for distant relatives and friends to repair fragile social relationships. Readers can easily find that McMahon quotes large sections of the book from Irish immigrants, arguing that the purpose of doing so was to enhance the voices of the immigrants themselves that had long disappeared.

Our inherent impression of the Great Famine in Ireland often stays in the famine caused by a failed potato harvest and the high mortality rate of immigrants during the Great Famine. However, we know very little about the survival strategies of the Irish people during the Great Famine. The contribution of "Coffin Boat" is to rediscover the voices of immigrants and listen to the voices of immigrants themselves through letters and diaries. This is rare and valuable. The author has a deep concern for life and compassion for others, and regards millions of Irish immigrants as living individuals rather than cold numbers. By reconstructing the local and transnational networks of Irish immigrants, the author explores the impact of the global expansion of the capitalist world economy on Irish immigrants.

Third, pay attention to the process of maritime navigation: the innovation of research content.

The author pointed out in the "Preface to the Chinese Edition" that "the social dynamics on the voyage ship are not only influenced by poor communication and violence, but also shaped by the spirit of unity and fearlessness. This book looks at how maritime navigation affects immigrants through the daily lives of passengers." Paying attention to the life of immigrants at sea is important because historians have long ignored this research perspective intentionally or unintentionally, resulting in the process of immigrants sailing at sea being obscured. "The Coffin Boat" centers on the journey of sailing at sea. The five chapters of the book examine the complex face of the Irish people who were united and supported each other during their departure, sailing and arrival during the Great Famine. From bidding farewell to his homeland in tears to encountering liverpool scammers and thieves on the way, from setting off on a ship to the life-and-death journey at sea during the voyage, to finally arriving at the destination after countless hardships and dangers, this process of sea sailing itself deserves to be highlighted. Not only that, the Irish maritime navigation was the connecting chain of the 19th century global network, providing a new perspective on understanding modern history. By analyzing the Irish's maritime voyages, McMahon highlighted the wisdom, courage and determination of Irish immigrants, thereby justifying the name of the "coffin ship".

Although academic circles have written about the experiences of pirates, sailors and slaves at sea, they have not paid attention to the experiences of immigrants at sea. This is interesting because every emigrant spends weeks or months adrift at sea. The publication of "The Coffin Boat" has undoubtedly made up for this shortcoming. In addition,"Coffin Boat"'s attention to the sailing process at sea is also intended to allow readers to "learn to sympathize with and support those who are heading to the port with their luggage tonight and heading into the darkness."

After Chu Qingdong's sharing, host Wei Tao added that McMahon's "The Coffin Boat" could be compared to "The Slave Boat: A History of Humanity" by Marcus Rediker of the History Department of the University of Pittsburgh "(The Slave Ship: A Human History) Conduct comparative reading.

Slave Ships: A History of Humanity (The Slave Ship: A Human History）

"Slave Ships: A History of Humanity" mainly studies slave ships, focusing on the transatlantic slave trade and the population migration and development of capitalism implicit behind it. Slaves were trafficked from the west coast of Africa to the Caribbean and then to North America. Wei Tao pointed out that Redick discussed the Middle Passage, but it did not analyze the importance of ethnicity to the Atlantic slave trade. But within Africa, in the Caribbean, and in North America, ethnicity played a vital role in the Atlantic slave trade. Atlantic slave traders in the South Carolina colony preferred to import African slaves from Zambia and Sierra Leone, but they had always been wary of African slaves from what is now the Congo, mainly because the South Carolina colony broke out in 1739 by African slaves from the Congo. McMahon's "The Coffin Boat" emphasizes the importance of Irish identity in the study of immigration history and is a highlight of this book.

