Hoklo people

Hoklo people
Hokkien / Fukien / Fokien / Banlam

A Hokkien family in Fujian, 1920.
Total population
56,118,000
Regions with significant populations
Mainland China	Fujian Guangdong Hainan
Taiwan	Majority of Taiwanese people (~16,321,075)
Hong Kong	A minority population
Macao	A minority population
Malaysia	Largest group of Malaysian Chinese (~2,020,000)
Singapore	Largest group of Chinese Singaporeans (~1,118,817)
Indonesia	Largest group of Indonesian Chinese (~1,100,000)
Myanmar	One of the 3 largest groups of Burmese Chinese (~720,000) (figured combined with Cantonese)
Philippines	Majority of Chinese Filipinos (~1,500,000)
Madagascar	A significant group among ethnic Sinoa
United States	>70,000
Languages
Min Nan Proper and/or other Min Nan variants, Standard Mandarin Chinese, English; Diaspora also speak their respective country's language(s)
Religion
Chinese folk religions (including Taoism, Confucianism, ancestral worship and others), Mahayana Buddhism and non-religious; minority: Christianity.
Related ethnic groups
Hoklo Taiwanese, Hoklo Americans, Putian people, Teochew people, Hainanese people Ancient Minyue people† and other Han Chinese

The Hoklo people are Han Chinese people whose traditional ancestral homes are in southern Fujian, South China. They are also known by various endonyms (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hok-ló-lâng / Hō-ló-lâng / Ho̍h-ló-lâng / Hô-ló-lâng), or other related terms such as Banlam (Minnan) people (閩南儂; Bân-lâm-lâng) or Hokkien people (福建儂; Hok-kiàn-lâng).

In the narrowest scope, "Hoklo people" refers mainly to people who speak and use the Hokkien dialect (or whose ancestors spoke it) of Min Nan Chinese spoken in southern Fujian, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and by many overseas Chinese throughout Southeast Asia. In a wider scope, "Hoklo people" can include speakers of other Min Nan dialects, such as Zhongshan Min, Zhenan Min, Teochew dialect, and Hainanese.

There have been many famous Hoklo people throughout history, notably Koxinga and Su Song.

Etymology

Illustration of female types and costumes in Fujian, 1878.

In Taiwan, there are three common ways to write Hoklo in Chinese characters (Hokkien pronunciations are given in Pe̍h-ōe-jī), although none have been established as etymologically correct:

• 福佬; Hok-ló; 'Fujian folk' – emphasizes their connection to Fujian province. It is not an accurate transliteration in terms from Hokkien itself although it may correspond to an actual usage in Hakka.
• 河洛; Hô-lo̍k; 'Yellow River and Luo River' – emphasizes their purported long history originating from the area south of the Yellow River. This term does not exist in Hokkien. The transliteration is a phonologically inaccurate folk etymology, though the Mandarin pronunciation Héluò has gained currency through the propagation of the inaccurate transliteration.
• 鶴佬; Ho̍h-ló; 'crane folk' – emphasizes the modern pronunciation of the characters (without regard to the meaning of the Chinese characters); phonologically accurate.

Meanwhile, Hoklo people self-identify as 河老; Hô-ló; 'river aged'.

In Hakka, Teochew, and Cantonese, Hoklo may be written as Hoglo (學老; 'learned aged') and 學佬 ('learned folk').

Despite the many ways to write Hoklo in Chinese, the term Holo (Hō-ló / Hô-ló) is used in Taiwan to refer to the ethnicity and language (Taiwanese Hokkien).

Culture

Main article: Hokkien culture

Architecture

Hoklo architecture styled Lukang Longshan Temple.

Main article: Hoklo architecture

Hoklo architecture is for the most part similar to any other traditional Chinese architectural styles, Hoklo shrines and temples have tilted sharp eaves just like the architecture of Han Chinese in all parts of China due to superstitious beliefs, however Hoklo shrines and temples do have a few special differences from the styles in other regions of China: the top roofs are high and slanted with exaggerated finely-detailed decorative inlays of wood and porcelain.

The main halls of Hoklo temple are also a little different, they are usually decorated with two dragons on the rooftop at the furthest left and right corners, and a miniature figure of a pagoda at the centre rooftop. One such example of this is the Kaiyuan Temple in Fujian, China. Other than all these minor differences, Hoklo architecture is the basically same as any other traditional Chinese architecture of any other regions by Han Chinese.

Language

Main article: Hokkien

The Hoklo people speak the mainstream Minnan (Hokkien) dialect which is not mutually intelligble with other Chinese dialects except for Teochew dialect to a small degree. Minnan can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, and it also has roots from earlier periods such as the Northern and Southern Dynasties and also a little influence from other dialects as well.

