Cambodian Hokkien
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (82,600 (est).) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Cambodia, Vietnam and America | |
| Languages | |
| Khmer language, Mandarin Chinese and Min nan | |
| Religion | |
| Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Chinese Folk Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Khmer people, Chinese Cambodian and Hoklo people |
Cambodian Hokkien (Chinese: 柬埔寨福建人) commonly known as Khmer Hokkien (Khmer: ខែ្មរ ចិនហុកគៀន) are the descendants of Hokkien Chinese who began settling in Cambodia during the first part of the 12th century. This term specifically refers to the Chinese population with Hokkien ancestry in Cambodia and other neighbouring regions.
Over time, this population has also emigrated locally and internationally to Thailand, Vietnam and America. These Hokkien people have either partially or wholly assimilated into the local Cambodian customs, as most evidenced by their domestic attire and lingua franca. This parallels with their Malaysian and Indonesian Peranakan counterparts where cultural remnants of their Chinese origins still define their distinct ethnicity.
As early as the 1st century AD Chinese commerial traders had come to Funan by sea.
Later Zhou Daguan's recorded about Chinese people in Cambodia. One of his description said:"The Chinese traveler frequently escape over the area, yet having individual satisfactory community. In contrast, They exceptionally have participated in Cambodian society in purpose such as food supplies, mate, shelter, furniture and business . Centralize with the tradition and law of origin abandon gain less punishment, the free immigration had open for Chinese refugee to settle in Indochina.
Trace to the fleeing Hoklo people after the decline of the Tang Dynasty permanently from the 8th century to following period in terms of inner political crisis and foreign invaderism, it point out a roof that Hokkien ancestry was the first dewalling Chinese in Cambodia. It closely to the early of 15th century when Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho), a Muslim Chinese, visited Champa (Today Vietnam) along with a number of Hokkien people whose then grew into the different class such as Peranakan in Malacca and Java as well as Cambodian Hokkien in Cambodia.
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Wikipedia