"Maybe one day, so-called heritage studies will become mainstream," he said.

"I highly recommend this book. It features very different perspectives and people, and incorporates a long and historical, important period."

Craig A. Smith, associate professor at the University of Melbourne's Asia Institute and a historian of modern East Asia, edited the book.

Smith said multilingual historians and academics "have a duty" to do translation work.

"As historians, we don't just uncover the narratives; we also have a duty to uncover the sources so others can write these narratives," he said.

"With this project, we try to 'unsilence' the original sources to create an archive and to uncover some of these lost narratives."

Sophie Loy-Wilson, senior lecturer in Australian history at the University of Sydney and a historian of Chinese Australian communities who also contributed to the book, said that "everyone has a right to speak in our history, including across class differences".

"I really hope that we can also listen to the voices of young Chinese people here today, Chinese Australians, international students, and take their visions for Australia and the world seriously."

alexishooi@chinadaily.com.cn