The emergence of globalization has brought economic and cultural development opportunities to countries around the world, and thousands of Chinese have since begun their adventure journey to the ocean. After 100 years, where have those who were once uprooted have gone, and which countries are most popular with them?
The first Indonesia
As one of the "archipelago countries", Indonesia has the largest number of Chinese in the world, accounting for 5% of the country's total population in recent years, exceeding the 10 million mark. Why are there so many Chinese in Indonesia, which is relatively economically backward? This is all due to the fact that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were many disasters and wars, and the people on the southeast coast had to leave their hometowns in order to make a living, and they relied on their innate business talent to make a living.
Since the generation of their ancestors, the Chinese have treated Indonesia as their hometown, and it is precisely because of the arrival of the Chinese that it has brought vitality to the local area, all of which have been subtly influenced by Chinese culture. Walking on the streets of Indonesia, we may hear a lot of Chinese communication voices, and we can also see familiar festival scenes, and we have to sigh how far-reaching the influence of Chinese people on other countries is.
The second Thailand
In modern times, Thailand was the first choice for ordinary people to escape from war, and compared with the remote and backward Indonesia, the economy and culture here were more suitable for Chinese settlement. In order to facilitate the management of a large number of Chinese, the Thai government has set up a "Chinatown" for them to do business and work, and also give them legal identity rights, so that more people have the opportunity to enter the upper class, and many well-known entrepreneurs and politicians have Chinese ancestry.
However, Chinese culture does not dominate in Thailand, but is fully intertwined with local characteristics, forming a multicultural pattern, which is also unique in the world. According to the Thai government, the total population of the country is about 60 million, and the proportion of Chinese accounts for 14%, and this number is still growing rapidly, and it is not impossible to break the 10 million mark in the future.
The third Malaysia
As an old neighbor of Indonesia, Malaysia was also one of the goals of "going to the South Seas", and it is itself a multi-ethnic and diverse country of immigrants, and there is not much resistance to the arrival of Chinese, and now it has reached 7.4 million people. After hundreds of years of multiplication, the Chinese have become an extremely united and powerful force in Malaysia, and there are Chinese leaders even in the political arena.
In addition, Malaysian culture has similarities with southern Fujian and Chaoshan regions in the mainland, such as the special cuisine "bak kut teh", which can be found in the characteristics of southern Fujian cuisine. Whenever the Lunar Festival arrives, the whole country of Malaysia will also celebrate, wrapped in a sea of red, giving people an inexplicable sense of intimacy.
Fourth: United States
The history of the founding of the United States is only more than 200 years, but the Chinese have lived in North America for a hundred years, mainly because the foreign powers sold cheap labor to the United States to build railroads in the late Qing Dynasty, and this group of Chinese simply settled down and tried to integrate into the American culture. Unfortunately, the United States is not as tolerant as other countries, and the Chinese have experienced humiliation and suffering, and their status is very low, and most of them can only live in Chinatowns to keep warm.
It is undeniable that the United States ranks among the top in the world in all fields and is a "happy land" that countless people dream of, and no matter how full of discrimination and xenophobic ideas it is, it cannot stop the upsurge of Chinese immigration. According to official statistics in the United States, there are currently more than 5 million Chinese, accounting for a quarter of the total Asian population.
The fifth is Singapore
During the colonial period of Singapore, Portugal, the Netherlands and other countries coaxed cheap labor to reclaim here, including a large number of domestic laborers, forming the foundation of Singapore's economy and culture. With Singapore's independence from Malaysia and its rapid economic take-off, the influence of the Chinese has also increased, and many Chinese language schools have been opened in Singapore, making outstanding contributions to the promotion of cultural exchanges.
Despite the fact that the total population of Singapore is only more than 5.7 million, the Chinese account for about 4 million, accounting for 74%, which is one of the largest ethnic groups in Singapore. Thanks to this, the two countries have a high sense of cultural identity and smooth communication, and many mainland entrepreneurs have invested and started businesses in Singapore, especially in the fields of urban construction and finance.
