Chinese Singaporeans () are

Singaporeans Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Indi ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

descent. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean citizen population according to the official census, making them the largest ethnic group among them. As early as the 10th century, there was evidence of Chinese people trading and settling in Singapore and there were also various Chinese records documenting trading activities and Chinese residents on the island from the 10th to the 14th century. Prior to the establishment of Singapore as a British trading port, there was a small population of 120 Malays who were the followers of Temenggong Abdul Rahman, and about 20–30 Chinese living on the island. After Singapore became a British colony, there was an influx of Chinese migrant workers, but these early Chinese migrants to Singapore were predominantly males, as they would usually return to their families in China after they have earned enough. There was only a significant number of Chinese residents permanently settling in Singapore during the early to mid twentieth century, forming the bulk of the Chinese Singaporean population today. Many Chinese Singaporeans can trace their ancestry to the southeastern China such as the speakers of Hokkien, Teochews and Cantonese are the 3 largest dialect groups that Chinese Singaporeans are classified under.

Definition

The

Singapore Department of Statistics The Government of Singapore consists of several departments, known as ministries and statutory boards in Singapore. Ministries are led by a member of the Cabinet and deal with state matters that require direct political oversight. The member of ...

defines "Chinese" as a "

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

" or " ethnic group", as opposed to Malay, Indian and Others under the CMIO model. They consist of "persons of Chinese origin" such as the

Hokkiens The Hoklo people or Hokkien people () are a Han Chinese (also Han Taiwanese) subgroup who speak Hokkien, a Southern Min language, or trace their ancestry to Minnan region, Southeastern Fujian, China and known by various endonyms or other relate ...

Teochews The Teochew people or Chaoshan people (rendered Têo-Swa in romanized Teoswa and Chaoshan in Standard Chinese also known as Teo-Swa in mainland China due to a change in place names) is anyone native to the historical Chaoshan region in south ...

, Hainanese,

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

, Henghuas, Hokchias and Foochows, Shanghainese, Northern Chinese, etc." Chinese Singaporeans are defined as the "Chinese community in Singapore" regardless of their affiliation with the wider global Chinese community.

History

Before 1819

As early as the 10th century, there was evidence of Chinese people trading and settling in Singapore and there were also various Chinese records documenting trading activities and Chinese residents on the island from the 10th to the 14th century. Prior to the establishment of Singapore as a British trading port, there was a small population of 120 Malays who were the followers of Temenggong Abdul Rahman, and about 20–30 Chinese living on the island. After Singapore became a British colony, there was an influx of Chinese migrant workers, but these early Chinese migrants to Singapore were predominantly males, as they would usually return to their families in China after they have earned enough. There was only a significant number of Chinese residents permanently settling in Singapore during the early to mid twentieth century, forming the bulk of the Chinese Singaporean population today. The early records of Singapore in

Imperial Chinese The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

sources named Singapore as " Long Ya Men" (龍牙門), " Dan Ma Xi" (單馬錫 or 淡馬錫). Later other terms such as "Xi La" (息辣), "Shi le" (石叻), or "Xi Li" (息力, for "selat" meaning strait) may also refer to Singapore or the surrounding areas. Archaeological excavations of artefacts such as Chinese coins or ceramics in Singapore, which dated back to the period of the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song (998–1022) and Emperor Renzong of Song (1023–1063), indicated that Chinese merchants or traders had already visited Singapore by the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

. The Chinese record ''Annals of various foreign states'' (''

Zhu fan zhi ''Zhu Fan Zhi'' (), variously translated as '' A Description of Barbarian Nations'', ''Records of Foreign People'', or other similar titles, is a 13th-century Song Dynasty work by Zhao Rukuo. The work is a collection of descriptions of countri ...

'') written by Zhao Rushi in 1225 clearly described Chinese merchant ships arriving in Singapore from Quanzhou and various Chinese trading activities. In this annal, the chapter San Fo Qi (三佛齊 the Chinese name for Srivijaya) recorded merchant ships passing through "Ling Ya Men" (凌牙門, although it is not clear however if it is the same as Long Ya Men) before reaching Srivijaya for trading. The Chinese traveller

Wang Dayuan Wang Dayuan (, fl. 1311–1350), courtesy name Huanzhang (), was a Chinese traveller of the Yuan dynasty from Quanzhou in the 14th century. He is known for his two major ship voyages. Wang Dayuan was born around 1311 at Hongzhou (present-day Nan ...

, visiting the island around 1330, described a small Malay settlement called Dan Ma Xi (淡馬錫, from Malay Temasek) in which Chinese residents live together with the Malays. Following the decline of Srivijayan power, Temasek was alternately claimed by the Majapahit and the Siamese, but the invasion of 1377 and 1391 caused Singapore to be destroyed. Following that, there were little Chinese records of the visiting of Chinese to Singapore. Singapore is marked as Dan Ma Xi in the

Mao Kun map Mao Kun map, usually referred to in modern Chinese sources as Zheng He's Navigation Map (), is a set of navigation charts published in the Ming dynasty military treatise ''Wubei Zhi''. The book was compiled by Mao Yuanyi in 1621 and published in 1 ...

that dates back to the naval voyage of Chinese explorer

Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...

in 1403. The earliest groups of Chinese who settled in what is today Singapore were the

Peranakan Chinese The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, t ...

from Malacca and

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Acco ...

who were descendants of those who immigrated to the region and married local wives between the 15th to 18th centuries. The 19th century Chinese record'' Investigation of Southern Pacific'' (南洋蠡測) (Nanyang Li Ce) described the presence of Chinese tombs in Singapore (known as "Xin Ji Li Po" (新忌利波 in Chinese). On the Chinese tomb, there were words and inscriptions recording the period of Later Liang and

Emperor Gong of Song Emperor Gong of Song (2 November 1271 – 1323), personal name Zhao Xian, was the 16th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the seventh emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. The sixth son of his predecessor, Emperor Duzong, Zhao Xian ca ...

. This may suggest that from 907 to 1274, some Chinese had settled, lived, died and were buried in Singapore.

1819–1937

Junction of Smith Street and Trengganu Street 2, Dec 05

From the founding of modern Singapore by

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is ...

until the Japanese occupation in 1942, Singapore was ruled as a colony by the British. When the British first arrived in Singapore, most of the inhabitants on the island of Singapore were fisherman, seamen or pirates, living in small houses. There were about 150 people; a majority of 120 Malay and 30 minority Chinese. When Singapore became a Straits Settlement, there were very few Chinese. After Singapore became a British trading post as part of the Straits Settlement, the first batch of Chinese came from Malaysia, predominantly from Malacca and Penang. Amongst these Chinese from Malacca and Penang, many were Peranakans or descendants of Chinese in Malaysia for several generations. Most were traders who could speak Chinese and Malay, though many were also English-educated and could communicate with the British. In the'' Manners and customs of the Chinese of the Straits Settlements, Singapore'', it was described that the Straits-born Chinese regarded themselves as British subjects instead of Chinese subjects; their lifestyle was more westernised. By the time of the first census of Singapore in 1824, the Chinese migrants were noted as being either

Peranakan The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, ...

s, or from

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

and

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

. The Chinese quickly formed the majority of the population in Singapore, by the census of 1826 there were already more Chinese (6,088) than Malays (4,790) excluding Bugis (1,242) and Javanese (267). The Chinese became the dominant group by the 1830s (the largest ethnic group at 45.9% in the 1836 census), and by 1849, 52.8% of the total population of 52,891 were Chinese. The Chinese population reached over 70% of the total by 1901 and has stayed there since. The early Chinese migrants to Singapore were predominantly males. In 1826, the official census figures show that out of a total population of 13,750, there were 5,747 Chinese males but only 341 Chinese females. Most of the Chinese females in this early period of Singapore were

nyonya The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, t ...

s from Malacca as women from China were discouraged from emigrating. It was noted in 1837 that there were no Chinese women in Singapore who had emigrated directly from China; even as late as 1876, a British official in Singapore wrote that he did not know of any respectable Chinese woman who had emigrated with her husband. The imbalance of the sexes in Chinese community continued for a long time with the continual flow into Singapore of male migrant workers who were either single or had left their wives and children behind in China; for example, the 1901 census figures show that there were 130,367 Chinese males compared to 33,674 Chinese females. For a long period, most of the Chinese population in early Singapore were immigrants as many did not intend to settle permanently to raise their family there; even by the late 1890s, only around 10% of the Chinese population in Singapore were born there. The early migrant Chinese workers worked to send money back to their family in China, and many would then return to China after they had earned enough money. However, an increasing number would also choose to settle permanently in Singapore, especially in the 1920s when more chose to remain in Singapore rather than leave. Change in social attitude in the modern era also meant that Chinese women were freer to emigrate from China, and the sex ratio began to normalise in the 20th century. This gradual normalisation of sex ratio led to an increase in the number of native births. Immigration would continue to be the main reason for the Chinese population increase in Singapore until the 1931–1947 period when the natural increase in population would surpass the net immigration figures. Many of the early migrants were Chinese traders who were attracted by the free trade policy after Singapore became the capital of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Straits Settlements in 1832. Many also came to work in the plantations, with 11,000 migrants recorded in one year. Singapore became one of the entry and dispersal points for large number of Chinese and Indian migrants who came to work in the plantations and mines of the Straits Settlements, many of whom then settled in Singapore after their contract ended. Because of booming commerce which required a large labour force, the Chinese

coolie A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...

trade also appeared in Singapore. Indentured Chinese Cantonese labourers and

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

labourers were contracted by coolie traders and brought to Singapore to work. In 1860 under the 2nd Opium War, Chinese coolie trade became legalised and reached a high peak. The large influx of coolies into Singapore only stopped after William Pickering became the Protector of Chinese. In 1914, the coolie trade was abolished and banned in Singapore. The large influx of Chinese to Singapore led to the establishment of a large number of Chinese associations, schools, and temples in Singapore and, within a century, the Chinese immigrant population exceeded that of the Malays. During this period, Christian missionaries from Europe began evangelising to the Asians, especially the Chinese. Peranakans, or those descendants of Chinese in Southeast Asia for many generations who were generally English-educated were typically known in Singapore as "Laokuh" (老客 – Old Guest) or "Straits Chinese". Most of them paid loyalty to the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

and did not regard themselves as " Huaqiao". From the 19th until the mid-20th century, migrants from China were known as "Sinkuh" (新客 – New Guest). A majority of them were coolies, workers on steamboats, etc. Some of them came to Singapore for work, in search of better living conditions or to escape poverty in China. Many of them also escaped to Singapore due to chaos and wars in China during the first half of the 20th century. They came mostly from the

, Guangdong and

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

provinces and, unlike Peranakans, paid loyalty to China and regarded themselves as "Huaqiao".