In addition, Wei Tao also pointed out that Reddick was a Marxist school historian, but McMahon was not, although both advocated bottom-up social history research. McMahon highlighted the first-hand experiences of Irish immigrants, including their unique experiences from boarding and life on board, and how they arrived at their destination. Unfortunately, McMahon is not a typical Marxist historian. This book does not discuss the rebellion launched by Irish immigrants or the violent resistance of Irish immigrants. In contrast, in Slave Ships: A History of Humanity, Reddick often discusses slave rebellion and class conflict. On slave rebellion on slave ships, Reddick published a monograph in 2013-"The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom"(The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom）。And American director Steven Spielberg filmed "Broken Lock and Furious Tide" in 1997 (Amistad) is based on the theme of the Amistad rebellion.

"The Amisstad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom"(The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom）

Stills of the movie "Broken Lock and Furious Tide"

The next person to share her reading experience is Chen Yao from Xiamen University. Her field of study and research has long been social and economic history since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Last year, her new book "Rivers and Rivers: Boat People and Wooden Sailing Shipping Industry in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River in Modern Times" was published, turning academic attention to the boat people flowing on the Yangtze River. Chen Yao studied at Xiamen University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research was deeply influenced by historical anthropology and she was experienced in interpreting letters, archives and other documents. She believes that the book "Coffin Boat" has solid empirical research historical materials, detailed and interesting narratives, smooth and elegant translations, easy to read and enlightening. Based on her own research field and research experience, she talked about her reading experience from three aspects.

First of all, the author's practical concern is his concern for refugee issues, labor issues and the underlying society in Europe in recent years. We have a deep agreement on this point. This agreement, most fundamentally, is reflected in the type and nature of the historical materials we collect and use.

McMahon said that he chose a bottom-up historical research path, and the social history research of the relevant path has written the history of social groups such as sailors, pirates, and slaves. However, these bottom-class groups have left little behind. Historical data, while the Irish immigrants during the Great Famine left many letters, diaries, as well as information and descriptions in archives and newspapers, which can show in great detail the fleeing life of immigrants during the Great Famine in Ireland. McMahon said that he regretted that he had not found letters written in Welsh, so the existing historical evidence could not fully represent the impoverished poor among the immigrants as a whole.

So, regarding the immigrant letters and diaries he found, and how to handle and interpret these documents, McMahon conducted profound historical criticism and methodological reflection in the part of "Sources and Research Methods". He believes that a coherent and quantitative content analysis method is not suitable for the letter materials used in the book, which is very similar to the study of overseas Chinese criticism. McMahon admitted that the method he used in his research was extremely straightforward excerpts and citations. Regarding the level of writing ability of Irish farmers in the mid-19th century, McMahon believes that most of the rural Irish population is illiterate and illiterate, and cannot write letters in person. Letters are written on behalf of others. Spelling and grammatical errors in some letters and diaries also confirm that the writers have a low cultural level. In particular, one-third of immigration letters are written by women. Based on an analysis of the nature of these letters and historical materials, McMahon proposed that attention should be paid to the social economy, region, gender, age, language and other differences in Ireland in the mid-19th century, and the relationship between these factors and the literacy of Irish farmers should be studied. Chen Yao thus associated herself with the in-depth discussion on the "literacy rate" and literacy ability of the rural population in the study of social and cultural history of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. She felt that compared with the situation in Ireland described by McMahon, it seemed that the literature objects that could be collected and processed in the study of Chinese history are richer.

In terms of McMahon's concept of "community", newspapers may be a more important type of historical material processed by authors. It is also interesting to see how much influence newspaper reports have on the formation of immigrants 'sense of community or "coffin boat" stereotypes.

