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Burmese Chinese
Regions with significant populations
Myanmar
Languages
Burmese, Min Nan, Cantonese, Hakka, Yunnanese
Religion
Predominantly Theravada Buddhism and/or Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism.
Minority Islam (mostly among Panthay)
Chinese people in Myanmar
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese緬甸華人
Simplified Chinese缅甸华人

The Burmese Chinese or Chinese Burmese (Burmese: မြန်မာတရုတ်လူမျိုး; also called Sino-Burmese) are a group of overseas Chinese born or raised in Burma (Myanmar). Although the Chinese officially make up three percent of the population, the actual figure is believed to be much higher. Among the under-counted Chinese populations are those of mixed background,[1] those that have declared themselves as ethnic Bamar to escape discrimination, and tens of thousands of illegal Chinese immigrants that have flooded Upper Burma since the 1990s but are not counted due to the lack of reliable census taking.[2]

The Burmese Chinese dominate the Burmese economy today.[3] Moreover, the Burmese Chinese have a disproportionately large presence in Burmese higher education, and make up a high percentage of the educated class in Burma.

Demography

The Cantonese-founded Guanyin Gumiao Temple in Latha Township, Yangon

Generally, the Burmese Chinese in Lower Burma fall into three main groups:

  • Hokkien (Burmese: eingyi shay အင်္ကျီရှည်, or let shay လက်ရှည် lit. long-sleeved jackets) from Fujian Province
  • Cantonese (Burmese: eingyi to အင်္ကျီတို, or let to လက်တို lit. short-sleeved jackets) from Guangdong Province
  • Hakka (Burmese: zaka စက, lit. mid-length sleeve) from Fujian and Guangdong provinces

The Hokkien and Cantonese comprise 45% of the ethnic Chinese population.[4] The Cantonese were originally dubbed "short sleeved jackets" because most migrants from Guangdong Province were artisans, wearing short-sleeve jackets, while most of the Hokkien were traders, wearing long-sleeved jackets.[5] These names remain in use today. Hakkas are further subdivided into those with ancestry from Fujian Province and Guangdong Province, called eingyi shay haka and eingyi to haka respectively. The groups have different stereotypical associations. The Cantonese are commonly thought of as the poorest of the Chinese, the Hokkiens are stereotypically wealthier, occupying high positions in the economy, and having connections to the government.

In Upper Burma and Shan Hills, the Panthay and Kokang, mainly speakers of a Mandarin dialect of the Southwestern Mandarin branch, most akin to Yunnanese, predominate. The mountain-dwelling, farming Kokang are classified as a part of the Shan national race, although they have no linguistic or genetic affinity to the Tai-speaking Shan, and the largely trading Muslim Panthay have long been considered separate local nationalities, distinct from the Chinese diaspora community. Combined, they form 21% of Burmese Chinese.[4]

Finally, there are the tayoke kabya (တရုတ်ကပြား) of mixed Chinese and indigenous Burmese parentage. The kabya (ကပြား, meaning "mixed heritage") have a tendency to follow the customs of the Chinese more than of the Burmese. Indeed, tayoke kabya who follow Burmese customs are absorbed into and largely indistinguishable from mainstream Burmese society.[6] A large portion of Burmese Chinese is thought to have some kabya blood, possibly because immigrants could acquire Burmese citizenship through intermarriage with the indigenous Burmese peoples.

Culture

The Kuan Yin Temple (Kwan Yin Si) is a local place of worship for Burmese Chinese in Bago and serves as a Mandarin school for the local community.

Language

Most Burmese Chinese typically speak Burmese as their mother tongue. Those with higher education also speak Mandarin and/or English. Some use, usually as a second language, of Chinese dialects/languages still exist. Hokkien is mostly used in Yangon as well as in Lower Burma, while Taishan Cantonese and Yunnanese Mandarin are well preserved in Upper Burma.