1937–1945 (World War II)

The

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, started in 1937, revived a perceived sense of patriotism in the local Chinese to their native homeland in China which led them to impose an embargo against Japanese goods and products in Singapore. During the war, many of the immigrants returned to China to fight the Japanese, while established entrepreneurs sent economic aid or military equipment to China. After the Japanese took Singapore in 1942, the

Kempeitai The , also known as Kempeitai, was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945 that also served as a secret police force. In addition, in Japanese-occupied territories, the Kenpeitai arrested or killed those suspecte ...

tracked down many Chinese who aided the Chinese war effort against Japan. However, the Kempeitai's Sook Ching Operation was simply a massacre designed to drive fear into the local populace, so the Kempeitai simply picked out people based on accounts of masked informers, which in many cases were false accounts based on personal vendettas. There was also active anti-Japanese resistance during the war, such as

Force 136 Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's Or ...

, headed by

Lim Bo Seng Lim Bo Seng (; 27 April 1909 – 29 June 1944) was a Chinese-born resistance fighter based in Singapore and Malaya during World War II. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, he was a prominent businessman among the Chinese community in Singa ...

After 1945

Race riots An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positi ...

were common during the early post-war period, predominantly in the period between self-governance and independence in 1965. One major riot took place during birthday celebrations in honour of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

, on 21 July 1964. There were records of high casualties (23 killed and 454 injured), as well as claims that the riot was politically motivated to oust the then Prime Minister (

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

) and his cabinet as well as to prevent the promotion of a

Malaysian Malaysia The phrase "Malaysian Malaysia" was originally used in the mid-1960s as the rallying motto of the Malaysian Solidarity Convention, a coalition of political parties led by Lee Kuan Yew of the People's Action Party (PAP) that served as an Opposit ...

concept in

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

. After the independence of Singapore in 1965, Singapore began to foster a more racially harmonious society in Singapore. Following the construction of Singapore national identity and nationhood, the Chinese in Singapore began to change their mindset from temporary stay to permanent settlements in Singapore, thus taking roots in Singapore. Following this transformation, the Chinese in Singapore gradually began to recognise citizenship-wise as "Singaporeans". Chinese migrants from China during the late 20th century and early 21st century were generally known as "Xinyimin 新移民" (new immigrants). They came from various parts of China.

Chinese associations or institutions in Singapore

Historical background

When the Chinese migrants first arrived in Singapore in the 19th and early 20th century, they settled in an enclave such as Chinatown. They tended to group themselves according to dialectal similarity, with those from nearby Chinese regions grouping. This led the Chinese to form 5 dialectal Cohorts (known as ''Bangqun,'' 幫群), namely the ''Hokkien Bang'', ''Teochew Bang'','' Cantonese Bang'', ''Hakka Bang'' and ''Hainanese Bang''. During the British colonial period, the colonial government basically adopted the approach of using "the Chinese to govern the Chinese". They appointed Chinese leaders to govern the Chinese community. Effectively, the Chinese community existed in a half-autonomy state. Most Chinese leaders used the Chinese civil societies (small organisations) to help govern the Chinese community and to help new Chinese immigrants settled into Singapore, including finding jobs and lodgings for them. As most of these Chinese civil societies were involved in Chinese family religious activities such as funerals or ancestral worship, they were in fact religious-oriented. This gradually evolved into the development of

Chinese Temple Chinese temple architecture refer to a type of structures used as place of worship of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism or Chinese folk religion, where people revere ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors. They can be classified as: * '' miào'' () or ''d ...

s or Chinese clan associations in Singapore. As time passed by, the Chinese had grown to have more achievements in the business and education in Singapore. Some rich and powerful Chinese businessmen began to establish Clubs, such as the Ee Ho Hean Club (怡和軒) in 1895, and Chamber of Commerce, such as the

Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI; ) is a business chamber in Singapore. The chamber was originally created to protect and promote the commercial interest of the Chinese community in Singapore but it also played a r ...

, to broaden the Chinese social circle. Established in 1906, the

was the highest body of organisation within the Chinese community in Singapore. It was responsible for fighting the rights of the Chinese in Singapore during the British colonial period. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the

had managed to help raise funds and resources to help relieve the sufferings in war-torn China. After Singapore gained independence and autonomy in the 1960s, the Singapore government undertook measures to help foster racial harmony in Singapore. It encouraged various races of different languages and religious backgrounds to intermingle and to live side by side. Following the growth of Singaporean nationhood and national identity, the Chinese immigrants began to change their mindset from temporary migration to permanent settlements, thus soiling their roots in Singapore. With the strengthening of Singaporean national identity, the Chinese clans association gradually declined in terms of importance. Their role of organising and governing the Chinese community was soon taken over by the Singapore government.

Today

Today, all Singaporean clan associations come under the flagship of Singapore Federation of Chinese Clans Association (SFCCA). They connect Chinese Singaporeans to their Chinese roots or Ancestral home. Besides, the

(SCCCI) continued to look after the interests of the Chinese business community as well as sourcing business opportunities in China. The

Chinese Development Assistance Council The Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC; ) is a joint development between the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI; ) is a business chamber in Singapore. The ...

was founded out of these two organisations (SFCCA and SCCCI) to help nurture and develop the potential of the Chinese community in contributing to the continued success of multiracial Singapore. There are also various Chinese cultural organisations such as Singapore Chinese Calligraphy Society,

Singapore Chinese Orchestra Singapore Chinese Orchestra SCO ( zh, c=新加坡华乐团, p=Xinjiapo Huayuetuan) is Singapore's only professional Chinese orchestra. Inaugurated in 1997, the 85-musician orchestra took on the twin role of preserving traditional arts and cultu ...

Siong Leng Musical Association Siong Leng Musical Association or Siong Leng is a Nanyin musical group from Singapore.Nanyang Confucian Association, Singapore Chinese Opera Institute etc. Besides, there are also major Chinese religious associations such as Singapore Buddhist Federation, Taoist Federation (Singapore) and Singapore Buddhist Lodge to look after the religious affairs of Chinese Singaporeans. All these Chinese organisations continue to play an important role in the economical, cultural and religious activities of Chinese Singaporeans.

Chinese Singaporean subgroups

In general, Singaporeans of Chinese descent are grouped according to their respective ancestry to

and

. The Min Nan people (

and

) and Cantonese people together form more than three-quarters of the Chinese Singaporean population. The

, Henghuas, Foochows and other subgroups account for most of the remainder. Singaporeans of Chinese descent are generally the descendants of non-indentured and indentured immigrants from southern China during the 19th and first half of the 20th century. The 1990s and early 21st century saw Singapore experience a third wave of immigration from different parts of China. File:Singaporean Homelands, China.png, This clickable map (within China) depicts the ancestral homelands of the majority of Chinese Singaporeans. Click on the regional subdivisions to see the name of a state, province or region., upright=1.8, thumb rect 655 404 779 433 China poly 629 357 629 364 630 365 631 369 633 372 639 374 646 374 649 372 653 369 655 366 655 360 657 355 659 354 660 349 657 345 654 345 653 347 651 347 650 346 647 346 646 347 639 347 637 348 635 348 635 351 633 354

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Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

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Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

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Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

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Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

desc bottom-left

Hokkien

The

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

-speaking subgroup constitutes nearly two-fifths of the Chinese Singaporean population. They are Hoklo people from Minnan, including mixed-race

Chinese and immigrants who originated in the southern parts of the

Fujian province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

, including

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an ...

, Quanzhou and

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefect ...

. They speak

Singaporean Hokkien Singaporean Hokkien is a local variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively in Singapore. Within Chinese linguistic academic circles, this dialect is known as Singaporean Ban-lam Gu. It bears similarities with the Amoy spoken in Amoy, now bet ...

, the standard of which is based on the

Amoy dialect The Amoy dialect or Xiamen dialect (), also known as Amoynese, Amoy Hokkien, Xiamenese or Xiamen Hokkien, is a dialect of Hokkien spoken in the city of Xiamen (historically known as "Amoy") and its surrounding metropolitan area, in the souther ...

, which is partially comprehensible with Teochew although less so with Hainanese. Hokkien Chinese was a '' lingua franca'' among coastal Chinese and was also used by other ethnic groups such as the Malays and the Indians to communicate with Chinese before Mandarin came to dominance during the 1980s and 1990s. Just as in

Hokkien people The Hoklo people or Hokkien people () are a Han Chinese (also Han Taiwanese) subgroup who speak Hokkien, a Southern Min language, or trace their ancestry to Southeastern Fujian, China and known by various endonyms or other related terms such a ...

, speakers of

, refers not to people originating from all parts of Fujian. "Hokkien" refers only to the Minnan (Southern Min) region of southern coastal Fujian. Singaporean Hokkien does not include northern Fujianese such as those arriving from Fuzhou, Putian and so on. Early Hokkien migrants settled around Amoy Street and Telok Ayer Street, forming enclaves around the Thian Hock Kheng Temple. They subsequently set up clan headquarters ('' Hokkien Huey Kuan'') there and later expanded to Hokkien Street and the vicinity of China Street. Hokkiens were the most active in early trading that centred along the

Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, althou ...

. As early settlers came from the southern coast of China, they were to pray for calm waves and a safe journey and worshipped the “Mother of Heavenly Sage” or Tian Shang Sheng Mu (), the Goddess who can calm the sea and ensure the safety of those travelling across the seas.

Thian Hock Keng Temple Thian Hock Keng. & ( or the Tianfu Temple, literally "Palace of Heavenly Happiness"), is a temple built for the worship of Mazu, a Chinese sea goddess, located in Singapore. It is the oldest and most important temple of the Hokkien (Hoklo) p ...

was thus built in 1840 along Telok Ayer Street and dedicated to Tian Shang Sheng Mu (), it was a bustling meeting point and an important congregation point for the Hokkien community. Other popular deities are the Kew Ong Yah, Guan Teh Gong, Kuan Yim Hood Chor, Ong Yah Gong, Qing Shui Zhu Shi, Bao Sheng Da Di, Kai Zhang Sheng Wang, Fu De Zheng Shen and especially the Jade Emperor, 9th Day of the 1st Lunar Month is the birthday of Jade Emperor and is considered by many Chinese to be the most important day of the lunar year. A traditional Taoist practice by spiritual mediumship (乩童, p ''jītóng'', Hokkien ''tâng-ki''; 童乩) is also popular. The ''tangki'' goes into a trance and purportedly channels a chosen Deity for the petitioner. The Deity will provides wide range of divine assistance from bestowing blessings to oracles consultation to exorcism to giving spiritual protection and talismans.

