Chinese in Singapore - Books - Famous Chinese Shopping City

March 8, 2014


		1 Introduction 2 Dialect Groups 3 Religion 4 History 5 See also 6 External links

Famous Chinese Shopping City Books

Chinese in Singapore

Wikipedia

NPOV
cleanup-date|August 2005

The Chinese in Singapore constitute the majority of the population in Singapore. It is a ethnic group that has loose roots in China. Chinese in Singapore today commonly recognise themselves as Singaporeans rather than Chinese. Many Chinese too have married Peranakans (Chinese who have married ethnic Malays and have adopted a mix of Chinese and Malay culture) and increasing numbers are marrying outside their ethnic group.

The population of Chinese in Singapore currently stands at slightly more than 3 million out of a total of about 4 million, or about 76.8% of the population.

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Dialect Groups

The Chinese in Singapore are predominantly Han Chinese. They are of several dialect groups, originating from various parts of China. Around 70% of the Chinese Singaporeans belong to the Min-nan dialect group, but inter-dialect marriages among the third and fourth generations are making the dialect lines increasingly uncertain. Government policies, such as banning dialects in schools and the media, have resulted in an entire generation of young Singaporeans distanced from their mother tongues, leading to considerable difficulties in communication between the young and old.

Hokkien
The Hokkiens constitute around 45% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Most came the southern parts of the Fujian province, primarily Xiamen and Quanzhou. They speak Hokkien, a Min-nan dialect, though their Hokkien includes words from Malay.

The element of Spirit Worship, known as Tanki-ism in the Hokkien dialect, was widespread among the older generation. One of the festivals is that of the Nine Emperor Gods, a Taoist commemoration of the Emperors who brought peace and prosperity to the people and the prayer to the Jade Emperor on the 8th day of Chinese New Year.http://weecheng.com/singapore/9eg/index.htm

Teochew
The Teochews in Singapore constitutes about 25% of the Chinese population in Singapore. Teochews are originated from Chaozhou in China, with the majority coming from Shantou.

The Teochews speak the Chaozhou dialect|Teochew, a Min-nan dialect, which is much comprehensible to the Hokkiens.

The Teochews usually settles along the banks of Singapore River in Chinatown during the 19th and early 20th century. To honour their success in commerce, The then-Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave a speech relating to the Teochews of Singapore in November 2003. See http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=2875 this article for further elaborations.

Cantonese

The Cantonese made up 16% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Unlike the Hokkien, Teochew and the Hainanese, the Cantonese speak a dialect belonging to the Yue family, and having much in common with the Hakka dialect.

Hakka

The Hakkas constitute 7% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Since their dialect was initially somewhat intelligible to Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin, although strongly influenced by Min-nan and Yue, they were believed to have migrated from Northern China between the 16th and the 17th century.

Hainanese and Northern Min

This group constitutes 5% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Of them, the majority are Hainanese, from Hainan, speaking Hainanese, a Min-nan dialect.

The others, who included the Hokchew, Hokchia and the Henghuas, who came from Northern Fujian and Southern Zhejiang. They speak various Northern Min dialects. As late-comers to Singapore (late 19th century), most of them worked as shop helpers, chefs, and waiters in the hospitality sector.

Mandarin and Wu

The Mandarin from Beijing and other northern provinces, and the Wu people from Shanghai and Zhejiang, constitute only 2% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Most of them are immigrated to Singapore much later than the other groups. They can all speak Mandarin Chinese, the lingua franca among all the Chinese dialects, but may be able to speak their own dialects as well, though their own dialects are rarely used in daily life even among those from the same region.

These are mainly first and second-generation Chinese Singaporeans who came to Singapore in the 90s. As with overseas Chinese emigration patterns worldwide, they tend to be highly-paid professionals in multinational corporations or research and educational institutes. Also, there is an increasing number of Chinese teachers from the PRC working in Primary and Secondary schools and Junior Colleges in Singapore. This is because the Ministry of Education in Singapore finds it increasingly difficult to find among young Singaporeans the qualifications to teach Chinese as a subject.

There is a degree of discrimination against these recent immigrants. Despite being generally well-off, they are seen as outsiders who 'steal' the jobs of the 'natives'. This, however, is not evident in many educational institutes around the island where recent immigrants and locals interact with one another.

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Religion

Traditionally, the Chinese are adherents of a mixture of Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and ancestor worship. A sizeable minority of 13% of the Chinese claimed to profess no particular religion, and this is increasing among younger people.