During General Ne Win's rule (1962–1988), the ban on Chinese-language schools caused a decline of Mandarin speakers. The number of Chinese schools is growing again today because of the importance of Mandarin Chinese (note: often Standard Mandarin, the national language of Mainland China and Taiwan, as distinctive from the Southwestern Mandarin dialect of the Upper Burma, Kokang and Panthay).

The Panthay Mosque (清真寺) in Mandalay serves the local Panthay community.

Religion

Most Burmese Chinese practice Theravada Buddhism, incorporating some Mahayana Buddhist and Taoist beliefs, such as the worship of Kuan Yin. There are several notable Chinese temples in Yangon, including Fushan Si Temple (a Buddhist temple), Kheng Hock Keong Temple (a Taoist temple dedicated to Mazu) and Guanyin Gumiao Temple (a Buddhist temple dedicated to Guanyin).

The Panthay or Chinese Muslims (回教華人; ပန်းသေးလူမျိုး, lit. "little flowers") practice Islam.

Education

The Burmese Chinese place a high importance on education, and represent a disproportionately high share of those with advanced (medical, engineering or doctorate) degrees in Burma. The number would be higher still had it not been for the longstanding ban on those without Burmese citizenship from pursuing advanced degrees. Nowadays, many wealthy Burmese Chinese send their children overseas—particularly in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, for advanced studies.[7]

Names

The Burmese Chinese have Burmese names and many also have Chinese names. Given names in various Chinese dialects are often transliterated into the Burmese language, using phonetic transcriptions or translated. For example, a Burmese Chinese person named 'Khin Aung' may have the Chinese name of 慶豐 (Hokkien POJ: Khèng-hong), with '慶' (Hokkien POJ: khèng) corresponding to 'Khin', and '豐' (Hokkien POJ: hong) corresponding to 'Aung'. However, variations of transcription do exist (between dialects), and some Burmese Chinese do not choose to adopt similar-sounding Burmese and Chinese names. Because the Burmese lack surnames, many Burmese Chinese tend to pass on portions of their given names to future generations, for the purpose of denoting lineage.

According to publications of Long Shan Tang, a clan association based in Yangon, the ten most common Chinese surnames in Yangon are:

  1. Li (李)
  2. Peng (彭)
  3. Shi (時)
  4. Dong (董)
  5. Min (閔)
  6. Niu (牛)
  7. Bian (邊)
  8. Xin (辛)
  9. Guan (關)
  10. Tsui/Hsu(徐)

Cuisine

A streetside vendor in Latha Township selling Chinese baked goods, including tikay and paste-filled buns.

Burmese Chinese cuisine is based on Chinese cuisine, particularly from Fujian, Guangdong and Yunnan provinces, with local influences. Spices such as turmeric and chili are commonly used. Also, the use of soy sauce, bean curd, bean sprouts, Chinese pickled mustards, and dried mushrooms can be attributed to Chinese influence. The following is a partial list of Chinese contributions to Burmese cuisine. These are an established part of today's Burmese cuisine that they are hardly differentiated as a foreign cuisine.

History

The Yunnanese Buddhist Temple and Association in Mandalay is a major Chinese temples in the city.

Pre-colonial era

The earliest records of Chinese migration into present-day Burma were in the Song and Ming dynasties.[4] In the 18th century, Ming Dynasty princes settled in Kokang (the northern part of present-day Burma). Chinese traders, however, traveled as far as the capital city as well as northern towns on the Irrawaddy such as Bhamo. Some of them stayed and started a Chinese community at Amarapura, and when King Mindon Min moved his capital to Mandalay in 1859, the Chinese were the only community that decided to stay behind. Many of their descendants intermarried into the host society and remain important and respected citizens of Amarapura.