Teochew

The Teochew-speaking subgroup in Singapore constitutes about a fifth of the Chinese Singaporean population, making them the second-largest Southern Min dialect-speaking group in Singapore. The Teochew speakers form a separate division of Hoklo (Min Nan/Hokkien) people. They originated from

Chaoshan Chaoshan or Teoswa (; peng'im: ''Dio5suan1'' i̯o˥˥꜖꜖.sũ̯ã˧˧ is a cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong, China. It is the origin of the Min Nan Chaoshan dialect (). The region, also known as Chiushan in Cantonese, c ...

region in eastern

, in cities like Chaozhou,

Jieyang Jieyang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong Province (Yuedong), People's Republic of China, part of the Chaoshan region whose people speak Chaoshan Min distinct from neighbouring Yue speakers. It is historically important as th ...

and Shantou. Many trace their origins from different Northern cities but were settled there to maintain as county authorities within the south of China. Despite similarities, the Teochew and Hokkien speakers consider themselves distinct and did not get along during their early settlement in Singapore, especially during the British colonial era. The Teochew were dominant for a period of time during the 19th century. Mass immigration from Fujian changed this, although the majority of the Chinese along the banks of the

Straits of Johor The Johore Strait (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Straits of Johor, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach) is an international strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. Geography The strait separates the Ma ...

were Teochew until the HDB initiated redevelopment in the 1980s. ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...

'' reports that

Hougang Hougang is a planning area and mature residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the most populous in the region, being home to 247,528 residents as of 2018. Hougang planning area is bordered by Sengkang to th ...

still has a relatively high concentration of Teochew residents. Most Teochew settled along the

in Chinatown during the 19th and early 20th century. Teochew who settled in Chinatown worked in many commercial sectors as well as the fisheries. Commercial sectors once dominated by Teochews include Circular Road and South Bridge Road. Other Teochew businessmen set up gambier and

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

plantations in the dense forests of north Singapore and Johor Bahru. The Chinese first started their plantations with the approval of the Sultan of Johor and then developed the ''kangchu'' (江厝, p ''jiāngcuò'', lit. "river house") system. ''Chu'' was the clan name of the first headman of the plantations in the area. These ''kangchus'' gave rise to modern place names such as Choa Chu Kang,

Lim Chu Kang Lim Chu Kang is a planning area located in the northwestern part of the North Region of Singapore, bordering the Western Water Catchment to the west and south, Sungei Kadut to the east and the Straits of Johor to the north. History Lim Chu ...

and

Yio Chu Kang Yio Chu Kang is a sub-urban area in the northeast of Singapore, with proximity to the Ang Mo Kio, Lentor, Seletar and Sengkang areas. Deriving its name from the Yio Chu Kang Village, it is still known for lush greenery and low-density housing w ...

, all of which were plantation areas before urban redevelopment. Early Chinese immigrants clustered themselves to form clan and language associations. These clan associations (''kongsi'') served as unions for the mostly illiterate Chinese labourers and represented them when dealing with their colonial administrators or employers. One of the most prominent associations for the Teochew was the ''

Ngee Ann Kongsi The Ngee Ann Kongsi () is a charitable foundation located in Singapore and governed by the Ngee Ann Kongsi Ordinance of 1933. It is one of many Overseas Chinese Kongsi, or clan associations, that were set up by immigrants from China in the late ...

'', formed in 1845 and is still in operation. The association also take care of Yueh Hai Ching Temple, which is the oldest Teochew temple in Singapore.

Cantonese

The

-speaking subgroup makes up about 15% of the Chinese Singaporean population. They originated from

and the southern region of

province in China, including

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, Foshan,

Zhaoqing Zhaoqing (), alternately romanized as Shiuhing, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,113,594, with 1,553,109 living in the built-up (or metro) area made of Duanzhou, Dinghu ...

Jiangmen Jiangmen (), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Kongmoon, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province in southern China. As of the 2020 census, its three urban districts, plus Heshan City being conurbated, with 2,657,662 inhabitants a ...

Maoming Maoming, alternately romanized as Mowming, is a prefecture-level city located in southwestern Guangdong province, China. Facing the South China Sea to the city's south, Maoming city borders Zhanjiang to the west, Yangjiang to the east, and Y ...

and Heshan. The Cantonese speak several dialects belonging to the Yue family. ''Yue Hai'' is considered the

prestige dialect Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.) Prestige may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett ...

from its occurrence in

. Other variants include ''Luoguang'', ''

Toishanese Taishanese (), alternatively romanized in Cantonese as Toishanese or Toisanese, in local dialect as Hoisanese or Hoisan-wa, is a dialect of Yue Chinese native to Taishan, Guangdong. Although it is related to Cantonese, Taishanese has little ...

'' and ''Gouyeung''. The Cantonese worked mainly as professionals and tradesmen during the early and mid 20th centuries, and their businesses dominated the shophouses along Temple Street, Pagoda Street, and Mosque Street. Cantonese women from the Samsui district worked as labourers at construction sites and contributed greatly toward Singapore's development. These

Samsui women The term Samsui women (, mandarin for 'red headscarf') broadly refers to a group of Chinese female immigrants who came to Malaya and Singapore between the 1920s and 1940s in search of construction and industrial jobs. These women hailed mostly ...

left their families behind in China and came to Singapore to work at construction sites for a living during the early 20th century. Cantonese women from the

Siyi The Siyi (Seiyap or Sze Yup in Cantonese; ) refers to the four former counties of Xinhui (Sunwui), Taishan (Toisan), Kaiping (Hoiping) and Enping (Yanping) on the west side of the Pearl River Delta in Southern Guangdong Province, China. Geogra ...

district of

wore black headgear similar to the Samsui women and mainly worked at

Keppel Harbour Keppel Harbour (; ms, Pelabuhan Keppel), also called the Keppel Channel and formerly New Harbour, is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa (formerly Pulau Blakang Mati). Its natur ...

and the shipyards at the old harbour along the

. Many Cantonese women also worked as majie in rich people's households. More Cantonese immigrated from Hong Kong in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, the Cantonese dialect is still preserved amongst ethnic Chinese of Cantonese ancestry, although most younger generations tend to speak more Standard Chinese due to language reforms, but is still widely used as the main '' lingua franca'' for connecting both the older and the younger generations when communicating to one another as well. As of 2010, Singaporeans recognise Chinatown for having a large number of Cantonese people.

Hakka

The

-speaking subgroup constitutes 11.4% of the Chinese Singaporean population. About 70% of them originated from

Dabu County Dabu County () is a county in Meizhou City, in the east of Guangdong Province, China. A center of Hakka culture, it has a population of 375,000. Famous natives This is the ancestral hometown of 1st Guyana President Arthur Chung even though the ...

. Singapore has more than 200,000 Hakkas and they are the fourth-largest dialect group after the Hokkiens, Teochews and Cantonese. The Hakkas were known for running pawnshops, traditional Chinese medicine shops and optical shops. Many Hakka women who came to Singapore during the early 20th century worked in construction sites and wore headgear similar to the Samsui women. However, instead of red, the Hakka women wore black headgear.

Ying Fo Fui Kun Ying Fo Fui Kun () is a Hakka clan association in Singapore. Its clan house is located at Telok Ayer Street in the Outram Planning Area, within the Central Area. The Ying Fo Fui Kun clan house building was constructed in 1881-1882. Ying Fo F ...

, a Hakka clan association, is the oldest clan association in Singapore. Its clan house is located at Telok Ayer Street in the Outram Planning Area, within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district. In 2015 a Hakka ''

tulou A tulou (), or "earthen building", is a traditional communal Hakka people residence found in Fujian, in South China, usually of a circular configuration surrounding a central shrine, and part of Hakka architecture. These vernacular structur ...

'' replica was built. The replica in Singapore was built by the Fong Yun Thai Association, an umbrella body for three Hakka clans – Char Yong (Dabu) Association, Eng Teng Association and Foong Shoon Fui Kuan. This is the only tulou replica outside of proper China till date. Singapore's founding father

and his son, Prime Minister

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...

, were fourth- and fifth-generation Chinese Singaporeans of Hakka descent, respectively. Apart from Lee Kuan Yew, many first-generation leaders of Singapore were of Hakka descent, including

Chor Yeok Eng Chor Yeok Eng (; 29 January 1930 – 21 July 2016) was a Singaporean politician who is one of the Old Guards member of the People's Action Party (PAP). Political career Chor served two separate stints in Parliament. He was first elected ...

Hon Sui Sen Benedict Hon Sui Sen (; 16 April 1916 – 14 October 1983) was a Singaporean politician who served as Minister for Finance between 1970 and 1983. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hav ...

Howe Yoon Chong Howe Yoon Chong ( zh, s=侯永昌, p=Hóu Yǒngchāng; 12 August 1923 – 21 August 2007) was a Singaporean politician and civil servant who served as Minister for Defence between 1979 and 1982, and Minister for Health between 1982 and 1985. ...

and

Yong Nyuk Lin Yong Nyuk Lin ( zh, s=杨玉麟, p=Yáng Yùlín; 24 June 1918 – 29 June 2012) was a Singaporean politician who served as Minister for Communications between 1968 and 1975, Minister for Health between 1963 and 1968, and Minister for Educat ...

Others

This subgroup constitutes about 5% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Of them, the majority are from

and speak Hainanese. The Hainanese in Singapore originated mainly from the north-east part of the island, from cities such as

Wenchang Wenchang ( postal: Mencheong; ) is a county-level city in the northeast of Hainan province, China. Although called a "city", Wenchang refers to a large land area in Hainan - an area which was once a county. The urban center and the seat of gove ...

and

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the ...

. As relative late-comers to Singapore in the late 19th century, most of them worked as shop assistants, chefs, and waiters in the hospitality sector.

Hainanese chicken rice Hainanese chicken rice is a dish of poached chicken and seasoned rice, served with chilli sauce and usually with cucumber garnishes. It was created by immigrants from Hainan in southern China and adapted from the Hainanese dish Wenchang chic ...

became a famous dish. They were also known for their Western cooking, as many of the early Hainanese migrants worked as cooks on European ships. The Hockchew and Hockchia originated from northeastern

, particularly Fuzhou city,

Changle District (, Foochow Romanized: Diòng-lŏ̤h) is one of 6 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province, China. It occupies a land area of and a sea area of . Changle was established in the sixth year of Emper ...

Gutian county (; Foochow Romanized: ''Kŭ-chèng Gâing'') is a county lying in the northeastern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Ningde City and is located in the southwest part of the municipality. It is also ...

and

Fuqing (; Foochow Romanized: Hók-chiăng; also romanized as Hokchia) is a county-level city of Fujian Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Fuzhou. Geography Fuqing is located in the north-central part ...

. They speak

Eastern Min Eastern Min or Min Dong (, Foochow Romanized: Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄), is a branch of the Min group of Sinitic languages of China. The prestige form and most-cited representative form is the Fuzhou dialect, the speech of the capital of Fujian. G ...