Traditional Chinese Folks Religions

About 67% of the Singapore Chinese still adhere to their traditional folks religion in varying degrees of devoutness. This group tends to speak Mandarin and/or Chinese dialects at home and follow a Chinese-influenced lifestyle. Most the people in this group came from the lower and middle classes, though some of them belong to the upper-class. Of these, the majority claim to be Buddhist and the remainder Taoist. They generally practise a mixed form of folks religion comprising of buddhist, taoist and other chinese traditional religious practice such as ancestor worship.

Most of the traditional practitioner would place one or two altars at home, or along the corridors of their HDB flats. The altars often contain the three chinese gods, namely Wealth (Fok in Cantonese, Fu ??? in Mandarin), (Lok in Cantonese, Lu ??? in Mandarin), and Life (Sao in Cantonese, Shou ??? in Mandarin). The Guan Yin(a buddhist deity) and ancestral tablets may also be placed on the altar in addition to these three gods. A brazier, often painted red, may also be seen. They also hang small urns filled with sand and ash outside the house; this is where joss sticks are placed and used as offerings to the gods.

When there is a death in the family, the relatives of the deceased will organise a funeral ceremony. These ceremonies are usually held at HDB void decks The deceased is placed in a wooden coffin. A Buddhist monk or Taoist priest are then called to preside, and they chant mantras and prayers for the deceased to ward off evil spirits. During the funeral ceremony, the relatives of the deceased will burn incense paper and pray for the deceased. A typical funeral ceremony will last around 3 or 5 days.

At the end of the ceremony, a hearse will transport the body to the crematorium, where the body will be cremation|cremated. As the body is cremated, the monks are also present to pray for the deceased. The ashes are placed in an urn, which is then placed in a columbarium or temple, where an ancestral tablet is used to indicate the location of the urn.

Buddhist

Singapore has a large Chinese Buddhist community comprising almost 49% of the Chinese population in Singapore. It is currently the largest religious group in Singapore. The bulk of this population are in the lower and middle class, though some can be found in the upper class. This group are usually more educated in the Chinese ways than the more westernized Christians.

However, in recent years, due to the increasing publication of Buddhist books, internet sites in English, modern Buddhist music as well as courses conducted in English, more and more english-speaking Chinese, esp. the young Singaporeans, are joining the Buddhist circles. As a somewhat traditional Asian religion, Buddhism seems to be spreading back from the west to Singapore, as many of the Buddhist books are written by western monks, sangha and writers (e.g. Dalai Lama, Thubten Chodren, Tenzin Palmo).

In Singapore, most of the Chinese Buddhists belong to the Mahayana branch (esp. the Pureland and Zen Branch), while a smaller portion belongs to the Theravada and Tibetan branch.

Singapore's Buddhist temples and the religious circle are highly organised and very often have connection with foreign religious organisation esp. in China, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, UK, Sri Lanka etc. Many foreign buddhist association and temples have also established their branches in Singapore to propagate buddhist teaching and activities. Buddhist temples and associations are spreaded all over Singapore, ranging from small to large.

The largest Buddhist temple in Singapore, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, holds many Buddhist activities such as chanting, meditation, retreat, dharma talks as well as conducted Buddhist courses on dharma and meditation, very often attended by thousands of adherents.

There is an incorrect perception that Buddhism is about taking joss sticks and praying to Buddha. A typical Chinese Buddhist will not just study Buddhism, but also practise the teaching in his daily life, such as meditation, practising mindfulness etc. He will also attend the various Buddhist activities (e.g. Om Mani Padme Hom Retreat, Insight Meditation) in the Buddhist circles and do volunteer work if necessary. He will normally celebrate Vesak Day and place a Buddha altar at home, paying homage to him daily. If he feels he would like to be an official Buddhist, he would normally undergo a religious ceremony in the temple known as 'taking refuge in triple gem'(????????????).

Christian

A minority (13.5%) of Singaporean Chinese, are Christianity|Christian. Most of the Chinese Christians belong to the Protestant, Anglican or Roman Catholic denominations. They form the majority of the Chinese Singaporeans of the Jook-sing|westernized upper class, though some can be found in the middle and lower class class. Like their Buddhist counterpart, a very small number of them are actually nominal or near-nominal Christians.

This group, unlike the former, is highly westernized and tend be very well educated in western rather than Chinese ways. However, they still retain and practise certain non-religious chinese customs like celebrating the Lunar New Year and other festivals.

Christians do not place many religious items or altars at home, though a cross may be placed above the doorway of the house. Christians normally attend church services on Sundays, though church services on Saturdays or even weekdays are not uncommon. Services may last anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours or longer.