Colonial period

A portrait of a Sino-Burmese merchant and his wife in Rangoon

Another wave of immigration occurred in the 19th century under the British colonial administration. Britain encouraged immigration of Indians and Chinese to British Burma, and such incentives for work opportunities and enterprise and for accumulating wealth attracted many Chinese. They primarily came to Burma via British Malaya.[4] The Chinese quickly became dominant in the highly lucrative rice and gem industries. Many became merchants and traders owning both wholesale and retail businesses. Unlike in British Malaya, where most Chinese were coolie laborers, the Chinese in Burma were largely from the artisan and merchant classes.[6] Their success was reflected in the popular Burmese expression, "Earn like the Chinese, save like the Indian, and don't waste money like the Bamar." (ငွေကို တရုတ်လိုရှာ၊ ကုလားလိုစု၊ ဗမာလို မဖြုန်းနဲ့)

A baker's shop in Mandalay's Chinatown in the late 1800s

They integrated well into Burmese society not least because they, like the Bamar, were of Sino-Tibetan stock and were Buddhists, implicit in the nickname pauk hpaw (ပေါက်ဖော်, lit. "sibling").[8] During British rule, marriage between the Chinese and Burmese, particularly Chinese men and Burmese women, was the most common form of intermarriage in Burma, as evidenced by a High Court ruling on the legal status of Sino-Burmese marriages under Burmese Buddhist law.[9]

The Chinese are arguably the only other group of people the Bamar historically have a high regard for, not just for their ancient and uninterrupted civilization but for their skills and intellect as well. From 1935 until the end of British rule, the Chinese were represented in the colonial legislature, the House of Representatives.[10]

Post-independence era

During the 1950s, Burma was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China as a nation. However, its own Chinese population was treated as aliens. The Burmese Chinese were issued foreign registration cards (FRC) in a tiered citizenship system adopted by the post-independence government. When the Chinese Communists expelled the Kuomintang, many fled to Burma and Thailand over the borders of Yunnan Province. The Burmese government fought and removed the armed KMT and forced them to Taiwan;[11] those who managed to stay prospered. In the 1950s, discriminatory policies against overseas Chinese encompassed citizenship, government employment, approval for business regulations and licensing, loan extensions and permission to make remittances.[12]

During this period, there was a sharp rise in the number of private Chinese language schools, primarily teaching Mandarin Chinese, in Burma, from 65 in 1935 to 259 in 1953 and 259 at its peak in 1962, with many such schools affiliated to the Chinese nationalist (တရုတ်ဖြူ) or communist (တရုတ်နီ) movements.[13] However, fewer than 10% of Burmese Chinese of school age attended Chinese language schools.[14] Similarly, there were 80 clan associations operating in the 1950s.

Socialist rule

In 1962, Ne Win led the Socialist coup d'état, establishing the Revolutionary Council under the Burmese Way to Socialism. In February 1963, the Enterprise Nationalization Law was passed, effectively nationalizing all major industries and prohibiting the formation of new factories. This law affected many Chinese industrialists and entrepreneurs.[15] The government's economic Burmanization program further prohibited foreigners, including the Chinese, from owning land, sending remittances, getting business licenses and practicing medicine.[16] Such policies led to the beginnings of a major exodus of Burmese Chinese to other countries—some 100,000 Chinese left Burma.[11]

Although a kabya himself, Ne Win banned Chinese-language education and created other measures to compel the Chinese to leave. Ne Win's government stoked up racial animosity and ethnic conflicts against the Chinese, who were terrorized by Burmese citizens, the most violent riots taking place at the time of the Cultural Revolution in China in 1967.[11] All schools were nationalized, including Chinese language schools. Beginning in 1967 and continuing throughout the 1970s, anti-Chinese riots continued to flare up and many believed they were covertly supported by the government.[17] In 1967, Latha Secondary School was torched by the henchmen of Ne Win's government, where school girls were burnt alive. Similarly, Chinese shops were looted and set on fire. Public attention was successfully diverted by Ne Win from the uncontrollable inflation, scarcity of consumer items and rising prices of rice. The 1982 Citizenship Law further restricted Burmese citizenship for Burmese Chinese (as it stratified citizenship into three categories: full, associate, and naturalized) and severely limited Burmese Chinese, especially those without full citizenship and those holding FRCs, from attending professional tertiary schools, including medical, engineering, agricultural and economics institutions.[4] During this period, the country's failing economy and widespread discrimination accelerated an emigration of Burmese Chinese out of Burma.