Second, the book "Coffin Boat" mainly talks about the story of Atlantic seafaring immigrants in the mid-19th century. Many Chinese readers will naturally associate it with the Chinese workers who actively and passively went to overseas countries in South China in the middle and late 19th century. On this topic, the two may be slightly compared. McMahon specifically mentioned in his "Preface to the Chinese Edition" that in the autumn of 1852, the Gertrude, which set sail from Belfast, Ireland, to Xiamen, recruited more than 300 Chinese contract workers in Xiamen and set sail for sugarcane plantations in Cuba to serve as laborers. He believes that the experiences of Chinese indentured workers are very similar to those of Irish immigrants fleeing famine in "The Coffin Boat", and the mortality rate of passengers during the voyage is similar. McMahon even believes that the stereotype brought by the term "coffin boat" hides the voices of Irish immigrants. Similarly, the word "Coolies" also hides the vivid life of Chinese indentured workers in the 19th century. Chinese contract workers are rarely able to write written materials. However, they also left behind some scattered overseas Chinese documents that they had someone to write on their behalf. Overseas Chinese documents are both remittances and letters from home. At present, like Xiamen, many overseas Chinese townships in Fujian and Guangdong have published a lot of overseas Chinese documents. Among them, some overseas Chinese letters that do not have the "return nature" are difficult to connect with the families and villages to which they originally belonged. Therefore, the use of overseas Chinese documents is difficult in terms of methods. This is the same as the methodological difficulties encountered in "Coffin Boat". "Although I have not done research in this area, according to my observation, some scholars who study the history of Chinese and overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia are now looking for the life impressions of Chinese indentured workers and early overseas Chinese. The best way is to go to the communities where they lived and discover the cultural genes they left behind in the lives of future generations." Chen Yao said.

Finally, Chen Yao shared some of the historical details she noticed when reading "The Coffin Boat". For example, the living conditions on the so-called "coffin boat" actually have doctors and a basic adequate food supply. Shipping companies, such as the Cope Family Cruises file, compete to provide the best onboard conditions and charter the best ships. The British and American governments even updated the Passenger Act several times between 1847 and 1855 to ensure that normal immigrant ships were not too crowded, had better ventilation, and were equipped with more comfortable supplies. Therefore, some passengers wrote to relatives and friends saying that they were doing well on the ship and were in good health. In contrast, the journey of Chinese contract workers should be much more arduous.

Wu Bin of Northeast Normal University focuses on the study of immigration history. He believes that "Coffin Boat" shows Chinese scholars a typical study of the history of transnational immigration and ocean history. In his speech, he said:

Immigrants, especially early immigrants, were a very special group of people. The reason why they are special is that they are a group of very ordinary people. It is no exaggeration to say that they are ordinary people. They may be more ordinary and poorer than ordinary people. The majority of them mentioned here does not exclude those who are educated and relatively well-off financially. On the other hand, they are an extremely extraordinary group of people. One aspect of why they are extraordinary is their courage to immigrate and the hardships they have experienced. It can be imagined that it was not easy for people at that time to leave the village where they lived, let alone travel across the ocean to another brand new world. Although they made all kinds of preparations as possible, unexpected situations and accidents on the road still caught them unprepared. Death is also something they often face. Without extraordinary courage and perseverance, it is difficult to take the step of immigration. On the other hand, as carriers of culture, these immigrants have played an irreplaceable role in promoting cultural exchanges and even the generation of new civilizations.

Of course, while affirming the courage and perseverance of immigrants, we cannot exaggerate their courage and perseverance. Generally speaking, the reasons for overseas immigration are nothing more than internal push and external pull. The internal thrust is often the decisive factor. Irish immigrants in the 1840s and 1840s were typical examples of forced immigration under natural and man-made disasters. It's not so much how brave they are, but rather how forced they are and have the instinct to survive. This is different from contemporary immigrants. Contemporary immigrants also migrate overseas because they cannot survive in their home countries, but more of them are looking for better life and development opportunities. Moving or not moving is more due to internal thrust, while where it moves is caused by external gravity.

In "The Coffin Boat", the author attempts to "get a more comprehensive understanding of Irish immigrants during the famine, and of human immigration more broadly." To a large extent, the author achieved this writing goal. This book shows the immigration process very realistically and in detail. "From the contact with relatives and friends overseas before departure to how to raise money to buy ferry tickets, from how to learn all the relevant information to how to reach the port of departure, from how to get on board and what happens during the voyage to how to get ashore and find a foothold after arriving at the destination", etc., etc., it describes the suffering and sadness of immigrants during their journey, but also involves the few happy and happy moments. It can be said that the book "Coffin Boat" fills an important academic gap, namely, immigrants drifting on the sea. Recently, the more active ocean history has paid more attention to the cross-ocean flow of materials, commodities, various animals and plants, information, etc., but the flow of people seems to have been marginalized. In fact, in the history of mankind before contemporary times, the flow of all of the above-mentioned factors was inseparable from the flow of people. "Coffin Boat" shows in detail the life history of immigrants wandering at sea.