Hokkien has one of the most diverse phoneme inventories among Chinese varieties, with more consonants than Standard Mandarin or Cantonese. Vowels are more-or-less similar to that of Standard Mandarin. Hokkien varieties retain many pronunciations that are no longer found in other Chinese varieties. These include the retention of the /t/ initial, which is now /tʂ/ (Pinyin 'zh') in Mandarin (e.g. 'bamboo' 竹 is tik, but zhú in Mandarin), having disappeared before the 6th century in other Chinese varieties. Hokkien has 5 to 7 tones or 7 to 9 tones according to traditional sense, dependng on variety of hokkien spoken such as the Amoy dialect for example has 7-8 tones.

Diaspora

Hokkien women performing the Dragon Boat dance in traditional attire in Hong Kong.

In Taiwan

Main article: Hoklo Taiwanese

Minnan-speaking areas in South China and Taiwan. Only the speakers of Quanzhou-Zhangzhou dialects (also known as Hokkien) are seen as Hoklos.

About 70% of the Taiwanese people descend from Hoklo immigrants who arrived to the island prior to the start of Japanese rule in 1895. They could be categorized as originating from Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, and Zhangpu based on their dialects and districts of origin. People from the former two areas (Quanzhou-speaking) were dominant in the north of the island and along the west coast, whereas people from the latter two areas (Zhangzhou-speaking) were dominant in the south and perhaps the central plains as well.

Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Phillipines Hoklo or Hokkien

Main article: Malaysian Chinese

Main article: Chinese Indonesians

The Hoklo or Hokkien are the largest dialect group among the Malaysian Chinese as is in Singapore. The various Hokkien dialects are still widely spoken in these two countries but the daily use is gradually decreasing in favor of Mandarin Chinese. The Hokkien or Hoklo are also the largest group among the Chinese Indonesians even though most do not speak the dialect. Another South East Asian country with Hoklo or Hokkien as the largest group among the Chinese people is the Phillipines.

Haifeng, Lufeng and Leizhou in Guangdong, China

The people of Leizhou and the non-Hakka people in Haifeng and Lufeng are Hoklo people, in a narrow scope, but are often being mistaken as Chaozhou/Teochew people in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

North America

Further information: Hokkien, Hoklo, and Minnan people in the United States

Between 1885 and 1949, there were only nine migrants out of nearly 100,000 to Canada who traced their origins to Fujian.

After the 1960s, more Taiwanese Hoklo people began immigrating to the United States and Canada.

Notable People of Hoklo Origins

This list includes people who are of either pure or partial Hokkien ancestry, in chronological birth arrangement with the oldest person first

Academics, Mathematicians and Scientists

• 
  Su Song, a brilliant scientist, mathematician, astronomer, inventor and mechanical engineer that lived during the Song Dynasty.
• 
  Lu Jiaxi, a child genius who finished elementary school in one year, enrolled in a university before even reaching 13 years old and obtained a chemistry degree at just age 18/19.
• Yuan T. Lee, Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry.
  Yuan T. Lee, Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry.

• Su Song, Chinese scientist and mathematician during the Song Dynasty who invented the first hydro-mechanical astronomical clock and endless power chain drive in the world.
• Cai Qirui, father of Chinese catalytic chemistry.
• Lu Jiaxi, child prodigy who was so smart he finished elementary school in one year and enrolled in a university before reaching the age of 13. He received the Tan Kah Kee scholarship for four years and graduated from Xiamen University in 1934 with a degree in chemistry at age 18 or 19. Taught at the university for 3 years. President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (FJIRSM), and Vice President of Fuzhou University, as well as high-ranking political positions including Chairman of the Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress.
• Xie Xide, physicist who made important contributions to the field of solid-state physics. She also served as president of the Fudan University.
• Gu Hongming, Malaysian born Man of letters, President of the Nanyang Public School (forerunner of Jiao Tong University Shanghai) and Professor at Peking University in 1915. Many sayings and anecdotes have been attributed to him, few of which can be attested. Literary figures as diverse as Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Somerset Maugham and Rabindranath Tagore were all drawn to visit him when they were in China.
• Leon O. Chua, Phillippine born Inventor of the Chua's circuit. Also known for the Nonlinear circuit theory, Cellular neural networks, Memristor, Chaotic digital CDMA etc. Father of Amy Chua.
• Yuan T. Lee, received the Nobel prize in Chemistry for his outstanding contribution to Chemistry.
• Zhijian James Chen, biomedist best known for using classical biochemistry to discover new pathways and mechanisms in innate immunity and cell signaling such as Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein.
• Richard Yeo (scientist) - Chinese American scientist with 17 US patents.
• Fang Zhouzi, a postdoctoral researcher in molecular genetics, he obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1995. Aside from being a scientific researcher, he is also a science writer, a rwporter and is famous for campaigning against pseudoscience and various types of fraud in China.
• Pua Khein-Seng, Malaysian Chinese who is one of the inventors of the USB flash drive.
• March Tian Boedihardjo, child genius who finished his A-level exams in Britain at the age of nine years and three months and was conferred a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Science as well as a Master of Philosophy in Mathematics after successfully completing his programme in 2011 (one year early).