. The Puxian or Hinghwas originated from Central Fujian Putian and Xianyouand speak Puxian Min. Taiwan-born Chinese Singaporeans (and their descendants) are predominantly of the Hokkien and Hakka subgroups. They number around 30,000 (2012) and constitutes less than 2% of the Singaporean population. In Singapore, due to their small population, the Taiwanese are often grouped into larger populations, such as the Hokkien and Hakka, according to their dialect or ancestral origin. Newer Taiwanese immigrants have formed a distinctive group on their own. They may speak

Taiwanese Mandarin Taiwanese Mandarin, ''Guoyu'' ( zh, s=, t=國語, p=Guóyǔ, l=National Language, first=t) or ''Huayu'' ( zh, s=, t=華語, p=Huáyǔ, first=t, l=Mandarin Language, labels=no) refers to Mandarin Chinese spoken in Taiwan. A large majority of the T ...

and originate from many different cities, including

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

New Taipei New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...

Hsinchu Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Ta ...

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of his ...

and Kaohsiung. According to the book, ''Japanese's view of Singapore'' () edited by Mr Lin Shaobin, the vice-chairman of Singapore Japanese cultural society, the "Bank of Taiwan" started its operation in Singapore from 1912 to 1925. The book also indicated that according to Japanese statistics of 1932, there were around 105 Taiwanese living in Malaya (including Singapore). According to verbal accounts by Singaporeans, many of the "Japanese" soldiers involved in the occupation of Singapore during World War II were in fact Taiwanese serving in the Imperial Japanese Army. Similar accounts relate that many teachers of Mandarin Chinese in the 1950s and 1960s came from Taiwan. After 1965, military ties led to the immigration of some Taiwanese military personnel as high-ranking officers in

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MIND ...

. More immigration began during the 1970s and 1980s from investors, businessmen, and students. Most of these were highly educated and employed in professions such as engineering, business, investment, research and education. Marriages between Chinese Singaporeans and Taiwanese (i.e. Taiwan-born Chinese) often resulted in the Taiwanese partner moving to Singapore and obtaining citizenship.

Peranakan

The

or ''Baba-Nyonya'' are early mixed Chinese-Malay immigrants from Malacca and Penang who later migrated to Singapore. The Peranakans are descendants of mixed-race Chinese subgroups such as the lower class Tankas who have for generations extensively intermarried with the indigenous Malays, Bugis, Balinese, Javanese or Europeans and assimilating their adopted slave children. A few notable Peranakans have classified themselves as a separate ethnic group and have a distinct identity from either separate group while the vast majority have self-classified as Chinese Singaporeans after re-assimilation. The men are known as ''Baba'' while the women are known as ''Bibiks'' or ''Nyonyas''. Peranakans in Singapore were once concentrated around the Malay settlement at Geylang and the Chinese enclave at

Katong Katong, also known as Tanjong Katong, is a residential neighbourhood in the eastern portion of the Central Region of Singapore, within the Marine Parade planning area. It used to be located by the sea, before land reclamation towards the south ...

because they often served as intermediaries for businesses and social groups in colonial Singapore owing to multilingual fluency in English, Malay, and Hokkien (post-independence and after the 1980s, standard

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

as well mastered as a third supplementary language). Many Peranakans and Hokkien Chinese moved out of the congested town of Singaporetoday's Central Business Districtand built seaside mansions and villas along the East Coast in Tanjong Katong for their families. After Singapore's independence, Peranankans moved throughout the island. Many Peranakans converted to Roman Catholicism during the 17th and 18th century Dutch, Portuguese, British and Spanish colonisation of Southeast Asia, which saw missionaries set up posts in

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

(today's Jakarta) and along the Malay peninsula.

New Chinese immigrants

Before 1990,

speakers from Beijing and northern China and Wu speakers from Shanghai and the central Pacific coast of China constituted less than 2% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Most of the current population of native

speakers immigrated to Singapore much later than the other groups, after the Singaporean government relaxed immigration laws in 1989. Many of them were working in blue-collared jobs during Singapore's rapid industrialisation which began in the 1970s. Because of this, the members of this third wave are called the "New Immigrants" (, p ''Xīnyímín''). They usually speak Standard Mandarin, the ''lingua franca'' among mainland Chinese groups today, and many speak other

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

as well. Since the 1990s, the number of mainland Chinese who come to Singapore to study or work has steadily increased every year. Many stayed only for a short time and then returned to China, but eventually many settled down permanently and became permanent residents or citizens of Singapore. Today, newer Chinese migrants includes migrant workers working in various industries of the Singapore economy, with a mix of blue-collar workers and

white-collar worker A white-collar worker is a person who performs professional, desk, managerial, or administrative work. White-collar work may be performed in an office or other administrative setting. White-collar workers include job paths related to government, ...

s, as well as students.

Language

;Overview Traditionally, Chinese Singaporeans used their respective mother tongues as their main avenue of communication. Although that led to communication difficulties amongst speakers of more distant topolects, it has nevertheless forged strong ethnic bonds amongst the Chinese community in Singapore. But today, the speech of Chinese in Singapore exhibits a great amount of linguistic diversity which includes

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Singlish Singlish (a portmanteau of ''Singapore'' and ''English'') is an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore. Singlish arose out of a situation of prolonged language contact between speakers of many different languages in Singapore, inc ...

Singdarin Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, commonly known as Singdarin or Singnese, is a Mandarin dialect native and unique to Singapore similar to its English-based counterpart Singlish. It is based on Mandarin but has a large amount of English and ...

(

Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, commonly known as Singdarin or Singnese, is a Mandarin dialect native and unique to Singapore similar to its English-based counterpart Singlish. It is based on Mandarin but has a large amount of English and ...

, Teochew,

, Hainanese, as well as other languages, with the traditional mother tongues of Chinese Singaporeans on the losing end. Most Chinese Singaporeans are generally bilingual, speaking both English and Mandarin. ;Before the 1980s Before the 1980s, Chinese Singaporeans were either English-educated or Chinese-educated ( Standard Chinese). The English-educated Chinese were educated with English as the medium of instruction and learnt little or no Mandarin in school (in such cases, Mandarin became an optional language). As a result, they became affianced to the English-speaking Singaporeans and inevitably distanced from the Mandarin-speaking Singaporeans but were still be able to speak their respective mother tongues. On the other hand, the Chinese-educated were educated with Mandarin as the medium of instruction but learnt little or no English. They usually spoke Mandarin and their respective mother tongues with little or no English. There was a portion of Chinese Singaporeans who were bilingual, i.e. simultaneously educated with both English and Mandarin as the medium of instruction, or who attended Chinese-based primary schools and subsequently transferred to English-based schools for their secondary education. ;After the 1980s After the 1980s, all schools (including former Chinese-based schools) in Singapore are required to use English as the primary medium of instruction with Mandarin as the designated second language. Thus, Chinese Singaporeans educated in after the 1980s are theoretically bilingual. English is the first language and therefore spoken by all Singaporeans. This was partly due to the policy of Singapore's government to make English the medium of instruction in all schools in the 1980s (including former Chinese-based schools), as well as making English the working language for administration and business in Singapore (in short making English the lingua franca among all Singaporean). The presence of the English language in Singapore has its roots originating from Singapore's colonial past when Singapore was a British colony. As a result of the government's policy, English or Singlish has become widespread among the residents of Singapore, including but not limited to the Chinese Singaporeans, and this especially the case among the younger generations. As of 2010, it was estimated that 32.6% of Singapore Chinese speak English at home. But at work or in the city and business district, English is the official lingua franca, but ironically

remains extant amongst Singaporeans, not limited to the Chinese, and operates as an unofficial common language, reminiscent of Singapore before the 1980s.

is another widely spoken language among Chinese Singaporeans. As of 2010, it was estimated that 47.7% of Chinese Singaporeans speak Mandarin at home. Evidently, Singapore government's

Speak Mandarin Campaign The Speak Mandarin Campaign (SMC; ) is an initiative by the government of Singapore to encourage the Chinese Singaporeans, Singaporean Chinese population to speak Standard Mandarin Chinese, one of the four official languages of Singapore. Launch ...

was launched in the 1980s to make Mandarin the lingua franca among the Chinese in Singapore. It was intended to be the language to unify Chinese Singaporeans from different topolect groups by replacing the then lingua franca

. This was also because Mandarin was deemed more economically valuable, and speaking Mandarin would help Chinese Singaporeans retain their heritage, as Mandarin supposedly contains a cultural repository of values and traditions that are identifiable to all Chinese, regardless of topolect group. In the 1990s, this campaign began to target the English-speaking Chinese Singaporeans. As a result of this campaign, Mandarin became widespread in places such as residential areas, neighbourhood markets and even business districts, with the various mother tongues of Chinese Singaporeans falling out of favous among younger Chinese Singaporeans. Mandarin is also often spoken in most "traditional Chinese-based" schools, even though English is now their medium of instruction. Colloquially, as with all other languages spoken in Singapore, the Chinese Singaporeans prefer a localised flavour of mixing words from English,

, Malay, and some other varieties, into their Mandarin speech. Most young Chinese Singaporeans are capable of conversational Mandarin but are weaker in their ability to write Chinese, or with higher level conversations on complex, specialised topics. ;Variations according to age group The linguistic diversity among Chinese Singaporeans varies according to age group. Most young Chinese Singaporeans speak English and Mandarin while the elderly, though also able to converse in Mandarin, prefer speaking other sinitic languages such as

, Teochew,

, or Hainanese. As these south-eastern sinitic languages are no longer taught in school, the number of speakers have steadily declined. Besides, many parents have begun to communicate with their children solely in English, believing that English is the quintessential way of attaining upward social mobility. Many young Chinese Singaporeans have a poor command of Mandarin as a result. This applies equally even compared to the more westernised Chinese Singaporean Christian community, who generally prefers the English language over any other. ;Debate over preferred language The question of which language is preferred in Singapore seem to have caused a debate among Singaporeans recently. The question of declining standards in the command of the Chinese language amongst Chinese Singaporean seems to cause several revisions in the government's education policies towards the Chinese language. The government of Singapore's continued policy towards bilingualism for all Chinese Singaporeans, which is to continue to pursue English as the first language while making Mandarin the lingua franca (or at least the 2nd language or home language) amongst all Chinese has drawn mixed responses. The more English-speaking Chinese Singaporeans generally prefer English as the lingua franca or their home language, while the Mandarin-speakers worry that English will replace Mandarin as the lingua franca, which would eliminate the thin thread of

Chinese identity ''Zhonghua minzu'' (, ) is a political term in modern Chinese nationalism related to the concepts of nation-building, ethnicity, and race in the Chinese nationality. ''Zhonghua minzu'' was established during the early Beiyang (1912� ...