Modern era

Sein Gay Har, based in Yangon's Chinatown, is one of many major businesses owned and operated by the Burmese Chinese.

Since 1988, the State Peace and Development Council (formerly SLORC) has been in power, loosening the government's role in the economy and implementing laws to encourage private sector growth and foreign investment. This has been particularly important for the Chinese in reasserting their economic power. Today, the majority of retail, wholesale and import trade run by the Burmese Chinese today.[4] Sein Gay Har, a major retailer that began in Yangon's Chinatown in 1985, is owned by a Hakka Chinese family. Four of the five largest commercial banks in Myanmar, Myanmar Universal Bank, Yoma Bank, Myanmar Mayflower Bank, and the Asia Wealth Bank, were all founded by Sino-Burmese.[18]

Today, the majority of Burmese Chinese live in the major cities of Yangon, Mandalay, Taunggyi, Bago, and their surrounding areas. According to Global Witness, 30 to 40% of Mandalay's population consists of ethnic Chinese. Although there are Chinatowns (တရုတ်တန်း; tayoke tan) in the major cities, the Chinese are widely dispersed throughout the country. The northern region of Burma has seen an influx of mainland Chinese migrant workers, black market traders and gamblers. In the Kachin State, which borders China in three directions, Mandarin Chinese is the lingua franca.

Notable Burmese Chinese

  • Aik Htun[19] (Kokang) - Managing director of Olympic Construction Co. and deputy chairman of Asia Wealth Bank, two large conglomerates in Burma
  • Aung Gyi[11] - leading army dissident and Ne Win's former deputy/co-conspirator in the 1962 coup
  • Aw Boon Haw (Hakka) - Inventor of Tiger Balm
  • Aw Boon Par (Hakka) - Brother of Aw Boon Haw
  • U Shwe, Chairman of Shwe Thazin Syndicate, War War Win Bean Factory, Shwe Nan Daw, Sein Nan Daw, Yadanar Nan Daw, War War Win Gold Shop - The Notorious Liaison between SPDC & Chinese Communist Gov to support the Longevity of Junta & its murder of monks.
  • Kyin Pein (aka Loo Kyin Pein of Shwe Latha Company)-The Notorious Nationwide Non-Attorney Bribing Brokers for Cases at Courts& Police Stations who was responsible for Mass Gathering of Swan Ar Shin Gangsters to kill & beat monks in September 2007.
  • Khun Sa (Kokang) - Major Southeast Asian drug lord
  • Khin Nyunt (Hakka) [20] - Former Prime Minister (2003–2004) and Chief of Intelligence (1983–2004) of Myanmar
  • Kyaw Myint - founder of Myanmar May Flower Bank
  • Lo Hsing Han (Kokang) - Major Southeast Asian drug lord
  • Steven Law (also known as Tun Myint Naing; Kokang) - Managing director of Asia World Company, a major Burmese conglomerate and son of Lo Hsing Han
  • Ne Win (Hakka)[21] - Leader of Burma from 1960s to 1980s
  • Ngwe Gaing: Alinga Kyawzwa Award winning painter
  • Pheung Kya-shin - leader of Kokang Special Region and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army
  • San Yu (Hakka) - President of Burma (1981–1988)
  • Serge Pun[22] - Proprietor of Yoma Bank, a major banking chain in Myanmar and chairman of First Myanmar Investment Co. Ltd (FMI), one of Myanmar's leading investment companies and Serge Pun & Associates Limited, an investment conglomerate[23]
  • Taw Sein Ko (Hokkien)[24] - eminent Director of Archaeology (1901–1915)
  • Thakin Ba Thein Tin[11] - Communist leader from the 1970s to the 1990s
  • Major General Kat Sein - former Minister of Health
  • Dr. Kyaw Myint - (Minister of Health)
  • Myo Thant - Former Minister of Information under SLORC
  • Colonel Tan Yu Sai - Minister of Trade under Ne Win's government
  • Colonel Kyi Maung- NLD member (1989–2004) and Army Commander of Rangoon in 1960s

See also

Further reading

  • Mya Than (1997). "The Ethnic Chinese in Myanmar and their Identity". In Leo Suryadinata (ed.). Ethnic Chinese as Southeast Asians. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 981-3055-58-8.