Businessmen and Entrepreneurs

• 
  Howqua, once the world's richest man in 19th Century.
• 
  Tan Kah Kee, a wealthy rags to riches businessman, also famed for donating large sums of money to build schools in his native homeland Fujian.
• Go Pek Hok, Inventor of instant noodles. Founder of Nissin Foods.
  Go Pek Hok, Inventor of instant noodles. Founder of Nissin Foods.

• Howqua (the Second) or Wu Bingjian, China's richest man in the 19th Century. Single-handedly contributed one million dollars, one third of the total sum 3 million dollars of compensation that was required to pay the British under the Treaty of Nanking due to the 1st Opium War .
• Ong Seok Kim, Fujian born wealthy entrepreneur and trader in colonial Malaya who donated finance to China during the war and to many charities.
• Tan Kah Kee,Fujian born patriot who made a fortune in colonial Singapore, made great contributions in gathering financial support to help China during the wars and in the field of education by building many schools including the University of Xiamen.
• Lee Kong Chian, Fujian born who migrated to colonial Singapore and Malaya. Rubber baron, Philanthropist and one of the richest men in Southeast Asia in the 1950s and 1960s. (Son-in-law of Tan Kah Kee)
• Henry Sy, the richest man in the Philippines (named by Forbes in 2015).
• Robert Budi and Michael Bambang Hartono brothers, the richest persons in Indonesia.
• Go Pek Hok or Momofuku Ando the inventor of instant noodles. Founder of Nissin Foods.
• Khoo Teck Puat Banker (once the largest single shareholder of the Standard Chartered Bank), hotel owner and the richest man in Singapore during a time.
• Loh Boon Siew, Fujian born. A truly rags to riches migrant to Malaysia who could speak only Hokkien and had virtually no formal education. Also known as “Mr Honda”, the first sole distributor of Honda motorcycles in Malaysia and Singapore. He was recognized as the first person to bring the Honda motorcycles into Southeast Asia.
• Tony Tan Caktiong, Chinese Filipino entrepreneur and founder, chairman and CEO of the fast food chain Jollibee.
• Tan Tock Seng, Singaporean merchant and philanthropist, who served as acting Kapitan China of Singapore (head of the Chinese community appointed by the British Colonial Government).
• Tan Kim Ching, Kapitan China of Singapore, . He was one of the richest men in Singapore and had sizable business interests in Singapore, Siam, Vietnam and Malaya. Apart from business his influence is extended to the fostering of relationships and settling disputes between the British Colonial Malaya and the Kingdom of Siam, Special Commissioner for Siam in the Straits Settlements. acted as Consul for Japan, Siam (Thailand) and Russia, involved negotiations to end the Larut Wars culminating in the‘ Pangkor Engagement’ recognizing Raja Abdullah as Sultan of Perak, First leader of the Hokkien Huay Kuan in Singapore 1860. He is the son of Tan Tock Seng.
• Lim Chin Tsong, Burmese Chinese tycoon, merchant and philanthropist. Known as the most successful Chinese merchant in Rangoon, British Burma in the early 1900s. During his lifetime Lim was known for kindness and generosity among the Chinese community in Rangoon. He donated generously to build and maintaining of schools for the Chinese students. Lim's schools employed teachers hired from England, and the quality of education was so good that some families from Hong Kong and Macau sent their children to be educated there.

Monarchs and Royalty

• 
  Lý Thái Tổ Founder Emperor of the Lý Dynasty (1009–1225 ) of Vietnam
• 
  Trần Thái Tông Founder Emperor of the Trần Dynasty (1225–1400) of Vietnam.
• 
  Koxinga, the military leader of Southern Ming against Qing Empire.