The author uses a transnational perspective to conduct a very detailed study of the travel experiences of Irish immigrants. Unlike previous scholars who focused on Irish immigrants to North America,"Coffin Boat" also devotes considerable space to discussing immigrants to Australia. Emphasis on the experience of immigrants under the global network. This is quite typical of transnational research. But then again, the study of immigration history has a natural transnational nature. If immigrants themselves are the research object, transnational methods are inevitable methods.

While using transnational methods,"Coffin Boat" also conducts excellent and detailed research. This meticulous research demonstrates the author's humanistic feelings, that is, his concern for the experience of ordinary life in history. At the same time, it also places immigrants, the natural protagonist of immigration history and the protagonist who has been ignored for a long time. The central position of writing history. For a long time, the focus of research on the history of immigration in the immigration history community has still been on immigration policies at various levels, and its protagonists are still nation-states, as well as intellectuals and political figures who exert important influence on these policies. Except for a few particularly important immigrant figures, ordinary immigrants are still in a silent position in the writing of these immigrant histories. Of course, there are also some objective obstacles. Ordinary people, who account for more than 99% of the total population, do not leave much material for study, especially documentary materials. It is difficult to establish a consistent and logical narrative for these people. In this sense, relatively micro empirical research is very effective. Wu Bin said: "I personally very much admire this kind of treatise that collects historical materials from Kyushu for empirical research. It can be seen from the references in this book that its historical materials cover Ireland, the United Kingdom, North America and Australia. It is based on these rich documents that the author provides a very detailed description of the travel experiences of Irish immigrants. The narration is very vivid and the details touching. It can be said that even if they are not researchers, ordinary readers will be attracted by the wonderful stories in the book and be moved by the various experiences of immigrants."

Finally, Wu Bin talked about the significance of research like "Coffin Boat" to Chinese academic circles and Chinese society. First of all, there is no doubt that this will help us overall understanding of the world and relevant countries. Secondly, Wu Bin pointed out that academic research should be more inclusive, should not overemphasize its usefulness and uselessness, and should not exclude micro-research. Micro-research does not mean fragmentation. As long as it is based on solid historical materials and has opened up relevant fields, it can provide new knowledge and new Inspiration research is good research. "Coffin Boat" is such a study. He emphasized the importance of solid empirical research training in historical research.

In addition, Wu Bin shared his different views with the author on the title "Coffin Boat". In the author's view, using the term "coffin boat" as a popular expression to describe the conditions of immigrant ships during the Great Famine would bind Irish immigrants to the image of "coffin boat" and ignore their vitality, creativity and agency;"This superficial stereotype inadvertently deprives immigrants of their humanity and drowns their voices in historical archives." Wu Bin believes that the author does not have to rush to deny the "coffin boat"."The book also mentions that the overall mortality rate of Irish immigrants on the way overseas is about 3%. This is of course a big gap from the 10% and 20% and even higher mortality rates emphasized in some previous studies. However, in fact, a 3% mortality rate is also a very high mortality rate. Ireland's 2 million immigrants mean that about 60,000 people lost their lives while traveling. In this regard, It seems that there is no basis to call the ship carrying immigrants figuratively a 'coffin boat'. This mortality rate also de facto proves the hardships and dangers of immigrants on the way." Finally, Wu Bin said,"When reading this book, I kept picturing Chinese immigrants almost at the same time as the Irish. What kind of experience would they have? Did they experience similar experiences as the Irish as they were preparing to set out, during the voyage, and after arriving at their destination? Or do those Chinese immigrants have unique and special experiences? I am full of curiosity and infinite imagination about these issues. I hope to see a book about the social life history of Chinese immigrants at sea in the near future."