Notes

  1. ^ Hooker, Michael Barry (2002). Law and the Chinese in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 981-230-125-9. {{cite book}}: line feed character in |publisher= at position 23 (help)
  2. ^ "China's Ambitions in Myanmar". July 2000. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |name= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Chua, Amy (2004). "Review: The Ethnic Question in Law and Development". World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability. 102 (6). The Michigan Law Review Association: 1044–1103. doi:May, 2004. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e f Mya Than (1997). Leo Suryadinata (ed.). Ethnic Chinese As Southeast Asians. ISBN 0-312-17576-0.
  5. ^ Chen, Yi-Sein (1966). "The Chinese in Rangoon during the 18th and 19th Centuries". Essays Offered to G. H. Luce by His Colleagues and Friends in Honour of His Seventy-Fifth Birthday. Volume 1: Papers on Asian History, Religion, Languages, Literature, Music Folklore, and Anthropology. 23. Artibus Asiae Publishers: 107–111.
  6. ^ a b Stamp, L. Dudley (1930). "Burma: An Undeveloped Monsoon Country". Geographical Review. 20 (1). American Geographical Society: 107–109. doi:Jan., 1930. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help)
  7. ^ Win, Htet (July 2004). "The Road To Riches?". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 2006-06-05. [dead link]
  8. ^ Aung, Pho Thar (2003-09-16). "Tango with China". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 2006-06-05. [dead link]
  9. ^ Ikeya, Chie (2008). "The Modern Burmese Woman and the Politics of Fashion in Colonial Burma". The Journal of Asian Studies. 67. Cambridge University Press: 1299. doi:10.1017/S0021911808001782.
  10. ^ Vandenbosch, Amry (1947). "The Chinese in Southeast Asia". The Journal of Politics. 9 (2). Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Southern Political Science Association: 89. doi:Feb., 1947. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e Martin Smith (1991). Burma - Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity. London,New Jersey: Zed Books. pp. 153–154, 225–226, 98, 39.
  12. ^ Holmes, Robert A. (1967). "Burmese Domestic Policy: The Politics of Burmanization". Asian Survey. 7 (3). University of California Press: 188–197.
  13. ^ Murray, Douglas P. (1964). "Chinese Education in South-East Asia". The China Quarterly (20). Cambridge University Press on behalf of the School of Oriental and African Studies: 78–80. doi:Oct. - Dec., 1964. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help)
  14. ^ Ibid. 80
  15. ^ Ibid. 190
  16. ^ Ibid. 191
  17. ^ Steinberg, David L. (2002). Burma: The State of Myanmar. Georgetown University Press. ISBN 0-87840-893-2.
  18. ^ Turnell, Sean (2009). Fiery dragons: banks, moneylenders and microfinance in Burma. NIAS Press. p. 261. ISBN 9788776940409.
  19. ^ Backman, Michael (2003-03-30). "Burma's banking meltdown goes unnoticed beyond its borders". The Age. Retrieved 2006-06-22.
  20. ^ Kuppuswamy, C.S. (2004-09-11). "MYANMAR: The shake- up and the fall out". South Asia Analysis Group. Archived from the original on 15 December 2005. Retrieved 22 May 2006.
  21. ^ Leong, S.T. (1997). Migration and Ethnicity in Chinese History. Stanford University Press.
  22. ^ Backman, Michael (2003-03-30). "Burma's banking meltdown goes unnoticed beyond its borders". The Age. The Age. Retrieved 2006-06-22.
  23. ^ Zaw Htet (2006-11-13). "FMI profits beat the business blues". The Myanmar Times. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
  24. ^ Strachan, Paul (1989). Pagan - Art and Architecture of Old Burma. Kiscadale.

External links

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