. With the rising economy of China in the 21st century, which has led to more Singaporean companies requiring fluency in Mandarin, Mandarin has been viewed with greater importance among Chinese Singaporeans than before. Both English and Mandarin will continue to dominate the language scene among Chinese Singaporeans. ;Preservation of other Chinese varieties There exists a strong need in preserving the many non-Mandarin topolects in Singapore. The decline of Chinese indigenous religion and

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

indicates the serious deterioration of Chinese cultural heritage and values among the younger generation of Chinese Singaporeans. Unless the government and Chinese Singaporeans have the awareness and take their own initiative in preserving non-Mandarin varieties, they will inevitably disappear from Singapore in the future. There is thus a strong desire to restore the

or risk it falling into extinction one day. This exigency is translated into recently renewed efforts by Chinese clan associations in Singapore to impart and revive their respective sinitic mother tongues, which are met with warm reception, including by some of the younger generations. Therefore, there lies a greater challenge for the Chinese community in Singapore – the preservation of the Chinese identity – than just the satisfaction of linguistic domination and material gains.

Socioeconomics

Education

Alongside other ethnic groups, Singaporeans of Chinese descent from all social backgrounds and occupations have achieved significant upward advances in their educational levels, income, and life expectancy and experienced other social indicators. Singapore's rapid industrialisation between the 1960s and the 1990s has lifted numerous people out of poverty and has created a broad middle class for many Singaporeans. During the period of rapid economic growth in the process, many Chinese began to experience upward social mobility for the first time in their lives. In 2000, Chinese Singaporeans represented the second-highest proportion of university graduates after the Indian Singaporeans and their new citizenship holders. In 2008, 86.2% of Chinese Singaporeans students achieved a minimum of 5 passes at O-level, the exams taken by 15- and 16-year-olds, compared to 59.3% for Singaporean Malays and 73% for Singaporean Indians. According to the 2010 Census, 22.6% of Chinese Singaporeans have achieved a bachelor's degree, a figure below the national average of 22.8% and remained the second highest after the Indian Singaporeans because Singaporean Indians had a larger increase in the proportion of university graduates compared with Chinese Singaporeans and Singaporean Malays. The increase in the proportion of Indian university graduates was mostly due to the inflow of Indian permanent residents with university qualifications. Some 60 per cent of Indian permanent residents were university graduates in 2005, up from 51 per cent in 2000.

Employment

As of 2005, 47.3% of Chinese Singaporeans work in select white-collar occupations compared with the national average of 44.8%. The labour force participation rate was 63.6% contrasting towards the national average of 63.0%. This figure was up from 46.2% in 2000 and was highest participation rate during that year in the white collar workforce among the three major ethnic groups in Singapore.

Economics

While constituting nearly three-quarters of the Singaporean population, Chinese Singaporeans are estimated to control 81% of the Singaporean's publicly listed companies by market capitalisation as well as contributing to 80% of Singapore's

GNP The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...

. Chinese Singaporean businesses are part of the larger bamboo network, a network of overseas Chinese businesses operating in the markets of Southeast Asia that share common family and cultural ties. With China's growing economic strength, a number of Chinese Singaporean businessmen and investors have turned to their ancestral roots through clan associations to rekindle with their Chinese heritage as well as pursue overseas business and investment opportunities in the country. Many have began to taken hold of their ancestral roots by reining in on the plethora of business and investment opportunities presented by the country, by reinvigorating their ancestral hometowns through real estate development and investing. Characterized as an outsider nation in Southeast Asia, Singapore itself is known as a "small Chinese Island in a Muslim Sea", as the Chinese Singaporeans are well known for their business prowess leading them to be regarded as the "

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

of the Orient". Measured in 1990 dollars, the average household monthly income rose from S$3,080 in 1990 to S$4,170 in 2000 at an average annual rate of 2.8%. According to the 2005 Singaporean census, both the average and median monthly income for Singaporeans of Chinese origin were (S$3,610 and $2,500 respectively), exceeded the national average. The household and median income for Chinese Singaporeans commonly exceed the national average where it remained the highest out of the three major ethnic groups in 2000. Chinese Singaporeans held the second-highest median and average household income among all three major ethnic groups in Singapore after Singaporean Indians in 2010.

Singaporean Education System

Singapore's Chinese education began with the establishment of old-style private Chinese schools (known as "Sishu 私塾") by early Chinese immigrants during the 19th century. These schools predominantly used various southern Chinese varieties (such as

) as its medium to teach

Chinese classics Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confuci ...

. In the 1920s, as influenced by China's New Cultural Movement, many

Chinese schools A Chinese school () is a school that is established for the purpose of teaching the varieties of Chinese (in particular, Mandarin and Cantonese), though the purpose can vary to teaching different aspects of Chinese culture such as Chinese art, c ...

in Singapore began to change its medium of instruction to

. During the British colonial times, the colonial government generally allowed the Chinese community in Singapore to organise and develop its own system of Chinese education. By the 1930s and 1940s, with donations and fundings from the public, more Chinese organisations began to set up more Chinese schools. In 1953, the chairman of

Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan (SHHK) (), or the Singapore Hokkien Association in English, is a cultural and educational foundation. It was established in 1840 to promote education, social welfare and the preservation of the Chinese language and cultu ...

, Mr.

Tan Lark Sye Tan Lark Sye (; 1897–1972) was a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist based in Singapore. Early life Tan was born in a Hoklo peasant family of seven in Jimei of Tong An in Fujian, China. Born into of very limited means, and orph ...

organised and helped to establish the first overseas Chinese-medium university (

Nanyang University Nanyang University (, also known as Nantah (), was a university in Singapore between 1956 and 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only private university in the Chinese language. In 1980, Nanyang University was merged with the Univer ...

) in Singapore, leading to the establishment of a well-structured Chinese-medium education system (from primary school to university) in Singapore. However, after the 1960s, the left-wing communist ideology of the People's Republic of China conflicted with the capitalist policy of Singapore. To attract western investments, the Singaporean government decided to adopt the fundamental policy of making English its main lingua franca and working language. To prevent Chinese Singaporeans from being influenced by left-wing political thoughts, Singapore greatly promoted English and attempt to end Chinese education. On the one hand, it encouraged Chinese Singaporeans to attend English-medium schools for economic reasons; on the other hand, it was claimed as a strategy in denouncing communism. Due to a lesser proficiency in English, Chinese-educated Singaporeans often encountered discrimination and difficulties in finding jobs in Singapore. Thus, the majority of Chinese Singaporeans sent their children to English-medium schools for better job prospects, causing the number of registered students at Chinese-medium schools to drop annually. All these factors (including that of government biased policies) eventually forced the Chinese-medium education system to be abolished in Singapore. Since the early 1980s, the Singapore government gradually abolished the Chinese-medium education system in Singapore. Apart from Chinese language and moral education subjects, all subjects are taught in English. However, to make sure that Chinese Singaporeans still maintain and preserve their mother tongue (Chinese) culture, the Singapore government implemented the teaching of Chinese language in all schools. Although Chinese Singaporeans belong to a number of Southern Chinese clans and spoke various Southern Chinese varieties, all Chinese Singaporeans had to learn

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...

as their "second language". Singapore also established the Special Assistance Plan Schools. These were formerly traditional Chinese-medium schools and were tasked with the nurturing of Chinese language and cultural talents. The Chinese subject in Singapore did not just involve the teaching of Chinese; it was also tasked with the mission of transmitting Chinese cultural values to Chinese Singaporeans but has not been successful at all. Because of the continuation of Chinese education in Singapore, the Chinese Singaporeans are generally able to speak, read, and write simple Chinese. However, the destruction of Chinese-medium education system in Singapore has been causing the younger generation of Chinese Singaporeans to gradually losing their heritage and roots.

Culture

Since most Chinese Singaporean trace their ancestral origins to southern China, their culture generally has a closer affinity with southern Chinese culture (predominantly that of

, Guangdong and

) This is especially true in terms of various southern Chinese dialects, customs, cultural, and religious practices in Singapore. Although Singaporean culture is diverse in nature, Singapore is one of the few countries outside

Greater China Greater China is an informal geographical area that shares commercial and cultural ties with the Han Chinese people. The notion of "Greater China" refers to the area that usually encompasses Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan in East ...

with a vibrant Chinese-speaking presence. On one glance, Singapore's infrastructure and environment might seem Western, but on closer observation, certain aspects of Chinese culture is generally present across all corners of Singapore. This includes the widespread use of different Chinese varieties, various Chinese writings across Singapore, various Chinese press and entertainment media, a thriving Chinese pop culture, various Chinese organisations, Chinese cultural festivals, Chinese opera, Chinese religious activities, Chinese bookshops etc.

Architecture

Linguistics influence

Mandarin and other Chinese varieties are spoken by the Chinese Singaporeans. They influence the way other Non-Chinese languages are spoken in Singapore. For instance,

is known to be greatly influenced by

and

Singaporean Mandarin Singaporean Mandarin () is a variety of Mandarin Chinese spoken natively in Singapore. It is one of the four official languages of Singapore along with English language, English, Malay language, Malay and Tamil language, Tamil. Singaporean M ...

in terms of grammar, syntax and lexicon.

Religion

According to the latest 2020 Census, 40.4% of Singapore's Chinese population declared themselves as Buddhists, 25.7% non-religious, 21.6% Christians, 11.6% Taoists and 0.8% other religions, as stated in the following statistics. The majority of Chinese Singaporeans register themselves as Buddhists or Taoists. Recent decades have seen a slight increase in adherence to Christianity and those who identify as irreligious. In Singapore,

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...

s which includes

ancestral worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

and the worship of certain Patron Deities are usually classified under Taoism.

Chinese ancestral worship Chinese ancestor veneration, also called Chinese ancestor worship, is an aspect of the Chinese traditional religion which revolves around the ritual celebration of the deified ancestors and tutelary deities of people with the same surname or ...

is an important traditional practise among

Oversea Chinese Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, ref ...

, it is still commonly practiced by Taoists, most Chinese Buddhists and some of the non-religious Chinese. There are over one thousand Chinese temples in Singapore, some of notable century-old Chinese temples in Singapore are

, Yueh Hai Ching Temple, Hong San See Temple, Po Chiak Keng Temple,

Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple () is a traditional Chinese temple situated at 178 Waterloo Street in Singapore. The temple is of significance to the Buddhist community among Chinese Singaporeans, and is believed to bring worshippers good luck ...

and Siong Lim Temple.

Cuisine

Many Chinese Singaporean dishes were adapted by early Chinese immigrants to suit local circumstances (such as available ingredients) and cannot strictly be considered mainstream

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many o ...

. Nevertheless, these dishes exhibited local Chinese Singaporean flavours and tastes. Most local Chinese Singaporean dishes such as

Bak kut teh ''Bak kut teh'' (also spelt bah kut teh and abbreviated BKT; , Teochew dialect, Teochew Pe̍h-uē-jī: ''nêg8-gug4-dê5'') is a pork rib dish cooked in broth popularly served in Malaysia and Singapore where there is a predominant Hoklo people ...

