An Exploratory Study On The Reentry Readjustments Of Returned Overseas Qingtianese

Accompanied with China’s rapid economic developments and the comparativeglobal economic recession, more and more overseas Qingtianese choose to returnChina for further developments in recent years. Issues concerning the readjustments tothe once-familiar-but-not-the-same native culture encountered by those returnees whohave undergone experiences of culture shock and intercultural adaptations abroadhave aroused the author’s keen interest.Intercultural readjustment studies on returnees deserve more attention. Comparedwith traditional intercultural adaptation studies focusing primarily on the situation ofentering an unfamiliar culture from a familiar one, there has been a distinctiveshortage of relevant research on the readjustment issues of returnees. Moreover, of allthe studies in the field, an overwhelming majority of emphasis has been placed on theissues related to returned overseas students and corporate expatriates whereas groupslike overseas Qingtianese receive little attention.In light of this, the author attempts to carry out an exploratory study on thisparticular group. Qualitative approach is adopted and in-depth interviews with14returned overseas Qingtianese (divided into two generations) are conducted. After adetailed examination of their experiences from motivations of going abroad, overseasadaptations, motivations of coming back, to reentry readjustments, the author touchesupon the reverse culture shock and readjustment issues from physical, interpersonal,occupational and psychological perspectives and probes into the relationshipsbetween overseas experiences and the corresponding readjustment outcomes. Inaddition, intergenerational differences embodied by the returnees during the processare briefly discussed. The present study also reflects the mutual influences betweenthe western and Chinese cultures.