Sixth: Canada
Canada's immigration situation is much the same as that of the United States, which at the end of the 19th century took in a large number of foreign workers, but the degree of discrimination was not overwhelming against its neighbors. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Canadian government introduced targeted policies, which later became known as the "exclusion bill", coupled with the cold climate and long winters in the region, you can imagine how difficult the early immigrants lived.
It was not until 1967 that the exclusion bill was repealed, and more and more Chinese chose to work and study in Canada for two reasons: low competitive pressure and low housing prices. For Canada, a large number of immigrants can alleviate labor shortages, stimulate consumption, and natural selection to relax immigration policies, which has finally created a situation of 1.77 million Chinese today, ranking seventh among the country's foreign ethnic groups.
Seventh Myanmar
Myanmar is adjacent to the southwestern border of the mainland, and has been influenced by traditional Chinese culture for thousands of years, with an endless stream of caravans, and it is also one of the countries with the largest concentration of Chinese. Most of the people who come here have two reasons, one is to engage in foreign trade for a long time, and the other is to visit relatives and friends, after all, many people from Guangzhou, Guangzhou, and southern Fujian live and work here in peace and contentment, and gradually form a huge Chinese ethnic group.
However, Myanmar is far less secure than other countries, the society is in turmoil all the year round, the crime rate is high, and even more creepy are the fraud gangs in northern Myanmar, which can fall into the trap if they are not careful. However, in recent years, many people still have the dream of becoming rich overnight, and have taken risks to go to Myanmar and other places, increasing the total number of Chinese to as much as 1.63 million.
Eighth Philippines
In the impression of ordinary people, the Philippines is the dirtiest and messiest country in Southeast Asia, compared with Malaysia and Singapore, it is completely two worlds, and the total number of local Chinese is only 1.35 million. The root cause is that most of them are from the Liangguang region, followed by Quanzhou and Zhangzhou in southern Fujian, and they have barely gained a firm foothold in the Philippines by relying on their ancestors to do business.
In fact, some big families have controlled 70% of the resources of the Philippines, and most of the wealthy businessmen who can be called are like this, and even many of the previous presidents are descendants of Chinese, such as Marcos and Arroyo. Overall, however, the Philippines is so poor that few people will consider settling here unless absolutely necessary.
Ninth Peru
Peru was once one of the Spanish colonies, and when the population was sparse and the economy was declining, the colonists bought a large number of Chinese laborers to cultivate and forced them to do heavy and dangerous work, and sacrificed many innocent lives for this. Among this group of Chinese laborers, about 120,000 are from Guangdong and Fujian, and a small number of hometowns are in Hong Kong and Macao, relying on each other to support each other to develop into a total population of 1.3 million today.
During this period, in order to solve the problem of population shortage, the local government encouraged the Chinese to intermarry with the indigenous Peruvian people, giving birth to many mixed-race children, and gradually forgetting the native dialect passed down from their ancestors. However, most Chinese families still pay attention to traditional education, and always remind future generations that no matter how their skin color changes, they should not forget where their roots are, and they must return to their hometowns to worship their ancestors when they have the opportunity.
10th Australia
From ancient times to the present, Australia has had the natural advantages of no war, fierce beasts and abundant materials, and has rapidly grown into one of the developed countries, of course, this is also inseparable from the hard work of early Chinese immigrants. At first, people fled to escape the war, but gradually found that the environment was beautiful and livable, and they did not want to return to China.
Regardless of the environment, there are many other factors that attract immigrants, first of all, high salaries, low cost of living, and competitive pressures that are much lower than the world level. Secondly, Australia has a number of top-ranked world-class universities, and tens of thousands of international students come here every year to study and live, and there is also a tendency to immigrate and settle after graduation, and many factors constitute the pattern of more than 1.2 million Chinese today.
Then again, no matter where you are, you must not forget your identity as a descendant of Yan and Huang, let alone deliberately smear your motherland in order to cater to the unscrupulous media in the West. Do you know which countries have the majority of Chinese? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss, thank you for watching.