, Mee pok,

Ban mian Banmian () or pan mee ( nan, pán-mī) is a popular Chinese noodle dish, consisting of handmade noodles served in soup. Other types of handmade noodles include youmian (similar dough texture and taste, but thinner round noodles), or mee hoon ...

, Hakka Yong Tau Hu,

Char kway teow ''Char kway teow'' () is a stir-fried rice noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia and is of southern Chinese origin. In Hokkien and Teochew, ''char'' means 'stir-fried' and ''kway teow'' refers to flat rice noodles. It is made from flat r ...

, Chee cheong fun,

Hokkien mee Hokkien mee, literally "Fujian noodles", is a series of related Southeast Asian dishes that have their origins in the cuisine of China's Fujian (Hokkien) province. Types ''Hokkien mee'' can refer to four distinct dishes, with each being ubi ...

, Hakka Lei Cha, Wan ton mee, and

Popiah Popiah () is a Fujianese/ Teochew-style fresh spring roll filled with an assortment of fresh, dried, and cooked ingredients, eaten during the Qingming Festival and other celebratory occasions. ''The dish is'' made by the people and diaspora of ...

can still be easily found in food centres throughout Singapore. Some Chinese Singaporean are vegetarians, as they may be devoted followers of

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...

or other Chinese religious traditions. With the influx of new migrants from all parts of China in the 21st century, Chinese cuisine of a variety of regional flavours and tastes can be found across Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, Singapore or in other regions of Singapore, such as

Sichuanese cuisine Sichuan cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine (, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spicin ...

, northeastern Chinese cuisine etc.

Chinese-language media

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

is generally propagated through various

national

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...

television broadcast terrestrial media station (

MediaCorp TV Channel 8 Channel 8 ( zh, 8頻道) is a Singaporean free-to-air television channel, airing in Mandarin Chinese. It was created by Television Singapura on 31 August 1963 with experimental broadcasts, before going official on 23 November that year. The ch ...

and MediaCorp TV Channel U),

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

(

StarHub TV StarHub TV is a pay television service provided by StarHub in Singapore. It has been a subsidiary of StarHub Limited since StarHub acquired Singapore Cable Vision (SCV) in 2001, and was the sole pay-TV operator in the country until 2007 when m ...

and

Singtel TV Singtel TV (formerly known as Singtel IPTV and mio TV) is a pay television service provided by Singtel in Singapore. It is transmitted through Singtel's broadband network via an IPTV platform which uses Ericsson Mediaroom (originally develope ...

) and

radio channel Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

s (including MediaCorp Radio Capital 95.8FM). Most media in other

varieties (such as those of

and

) are

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

in the mainstream

media of

, except for some

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...

on Channel 8 and

Okto Okto is a daily children's program block on Mediacorp's Channel 5. The block airs daily during 5's morning and midafternoon time slots. It is also a weekend Mandarin children's program block on Mediacorp's Channel 8. It airs every weekend fro ...

(Such as Soap opera and government-funded mini Chinese dialect show that caters for older generation), and in

Capital 95.8FM.

Taiwanese Hokkien Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/ Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about ...

media from

and

media from

are however easily available for sale in

shop Shop or shopping refers to: Business and commerce * A casual word for a commercial establishment or for a place of business * Machine shop, a workshop for machining *"In the shop", referring to a car being at an automotive repair shop *A wood ...

s of

and also present in

Karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

lounges. Some cable television channels in

(e.g.

) also have begun to have

-based

Chinese-language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...

media (e.g. CCTV-4 Chinese International Channel (Asia)) and Cantonese-language media from

(e.g. TVB Jade Satellite Channel (Southeast Asia)). ;Chinese press The major

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

in Singapore is ''

Lianhe Zaobao ''Nanyang Sin-Chew Lianhe Zaobao'' (; literally "Nanyang Sin-Chew Joint Morning Paper"), commonly abbreviated as ''Lianhe Zaobao'' (; literally "Joint Morning Paper"), is the largest Singaporean Chinese-language newspaper with a daily circu ...

'', which was formed by a merger of two of the country's oldest Chinese-language newspaper. ''Lianhe Zaobao'' was critical in maintaining the

literary scene in

. In addition to this are other

s such as '' Lianhe Zaobao Sunday'', ''

Lianhe Wanbao Lianhe Wanbao (; literally Joint Evening News) was a Singapore Chinese afternoon newspaper published daily by SPH Media Trust from 16 March 1983 after the merger between ''Nanyang Siang Pau'' and '' Sin Chew Jit Poh''. ''Lianhe Wanbao'' fo ...

'', ''

Shin Min Daily News ''Shin Min Daily News'' () is a Singapore Chinese-language afternoon newspaper currently published by SPH Media Trust. First started on 18 March 1967, by Singapore businessman Liang Runzhi (梁潤之) and the renowned Hong Kong writer Louis Cha ...

'', ''

My Paper ''My Paper'' () was a free, bilingual (English and Chinese) newspaper in Singapore published by the Singapore Press Holdings. It is published from Mondays to Fridays, excluding public holidays; and an electronic copy of the print edition is pub ...

'' (prints in both English and Mandarin), ''

zbCOMMA ''Nanyang Sin-Chew Lianhe Zaobao'' (; literally "Nanyang Sin-Chew Joint Morning Paper"), commonly abbreviated as ''Lianhe Zaobao'' (; literally "Joint Morning Paper"), is the largest Singaporean Chinese-language newspaper with a daily circu ...

'' (早报逗号), ''Thumbs Up'' (大拇指) and ''Thumbs Up Junior'' (小拇指).

Literature in Chinese

Singapore has a thriving literary scene in Chinese. The

Singapore Association of Writers Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

(新加坡作家协会) regularly publish Singapore Chinese Literature Journal (新华文学), an anthology of literary works by Chinese Singaporeans. A number of writers (or poets) including

You Jin Tham Yew Chin (; born 1950), known by her pseudonym You Jin (), is a Singaporean writer. She received the Cultural Medallion Award in 2009 for her contributions to Singapore's literary arts scene. Early life and family Tham was born 1950 in Ipoh ...

Wang Runhua Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand ...

(王润华), Liu Duanjin (刘瑞金), Rongzi (蓉子) etc. had contributed to the Singapore Chinese literary scene. The Singapore Chinese literature reflected the immigration and social-historical changes in Singapore. Singapore Chinese literature had its roots from Malaysian Chinese literature, as Singapore was part of Malaya before independence. Early Chinese immigrants started with the establishment of Chinese schools and Chinese press and as such began to create works of literature. Early Chinese literary magazines such as ''New Citizens'' (新國民雜志), ''Southern Wind'' (南風), and ''Singapore Light'' (星光) in Singapore portrayed the lifestyle of immigrants in the pre-war period. During the 1950s, most of the writers in Singapore had literary works portraying the lifestyle of all social spheres of Singapore. These literary works contain large use of local Chinese slang, creating unique localised literary works. The active writers at that time include Miao Xiu (苗秀), Yaozhi (姚紫), Zhaorong (赵戎) and Shushu (絮絮). After Singapore's independence in 1965, the Chinese literature in Singapore began to separate from Malaysian Chinese literature and continued to develop on its own.

Festivals

Traditional Chinese festivals are celebrated in Singapore including Chinese New Year, Qingming Festival (also known as Tomb Sweeping Festival),

Dragon Boat Festival The Dragon Boat Festival ( zh, s=端午节, t=端午節) is a traditional Chinese holiday which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which corresponds to late May or June in the Gregorian calendar. Names The Engl ...

Zhong Yuan Festival The Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival (traditional Chinese: 中元節; simplified Chinese: ) in Taoism and Yulanpen Festival () in Buddhism, is a traditional Taoist and Buddhist festival held in certain East Asian countrie ...

, Mid-Autumn Festival, Birthday of the Monkey God,

Nine Emperor Gods Festival The Nine Emperor Gods Festival ( zh, 九皇爺誕; ms, Perayaan Sembilan Maharaja Dewa; th, เทศกาลกินเจ) or Vegetarian Festival or Jay Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of the ninth lunar month ...

and

Dongzhi Festival The Dongzhi Festival or Winter Solstice Festival () is one of the most important Chinese festivals celebrated by the Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, Taiwan, Japanese, Vietnamese, Koreans and other East Asian-related people during the Don ...

. Certain traditional Chinese festivals are made public holidays, including Chinese New Year. There existed some differences in the Singapore Chinese festival customs as compared to that from mainland China and Taiwan. For instance, it was common to carry lantern during mooncake festivals, but mainland China and Taiwan only practise carrying lanterns on 15 January lunar calendar. There is also an annual pilgrimage to Kusu Island on the ninth lunar month, where Chinese devotees will visit the Tua Pek Kong Temple and three Keramat shrines on the island.

Music

Xinyao ''Xinyao'' () is a genre of songs that is unique to Singapore. It is a contemporary Mandarin vocal genre that emerged and rose to fame in Singapore between the late 1970s to 1980s. ''Xinyao'' songs are composed and sung by Singaporeans and it is a ...

'' is a genre of songs that is unique to

. It is a contemporary Mandarin vocal genre that emerged and rose to fame in Singapore between the late 1970s to 1980s. ''Xinyao'' songs are composed and sung by

and it is an outlet for them to express their thoughts and feelings around themes like friendships or love stories. Singapore also features a thriving Chinese pop music scene and are known for producing Mandopop artists such as

JJ Lin Wayne Lin Junjie (; born 27 March 1981), better known by his stage name JJ Lin, is a Singaporean singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Lin launched his musical career by releasing his debut album '' Music Voyager'' (2003). GIO, Taiwa ...

Stefanie Sun Stefanie Sun (, born 23 July 1978) is a Singaporean singer-songwriter. In 2000, she released her debut album, '' Yan Zi'', which won her a Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist. In 2004, she released her eighth studio album, '' Stefanie'', ...

Tanya Chua Tanya Chua (; born 28 January 1975) is a Singaporean singer-songwriter. She launched her singing career by releasing her debut studio album ''Bored'' in 1997. Her albums, ''Amphibian'' (2005), '' Goodbye & Hello'' (2007), ''Sing It Out of Love'' (2 ...

etc. Singapore is also known for holding Chinese music concerts and festivals, including the Taiwanese-originated Spring Wave Singapore Music Festival in 2013.