• Lý Thái Tổ (birth name :Lý Công Uẩn), Founder Emperor of the Lý Dynasty (1009–1225 ) of Vietnam. He is generally viewed as the founder of the city of Hà Nội.
• Trần Thái Tông (birth name: Trần Cảnh), Founder Emperor of the Trần Dynasty (1225–1400) of Vietnam.
• Queen Sri Suriyendra, Queen consort of King Rama II of Siam in the early 19th Century, mother of King Mongkut, Vice King Pinklao and grandmother of King Chulalongkorn.
• Koxinga or Zheng Chenggong, Founder of the short lived Kingdom of Tungning in the mid 17th Century. He was a Chinese Ming Dynasty loyalist who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern coast.
• Ong Sum Ping married Princess Ratna Dewi, the daughter of Sultan Muhammad Shah of Brunei. As a royal son in law, he was conferred the nobility title of Pengiran Maharaja Lela and elected Chief of Kinabatangan in the 14th Century.

Politicians and Public Office

• 
  Sergio Osmeña, the fourth President of the Philippines.
• 
  Corazon Aquino, the only female and 11th President of the Philippines.
• 
  Chuan Leekpai, the 20th Prime Minister of Thailand.

• Zhang Gaoli, Formerly first-ranked Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China. He served as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's highest ruling council, between 2012 and 2017.
• Sergio Osmeña Sr. the 4th president of the Philippines, son of Go Bon Tiao or Pedro Lee Gotiaoco.
• Corazon Aquino, the 11th president of the Philippines whose maiden name Cojuangco derived from her Chinese ancestor named Co Yu Hwan (許玉寰) (later Jose Cojuangco) who migrated to the Philippines from Fujian Province in 1861. In the 1980s she visited their ancestral place in Hongjian village, Xiamen where she was welcomed by the officials and her relatives from Xu or Co Clan.
• Benigno Aquino III, the 15th president of the Philippines, son of Corazon Aquino.
• Phan Thanh Giản Grand Counsellor of the Nguyễn Dynasty in Vietnam in the 19th Century.
• Wee Kim Wee the 4th President of Singapore (1985-1993). Former journalist and Diplomat.
• Ong Teng Cheong, the 5th President of Singapore and former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore.
• Tony Tan Keng Yam, the 7th President of Singapore (2011-2017) and former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore.
• Chuan Leekpai, the 20th Prime Minister of Thailand. He served twice as Prime Minister .
• Goh Keng Swee, One of the key founding fathers of modern Singapore. Former 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Ministers for Finance, Interior and Defence, Education and Defence. Hailed as the “economic and nation building architect” of Singapore.
• Goh Chok Tong, the 2nd Prime Minister of Singapore.
• Wee Chong Jin, The first Chief Justice of the Republic of Singapore. Born in Penang, Malaya he was the first Asian lawyer to be appointed a judge at the Supreme Court of Singapore. He served in the position of Chief Justice for 27 years, making him the longest-serving chief justice in the Commonwealth.
• Professor Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large for the Government of Singapore. He was President of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1980–1982, successfully negotiated in getting the Convention passed.
• Tan Cheng Lock, one of the founding fathers of modern-day Malaysia and founder president of the Malaysian Chinese Association.
• Tan Chee Khoon Leader of the Opposition of Malaysia Parliament 1964-1979.
• Lim Kit Siang Leader of the Opposition of Malaysia 1973-1974, 1975-1999, 2004-2008 and father of Lim Guan Eng.
• Dr.Lim Chong Eu former Chief Minister of the Malaysian State of Penang (1969-1990).
• Lim Guan Eng Chief Minister of the Malaysian State of Penang and key opposition leader in Malaysia.
• Souw Beng Kong, The 1st Kapitein der Chinezen of Batavia (present day Jakarta) 1619–1636. Appointed by the ruling Dutch East Indies when the Dutch headquarters was moved from Banten to the newly conquered city of Jayakarta (later renamed Batavia), This was the highest-ranking Chinese position in the civil administration of the Dutch East Indies. Beyond his role as Kapitein, Souw Beng Koen was also given the authority to mint coins and print money in Batavia. He also developed trade links between Dutch Formosa (Taiwan) and Batavia towards the end of the Ming Dynasty.
• Tan Eng Goan was a high-ranking bureaucrat who served as the 1st Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia (now Jakarta), capital of colonial Indonesia -1837–1865. This was the highest-ranking Chinese position in the civil administration of the Dutch East Indies.
• Han Siong Kong Founder of the Han family of Lasem, Dutch East Indies, a dynasty of government bureaucrats and landlords that played an important role in the colonial Dutch East Indies of history of Indonesia.
• Loa Sek Hie : Indonesian-Chinese colonial politician, parliamentarian and founding Voorzitter or chairman of the ethnic-Chinese self-defense force Pao An Tui (1946 - 1949) before the formation of modern day Indonesia.
• Kwik Kian Gie, the Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Economics and Finance (1999–2000).
• Mari Elka Pangestu (Phang Hoei Lan), the Minister of Trade of Indonesia (2004-2011).
• Lim Yew Hock, 2nd Chief Minister of Singapore from 1956 to 1959 when it was a British Colony.
• Tan Yu Sai, one of the founding members of the Union Revolutionary Council of Burma 1962 -1970, and Minister for Trade .
• Yeoh Eng-kiong, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food of Hong Kong 1999-2004. (Malaysian born)
• Chen Shui-bian, the 5th President of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
• Tsai Ing-wen, the 7th President of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Military and Security