Services are mainly held in English, though some churches have services in different languages, notably Mandarin, Tamil language|Tamil, Tagalog language|Tagalog and on rarer occasions, Chinese dialects.

Upon the demise of a relative, a funeral ceremony is normally held in the church, though funeral ceremonies may be allowed at HDB void decks. The members of the church attend the ceremony and verses of the Bible are read, and prayers said to mourn for the deceased. A head of the church will also be there, presiding over the funeral ceremony.

At the end of the ceremony, the family members and some of the church members will walk to the graveyard, with the coffin being transported by a hearse. Upon reaching the destination, the church staff, along with the family of the deceased will pay their final respects as the burial takes place. However, due to the land constraints in Singapore these days, most Christians too are cremated.

Rituals conducted ancestor worship that includes giving offerings, burning joss sticks and joss papers on visiting non-Christian ancestors is permitted among Roman Catholics, alongside with their non-Christian, Chinese counterparts. However, this practice is considered taboo among Protestant denominations, and only flowers are permitted. The continuation of ancestor worship is commonly seen among the older Catholics, especially during the Qingming Festival|Cheng Meng festival.

The step for modernization and westernization has witnessed growth in the Christian population in the 1980's from 10% to 18% in 1988 of the Singapore's population, although in recent years it has dropped to below 15%.Many traditional churches have encountered a drain of their youth to the more liberal mega-churches like New Creation, City Harvest and the Faith Community Baptist Church. Fundamentalist Protestant and Catholic denominations have seized the chance to proselytise the Chinese of the upper class in the 80's and early 90's.

Other

Another 13% of the Chinese Singaporean are non-religious and they call themselves "free thinkers". In Singapore, this term means that the person does not believe in any religion. However, some may practise Chinese traditions and practices.

A small minority of the Singapore Chinese follow either Islam or Hinduism. Most people from this group are Chinese men or women who are married to Malay people|Malay spouses and have converted to Islam, which is part of the Malay marriage custom, regardless of his/her religion. If a Chinese Man marries a Malay, the children will still follow the surname/language/culture/race of the Chinese father. The Chinese Hindus are mainly women who have married India|Indian men.

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History

There are records of the presence of Chinese in Singapore by as early as the 14th-century. Imperial Chinese sources state that there was a significant amount of Chinese inhabitants in South-East Asian region. According to the Chinese discoverer Wang Dayuan, the Chinese inhabitants of Singapore were dressed in local traditional costume and were largely intermarried with the local South-East Asian women, following an amalgam of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Those were the earliest Peranakans of Singapore.

After Singapore became the capital of the British Empire|British Straits Settlements in 1832, the free trade policy attracted many Chinese from mainland China to trade, and most settled down 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 immigrants exceeded the population of the Malays. During this period, Christian missionaries from Europe began to evangelise the Asians, especially the Chinese. By 1849, the Chinese reached half of Singapore's population.

Many of the Chinese immigrants sent their children to England|English missionary schools in hope of a better future. That is the very basis of westernisation that is widespread throughout the world today.

During WWII
The Sino-Japanese War in 1937 stirs up much weary and ire in the Chinese community, and soon the Chinese were in the lead to impose an embargo against Japanese goods and products in Singapore. During the war, fearing of the safety of their relativities in China, some of the immigrants returned to China to fight the Japanese, while established entrepreneur send private economic or arms aid to China. After the Japanese took Singapore in 1942, the Kempeitai or the Japanese Secret Police tracked down many of the Chinese who had fought against them. However, the Kempeitai's Sook Ching operation had simply pick out people based on accounts of masked informers, which in many cases are false arrests and eventually leads to the massacre of Chinese. There were also anti-Japanese forces during the war, such as Force 136, headed by Lim Bo Seng.

Racial Tensions
Riots that were ignited due to racial tensions were common during the early post-war period, predominantly the period between self-governance and independence in 1965.
One major riot, took place during the Prophet Muhammad's birthday Celebrations, on 21 July 1964. There were records of high casualties (23 people had died and there were 454 injured casualties). There were evidences which pointed that the riot was politically motivated with hopes to oust the then incumbent Prime Minister (Lee Kuan Yew) and his cabinet, in a bid to prevent the ideology of a Malaysian Malaysia to spread north-wards, towards Peninsular Malaysia.

Present Day
However to this day since the country's independence in 1965, there are no major issues between the racial groups, and Singapore is considered the model for a cosmopolitan society.

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