Cultural comparison

There exists, however, some degree of differences between Chinese Singaporeans and the Chinese in terms of mindset, culture, and languages. While the Chinese are largely Sinocentric in their outlook of the world, Chinese Singaporean are educated in English medium schools (but also are taught the Chinese language) and are exposed to western influences due to its long history as a British constituent colony of the Straits Settlements. As such, the local Chinese Singaporean culture is a blend and mix of southern Chinese culture, local Singaporean culture (with various influences from cultures of other ethnicities) and western culture. On the other hand, Singapore has also been accused of being a Sinocentric country, with reported Chinese Singaporean privilege marginalising ethnic minorities such as Indians and Malays. There are also some differences in the Chinese Singaporean culture compared to that of China. Some traditional Chinese religious and folk customs are preserved by the Chinese community in Singapore but are no longer practised or seen in China after the

cultural revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

. This is especially true of regional rites and rituals practised by Singaporean descendants of Southern Chinese immigrants, which has somehow contributed to the revival of certain traditional religious practices in Southern China regions in recent years. There are also distinctive recognisable differences between the

and mainland Chinese Mandarin accents. Colloquially, many Chinese Singaporean also speak a creole of

and

code-switch In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualism ...

between English and Mandarin or a dialect. Many of the local Chinese varieties in Singapore, such as

, Teochew, or Cantonese, have also been largely acculturated and differ from what is spoken in China but still intelligible to each other. A 2016 study of Singaporean locals and the Chinese students around them had 52% of the former expressing agreement that both groups shared a similar culture. ;Relations with recent Northern Chinese immigrants Singaporeans and recent Northern Chinese immigrants have had a testy relationship in recent years. While the reasons for such a contentious relationship are multi-factorial, one of those mentioned was the cultural differences between the vast majority of Singaporeans whose ancestors were Southern Chinese immigrants and the Northern Chinese immigrants who spoke Northern Mandarin dialect. Most Northern Chinese immigrants from PRC have been through

and no longer have the similar Chinese traditional values and heritage with local Chinese Singaporeans.

Notable people

Politics

Ong Eng Guan Ong Eng Guan (; 1925–2008) was a Singaporean politician who served as Minister for National Development between 1959 and 1960. An anti-communist, Ong was a Chinese-educated orator who became popular among the Chinese community in Singapore. He ...

, first and only duly elected Mayor of Singapore *

, 1st Prime Minister of Singapore and

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

of Singapore. *

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Member of Parliament (M ...

, 2nd Prime Minister of Singapore. *

, 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore. *

Wee Kim Wee Wee Kim Wee ( zh, s=黄金辉, poj=Ûiⁿ Kim-hui, p=Huáng Jīnhuī, first=s,poj,p; 4 November 1915 – 2 May 2005) was a Singaporean journalist and diplomat who served as the fourth president of Singapore from 1985 until his resignation in ...

, 4th President of Singapore *

Ong Teng Cheong Ong Teng Cheong ( zh, c=王鼎昌, p=Wáng Dǐngchāng; 22 January 1936 – 8 February 2002) was a Singaporean politician who served as the fifth president of Singapore between 1993 and 1999. He was also the first elected president in Singapor ...

, 5th President of Singapore *

Tony Tan Keng Yam Tony Tan Keng Yam (; born 7 February 1940) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the seventh president of Singapore between 2011 and 2017. He did not seek for a second term as president in 2017 due to a constitutional amendment. ...

, 7th President of Singapore *

Toh Chin Chye Toh Chin Chye ( zh, s=杜进才, p=Dù Jìncái; 10 December 1921 – 3 February 2012) was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1968. Toh is widely recognised as one of the founding fa ...

, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore. *

Goh Keng Swee Goh Keng Swee (; 6 October 1918 – 14 May 2010), born Robert Goh Keng Swee, was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1973 and 1985. Goh is widely recognised as one of the founding fathers of Singa ...

, 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore. *

Ong Pang Boon Ong Pang Boon ( zh, c=王邦文, p=Wáng Bāngwén; born 28 March 1929) is a Singaporean retired politician who served as Minister for Home Affairs between 1959 and 1963 and again for a short period of time in 1970, Minister for Education b ...

, former Cabinet Minister. *

Wong Kan Seng Wong Kan Seng ( zh, s=黄根成, j=Wong4 Gan1 Sing4, poj=N̂g Kun-sêng, p=Huáng Gēnchéng; born 8 September 1946) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 2005 and 2011. He has been serving ...

, 9th Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore. *

Heng Swee Keat Heng Swee Keat (; born 15 April 1961) is a Singaporean politician, former police officer and civil servant who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore since 2019 and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies since 2020 and als ...

, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore *

Teo Chee Hean Teo Chee Hean ( zh, s=张志贤, poj=Tiuⁿ Chì-hiân, p=Zhāng Zhìxián; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former two-star rear-admiral who has been serving as Senior Minister of Singapore since 2019 and Coordinating Mini ...

, Senior Minister of Singapore *

Lim Yew Hock Lim Yew Hock ( zh, c=林有福, p=Lín Yǒufú; 15 October 1914 – 30 November 1984) was a MalaysianChiam See Tong Chiam See Tong (; born 12 March 1935) is a Singaporean retired politician and lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Potong Pasir SMC between 1984 and 2011. He was one of the two opposition MPs in Parliament. Lawyer by profess ...

, 6th and 8th Leader of the Opposition. *

Low Thia Khiang Low Thia Khiang (; born 5 September 1956) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Secretary-General of the Workers' Party (WP) between 2001 and 2018. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hougang SMC between 1991 and 2011 and Aljun ...

, 9th Leader of the Opposition.

Business

Tan Tock Seng Tan Tock Seng (; 1798 – 24 February 1850) was a Malacca-born merchant and philanthropist from Singapore. Early life and business Tan Tock Seng was born in Malacca in 1798 to a Chinese Fujianese immigrant father and local Peranakan mother ...

, served as acting Kapitan China of Singapore (government-appointed head of the Chinese community) and founder of

Tan Tock Seng Hospital Tan Tock Seng Hospital (abbreviation: TTSH) is a tertiary referral hospital in Singapore, located in Novena. The hospital has 45 clinical and allied health departments, 16 specialist centres and is powered by more than 8,000 healthcare staff. ...

. *

Tan Kim Ching Tan Kim Ching (; 1829 – February 1892), also known as Tan Kim Cheng, was a Chinese politician and businessman. He was the eldest of the three sons of Tan Tock Seng, the founder and financier of Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He was consul for J ...

, served as Kapitan China of the Chinese community, was also the consul for Japan, Siam and Russia, and was a member of the Royal Court of Siam. *

Tan Kah Kee Tan Kah Kee (; 21 October 1874 – 12 August 1961) was a Chinese businessman, investor, and philanthropist active in Singapore and the Chinese cities of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Xiamen, and Guangzhou. A prominent figure in the overseas Chinese ...

, prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist, Chinese community leader. *

Lee Kong Chian Lee Kong Chian (; 18 October 1893 – 2 June 1967), also known by his alias Lee Geok Kun (), was a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist based in Malaya and Singapore between the 1930s and the 1960s. He was the founder of the Lee ...

, prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist, founder of Lee foundation, one of the richest men in South East Asia. *

, prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist, founded Nanyang University in the 1950s. * Lee Choon Seng, prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist, prominent lay Buddhist leader. *

Khoo Teck Puat Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat (; 13 January 1917 – 21 February 2004) was a banker and hotel owner, who, with an estimated fortune of S$4.3 billion (US$3,195,953,500), was the wealthiest man in Singapore at one point. He owned the Goodwood Gr ...

, founder of Malayan Banking, largest single shareholder of the British bank Standard Chartered and owned the Goodwood Group. * Kwek Hong Png, entrepreneur and founder of

Hong Leong Group Hong Leong Financial Group Berhad () is a conglomerate based in Malaysia. Founded as a trading company in 1963 by Quek Leng Chan and Kwek Hong Png, the company controls 14 listed companies involved in the financial services, manufacturing, distr ...

. * Goh Cheng Liang, founder of Wuthelam Holdings. * Sim Wong Hoo, founder, CEO and Chairman of

Creative Technology Creative Technology Ltd. is a Singaporean multinational technology company headquartered with overseas offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Dublin, and Silicon Valley (where in the US it is known as Creative Labs). The principal activities of the compa ...

. * Wee Cho Yaw, chairman emeritus of the

United Overseas Bank United Overseas Bank Limited (), often known as UOB, is a Singaporean multinational banking corporation headquartered in Singapore, with branches mostly found in most Southeast Asian countries. Founded in 1935 as United Chinese Bank (UCB) by S ...

(UOB) and United Industrial Corporation (UIC) in Singapore. *

Kwek Leng Beng Kwek Leng Beng (; born 1941) is a Singaporean billionaire businessman. He is the executive chairman of Hong Leong Group Singapore. In September 2019, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth to be US$3.4 billion. Early life Kwek's father, the late ...

, executive chairman of Hong Leong Group Singapore. * Cheong Eak Chong, prominent businessman and philanthropist. *

Tan Kim Seng Tan Kim Seng (18 November 1805 – 14 March 1864), was a prominent Straits-born Chinese merchant and philanthropist in Singapore in the 19th century. Biography Born in Malacca in 1806 to Tan Swee Poh (), he was the grandson of Tan Sin Liew (), ...

, Chinese community leader (Hokkien) and first magistrate of Chinese descent in Singapore * Seah Eu Chin, Chinese community leader (Teochew), also known as the "Gambier King". *

Lim Nee Soon Lim Nee Soon (; 12 November 1879 – 20 March 1936) was a Singaporean banker and businessman who promoted social and community matters, and was a respected community leader in Singapore. Lim was of Peranakan descent, with ancestry from Chenghai D ...

, Chinese community leader (Teochew), the town of Yishun is named after him. * Gan Eng Seng, Chinese businessman and philanthropist, who founded a school which was later renamed after him. *

Aw Boon-Haw Aw Boon-Haw (; 1882 in Rangoon, British Raj – 1954 in Hawaii), OBE, was a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as founder of Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin, with his ancestral home in Yongding Coun ...

, a Hakka Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist, best known as the founder of Tiger Balm. *

Song Ong Siang Sir Song Ong Siang () was a lawyer and active citizen of the British Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements. He was an ethnic Hokkien as well as a third generation Hokkien Peranakan Baba (Peranakan term for ''man'') Chinese with ancestry from ...

, Chinese community leader. *

Neo Ao Tiew Neo Ao Tiew (; 1884 – 1975), MBE, S.C.H, was a Chinese businessman, philanthropist and sheriff from Nan'an, Fujian. He is best known for developing the Lim Chu Kang area of Singapore. Neo Tiew Road, located in the district of Lim Chu Kan ...

, best known for developing the Lim Chu Kang area of Singapore. *

, prominent businessman and resistance fighter during War World II, a war hero in Singapore.

Military

Winston Choo Winston Choo Wee Leong (; born 18 July 1941) is a Singaporean diplomat and former lieutenant-general who served as the first and longest-serving Chief of Defence Force (Singapore), Chief of Defence Force between 1974 and 1992. Early life and ...