• Hong Chengchou, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty general who was promoted to Minister of War and Viceroy of Suliao during the Early Qing Dynasty.
• Shi Lang , Commander-in-chief of the Qing dynasty fleets which defeated the Kingdom of Tungning and conquered Taiwan for the Qing dynasty in 1683.
• José Ignacio Paua or Hou Yabao , a general who participated in the 1896 Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire and the Philippine-American War in 1898.
• Huang Sian Teh, Army general of the KMT Chinese Nationalist Army during World War II, he was in charge of the "Tiger Division", which fought in over 100 battles. A famous Shaolin martial arts instructor, he was elected Chairman of the Taipei Chinese Kung Fu Association in 1967.
• John Lie Tjeng Tjoan or Jahja Daniel Dharma, National Hero of Indonesia. He was one of the first high-ranking naval commanders during the Indonesian National Revolution.
• Vicente Lim, Brigadier General, Commanding General of the 41st Infantry Division, Philippine Army (USAFFE) and hero during World War II. Lim was the first Filipino graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point (Class of 1914) and one of the seven Charter Members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. He was memorialized in the Philippines' 1,000-Peso banknote together with two other Filipino heroes who fought and died against the Japanese during the Second World War.
• Major General Lim Bo Seng, Chinese patriot and war hero. When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, Lim and other Chinese in Singapore participated in anti-Japanese activities such as the boycotting of Japanese goods and fund-raising to support China in the war.
• Khoo Boon Hui served as President of INTERPOL from 2008 to 2012. He was formerly the Commissioner of the Singapore Police from July 1997 to January 2010

Philosophers and Writers

• Li Zhi, Ming Dynasty philosopher.
• Jose Rizal a writer and one of the national heroes of the Philippines, a descendant of Cue Yi-Lam or Domingo Lamco.
• Lin Yutang, one of the most influential writers of his generation, many of his books were bestsellers both in China and the Western world.
• Amy Chua, American Professor of Law and author of the international best seller Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother which attracted huge media attention and ignited global debate about different parenting techniques and cultural attitudes that foster such techniques. Daughter of Leon O. Chua.

Other Fields

• Baosheng Dadi, Song Dynasty doctor and Taoist practitioner who was credited with performing medical miracles. After his death, he was worshiped as a deity.
• Lorenzo Ruiz, first Filipino saint. He became the Phillipines' protomartyr after his execution in Japan by the Tokugawa Shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century.
• Stephen Tong Tjong Eng, Chinese Indonesian Reformed pastor, international evangelist, Bible teacher and musician. He heads the Reformed Evangelical Church of Indonesia, which houses the megachurch Messiah Cathedral, and is one of the largest Christian Reformed church facilities in Southeast Asia.
• Rudy Hartono Legendary badminton player from Indonesia. Won the men's singles title at the prestigious All-England Championship a total of eight times with seven times consecutively (1968–1974) and at World Championship in 1980.
• Wesley So, famous chess prodigy, he won the 2015 Bilbao Chess Masters and 2016 Sinquefield Cup.
• Michelle Yeoh, famous international movie star from Malaysia. Voted by the People (magazine) as one of the "35 All-Time Screen Beauties"—the only Asian actress to make the list.

See also

• Hokkien honorifics
• Demographics of Taiwan
• Taiwanese people
• Teochew people
• Hoklo (disambiguation)

Bibliography

• Brown, Melissa J (2004). Is Taiwan Chinese? : The Impact of Culture, Power and Migration on Changing Identities. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23182-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Davidson, James W. (1903). The Island of Formosa, Past and Present. London and New York: Macmillan. OCLC 1887893. OL 6931635M. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• The Republic of China Yearbook 2014 (PDF). Executive Yuan, R.O.C. 2014. ISBN 9789860423020. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
• The Republic of China Yearbook 2015. Executive Yuan, R.O.C. 2015. ISBN 9789860460131.