, 1st Chief of Defence Force *

Ng Jui Ping Ng Jui Ping (17 October 1948 – 1 January 2020) was a Singaporean lieutenant-general who served as Chief of Defence Force between 1992 and 1995. Education Ng held a Master of Arts in history from Duke University. He attended the six-week Ad ...

, 2nd Chief of Defence Force * Bey Soo Khiang, 3rd Chief of Defence Force * Lim Chuan Poh, 4th Chief of Defence Force *

Ng Yat Chung Ng Yat Chung is a Singaporean former lieutenant-general who served as Chief of Defence Force between 2003 and 2007. Education Ng received his secondary and pre-university education in Victoria School and Hwa Chong Junior College respectiv ...

, 5th Chief of Defence Force

S.T.E.M.

Lim Boon Keng Lim Boon Keng (; 18 October 1869 – 1 January 1957) was a Peranakan physician who advocated social and educational reforms in Singapore in the early 20th-century. He also served as the president of Xiamen University in China between 1921 and ...

, Peranakan physician and Chinese community leader, the first Singaporean to receive a Queen's Scholarship and promoted social and educational reforms in Singapore in the early 20th century. *

Handong Sun Handong Sun is a Singaporean physicist currently at Nanyang Technological University and an Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society. References Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Fellows of the American Physical ...

, physicist currently at Nanyang Technological University and an Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society * Peng Tsu Ann, mathematician and the first University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore, Abbreviation: NUS) graduate to obtain a PhD in mathematics. Peng was the Head of the Department of Mathematics at NUS from 1982 to 1996 * Chong Chi Tat is University Professor and Director of the Institute for Mathematical Sciences at the National University of Singapore (NUS). * Xian Jun Loh is a polymer chemist who works in the inter-disciplinary field of biomaterials *

Lam Lay Yong Lam Lay Yong (maiden name Oon Lay Yong, ; born 1936) is a retired Professor of Mathematics. Academic career From 1988 to 1996 she was Professor at the Department of Mathematics, National University of Singapore (NUS). She graduated from the Uni ...

, Professor of Mathematics at the Department of Mathematics from 1966 to 1998 *

Chai Keong Toh Chai Keong Toh is a Singaporean computer scientist, engineer and professor. He is currently an Expert Consultant to the Gerson Lehrman Group. He has performed research on wireless ad hoc networks, mobile computing, Internet Protocols, and mu ...

, computer scientist engineer, professor, and chief technology officer. * Benjamin Tee, co-develop the electronic skin technology. * William Tan is a neuroscientist, medical doctor and Paralympian. He was the first person to complete a marathon in the North Pole in a wheelchair. *

Jackie Yi-Ru Ying Jackie Yi-Ru Ying (born 1966) is an American nanotechnology scientist based in Singapore. She is the founding executive director of the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN). Early life and career Ying was born in Taipei in 1966. Sh ...

, nanotechnology scientist and the founding executive director of the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore. * Samuel Gan, multi-disciplinary biomedical scientist who is currently the founding Editor-in-Chief of the “Scientific Phone Apps and Mobile Devices” journal. He is currently the Principal Investigator of the Antibody and Product Development (APD) Lab at the Bioinformatics Institute and p53 Laboratory of the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). * Su Guaning, former president, Nanyang Technological University.

Religious

* Venerable Zhuan Dao, important pioneer of Chinese

Buddhism in Singapore Buddhism in Singapore is the largest religion in Singapore, practiced by approximately 31.1% of the population as of 2020. In 2015, out of 3,276,190 Singaporeans polled, 1,087,995 (33.21%) of them identified themselves as Buddhists. Buddhism was ...

and founder of the

Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery The Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (also the ''Bright Hill Pujue Chan Monastery'') (), is a Buddhist temple and monastery in Bishan, Singapore. Built by Zhuan Dao in the early 20th century to propagate Buddhism and to provide lodging f ...

. * Venerable Hong Choon, prominent Buddhist leader in Singapore and second president of Singapore Buddhist Federation. * Venerable Long Gen, respectable Buddhist leader and scholar in Singapore. * Venerable Jing Run, abbess of Lin Chee Cheng Sia Temple and known as Singapore's "grand dame of charity" in recognition of her lifelong devotion in helping the old and needy. * Teresa Hsu Chih, known affectionately as "Singapore's Mother Teresa", in recognition for her active lifelong devotion in helping the aged sick and destitute.

Sports

* Tan Howe Liang, first Singaporean to win an Olympic Games medal. * Wong Peng Soon, badminton player who reigned as a top player in Malaya from the 1930s to the 1950s *

Tan Chong Tee Tan Chong Tee (; 15 October 1916 – 24 November 2012) was a Chinese resistance fighter based in Singapore and British Malaya, Malaya during World War II. An accomplished badminton player before the war, he joined Force 136 around 1942 after ...

, Singaporean badminton player who became an anti-Japanese guerilla fighter in WWII, and a comrade of war hero Lim Bo Seng. He survived the war and later died in 2012 at the age of 96.

Entertainment

* Kuo Pao Kun, prominent playwright, theatre director, and arts activist in Singapore *

Michael Chiang Michael Chiang (born 27 October 1955 in Muar, Malaysia) is a prolific playwright and screenwriter in Singapore. He is known as "Singapore's most famous and successful playwright". From 1990 to 2009, Chiang was the editorial director of Mediacorp ...

, prolific playwright and screenwriter, known as "Singapore's most famous and successful playwright" *

Goh Poh Seng Goh Poh Seng (; July 1936 – 10 January 2010) was a Singaporean dramatist, novelist, doctor and poet, was born in Kuala Lumpur, British Malaya in 1936. He was educated at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, received his medical degree from Uni ...

, dramatist, novelist, doctor and poet, * Alvin Tan, founder and artistic director of ''The Necessary Stage'' (TNS) *

Ivan Heng use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

, actor and theatre director of Peranakan descent, also the founding artistic director of W!LD RICE *

Ong Keng Sen Ong Keng Sen (born 20 November 1963; ) is a Singaporean director of the theatre group TheatreWorks, which was founded in 1985. Early life Ong Keng Sen was youngest of six children born to immigrants from Putian, China. Ong joined the drama cl ...

, director of the theatre group ''TheatreWorks''. *

, is a Singaporean writer who received the Cultural Medallion Award in 2009. * Han Lao Da, playwright, founder and principal of Han Language Centre. *

Stella Kon Stella Kon (''née'' Lim Sing Po, born 1944) is a Singaporean playwright. She is best known for her play, ''Emily of Emerald Hill'', which has been staged internationally. She is a recipient of the S.E.A. Write Award. Biography Kon was born i ...

, recipient of the S.E.A. Write Award and playwright, best known for ''"Emily of Emerald Hill"''. * Catherine Lim, fiction author known for writing about Singapore society and of themes of traditional Chinese culture. * Robert Yeo, poet, playwright, novelist and was awarded the S.E.A. Write Award in 2011 *

Lim Kay Tong use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

, veteran film, TV and stage actor *

Kevin Kwan Kevin Kwan (born ) is a Singapore-born American novelist and writer of satirical novels ''Crazy Rich Asians'', ''China Rich Girlfriend'', and '' Rich People Problems''. His latest book, '' Sex and Vanity'', was released in June 2020. In 2014, ...

, author of international best-seller

Crazy Rich Asians ''Crazy Rich Asians'' is a satirical 2013 romantic comedy novel by Kevin Kwan. Kwan stated that his intention in writing the novel was to "introduce a contemporary Asia to a North American audience". He claimed the novel was loosely based on h ...

. *

, award-winning internationally famous singer-songwriter. *

Kit Chan use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

, award-winning internationally famous singer-songwriter. *

, award-winning singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor.

Criminals

Adrian Lim The Toa Payoh ritual murders took place in Singapore in 1981. On 25 January, the body of a nine-year-old girl was found at a block of public housing flats in the town of Toa Payoh, and two weeks later, the body of a ten-year-old boy was fo ...

, a medium who murdered a boy and girl in Toa Payoh. *

Tan Chor Jin Tan Chor Jin (; 29 March 1966 – 9 January 2009), also known by his alias Tony Kia, was a Singaporean gang leader known for fatally shooting 41-year-old Lim Hock Soon, his former friend and nightclub owner, using a semi-automatic Beretta 0.22 ...

, triad leader executed for robbing and fatal shooting. *

Mimi Wong Wong Weng Siu (黄婉秀 huáng wǎnxìu; – 27 July 1973), more commonly known as Mimi Wong, was a Singaporean bar hostess who became the first woman to be sentenced to death for murder in Singapore since its independence. Wong was alleged t ...

, a bar cabaret queen who was the first woman to be sentenced to death and executed for murder in 1970. *

Sunny Ang Sunny Ang Soo Suan (; – 6 February 1967), alias Anthony Ang, was a Singaporean racing driver and part-time law student who gained notoriety for the alleged murder of his girlfriend Jenny Cheok Cheng Kid near Sisters' Islands. Ang was charged ...

, a part-time law student who was executed for Singapore's first case of

murder without a body It is possible to convict someone of murder without the purported victim's body in evidence. However, cases of this type have historically been hard to prove, often forcing the prosecution to rely on circumstantial evidence, and in England ther ...

. * Lim Ban Lim, a wanted gunman who was wanted for murdering a policeman in 1968, as well as other armed robbery crimes. *

Anthony Ler Anthony Ler Wee Teang ( – 13 December 2002) was a Singaporean convicted murderer who hired a youth to murder his wife, 30-year-old real-estate agent Annie Leong Wai Mun, who was in the midst of a divorce with him. Ler's motive was to become ...

, who used a monetary reward to hire and manipulate a 15-year-old boy to murder his wife. * Leslie Khoo Kwee Hock, a laundry shop manager who murdered his girlfriend near

Gardens by the Bay The Gardens by the Bay is a nature park spanning in the Central Region of Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden (in Marina South), Bay East Garden (in Marina East) and Ba ...

before he burnt her body * Chia Teck Leng, convicted white-collar criminal, for cheating $117 million from four banks * Sek Kim Wah, a former National Serviceman who was Singapore's first serial killer and committed five murders before his trial and execution

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Festival of the Nine Emperor Gods
* ''

'', 28 April 2006, p. 15, Prime section
新加坡华文知识分子角色的演变 (Changing role of the Chinese Intellectuals in Singapore), Lianhe Zaobao, 14 March 1999

External links

Buddhist and Pali CollegeTheravada Buddhism Studies in Chinese Group (TBSC)Nine Emperor Gods Project2003 speech by Lee Hsien Loong on Teochews
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110422093227/http://www.chineseheritagecentre.org/ Singapore Chinese Heritage Centerbr>Singapore Huayi NetSingapore Chinese Teachers' UnionSingapore Chinese Development Assistance CouncilSingapore Federation of Chinese Clan AssociationsSingapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
{{authority control Ethnic groups in Singapore