Min-speaking peoples (simplified Chinese: 闽民系; traditional Chinese: 閩民系; pinyin: Mǐn mínxì) are a major subgroup of ethnic Han Chinese people, speaking Min Chinese languages. They mainly live or trace roots from Fujian, Hainan, Southern Zhejiang and Guangdong province's Leizhou and Chaoshan regions.
The Min Chinese are a strongly diasporic community, with emphasis on entrepreneurship through communal guanxi-based networks. Today, they play a significant role in the economies of Greater China and Southeast Asia, and are heavily represented in business and commercial sectors. In the Chinese diaspora, they form the majority of people in Taiwan and the majority of Han Chinese in Southeast Asian countries, like Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. The first two countries have majority Teochew-speaking Chinese minorities, whereas the last four house Hokkien-speaking Chinese minorities. Min-speaking enclaves are also significant among Chinese communities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. In recent decades, Min-speaking Chinese have established communities across Asia, Europe, Africa and South America.
Contents
Subgroups
China
Fuzhou people 福州人 (Eastern Min)
Minbei people 閩北人 (Northern Min, Central Min and Shao-Jiang Min)
Putian people 莆田人 (Pu-Xian Min)
Hokkien people 閩南人 (Hokkien Southern Min)
Teochew people 潮州人 (Teo-Swa Southern Min)
Hailufeng people 海陸豐人 (Southern Min)
Leizhou people 雷州人 (Qiong–Lei Min)
Zhongshan Min people 中山閩人 (Zhongshan Min)
Zhenan people 浙南閩人 (Southern Min)
Hainanese people 海南人 (Qiong–Lei Min)
Taiwan
Hoklo Taiwanese (Hokkien Southern Min)
Japan
Chinese Japanese people from the Min-speaking area
Ryukyu
Thirty-six families from Min
Philippines
Hokkien Chinese Filipinos (Hokkien Southern Min)
Brunei
Hokkien Chinese Bruneians (Hokkien Southern Min)
Malaysia
Hokkien Malaysian Chinese (Hokkien Southern Min)
Teochew Malaysian Chinese (Teo-Swa Southern Min)
Hainanese Malaysian Chinese (Qiong–Lei Min)
Foochow Malaysian Chinese (Eastern Min)
Hockchia Malaysian Chinese (Eastern Min)
Singapore
Hokkien Chinese Singaporeans (Hokkien Southern Min)
Teochew Chinese Singaporeans (Teo-Swa Southern Min)
Hainanese Chinese Singaporeans (Qiong–Lei Min)
Henghua Chinese Singaporeans (Pu-Xian Min)
Indonesia
Hokkien Chinese Indonesians (Hokkien Southern Min)
Teochew Chinese Indonesians (Teo-Swa Southern Min)
Hainanese Chinese Indonesians (Qiong–Lei Min)
Luichew Chinese Indonesians (Qiong–Lei Min)
Hinghwa Chinese Indonesians (Pu-Xian Min)
Hokcia Chinese Indonesians (Eastern Min)
Myanmar
Hokkien Chinese Burmese (Hokkien Southern Min)
Thailand
Teochew Thai Chinese (Teo-Swa Southern Min)
Hainanese Thai Chinese (Qiong–Lei Min)
Hokkien Thai Chinese (Hokkien Southern Min)
Cambodia
Teochew Chinese Cambodians (Teo-Swa Southern Min)
Hainanese Chinese Cambodians (Qiong–Lei Min)
Hokkien Chinese Cambodians (Hokkien Southern Min)
Vietnam
Teochew Hoa people (Teo-Swa Southern Min)
Hokkien Hoa people (Hokkien Southern Min)
Hainanese Hoa people (Qiong–Lei Min)
Madagascar
Hokkien Sinoa (Hokkien Southern Min)
Culture
Trade and Industry
Migratory trading lies at the crux of Min Chinese society. Traditionally, Confucian culture looked down upon commerce, placing it at the bottom of the Four Occupations. Nevertheless, the infertile, mountainous landscape of Fujian and surrounding areas, coupled by easy access to the open ocean, compelled many Min-speaking Chinese to seek survival based on trade. By contrast to other groups, notably the Shanxi merchants, where mercantilism was rooted in a select merchant class closely tied to the Imperial Government, the merchants of Fujian were for most of their history peripheral to the centres of power. This allowed Min-speaking Chinese to carve out a cultural niche in entrepreneurship, risk-taking and diasporic migration that would pass down and sustain among the community throughout generations. By the time of the Ming Dynasty, Min-speaking communities became increasingly valued by the government as shipbuilders, navigators, and maritime merchants, and often utilised as envoys to Southeast Asia and Japan for trading and diplomacy purposes. For example, the Thirty-six families from Min were influential in the development of Confucian culture in the Ryukyu Islands. Today, the influence of entrepreneurship on Min Chinese culture is remarkable. From the towering tycoons of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok to humble shopkeepers that range through areas as diverse as New York and Algiers, the contribution of Min-speaking Chinese to the modern economy is momentous.
Although Min-speaking Chinese groups make up only 2% of the total Chinese population, they have contributed to the economic scene of Greater China far more significantly than their numbers may suggest. During the colonial era, the Canton System of trade was heavily monopolized by merchants of Min Chinese ancestry, with Puankhequa and Howqua, both of Southern Min descent, becoming some of the wealthiest men in China in their time. These Min-speaking merchants would become inseparable to the economic fabric of Canton, even as they assimilated themselves into the Cantonese majority. Min communities have also tapped heavily into real estate markets across China, owning as much as 60 percent of properties across various second- and third-tier cities in inland China and contributing to the vitality and prosperity of local townships. Recently, Chinese of Min origin have gained considerable presence in technological sectors, as represented by tycoons such as Ma Huateng, Zhang Yiming and Wang Xing. Remittances from the overseas Min diaspora have also contributed to the political scene in China, funding Sun Yat-sen's Tongmenghui and the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, and were also important to boosting the economy of China as a whole and Fujian province on an individual scale. While the economic dominance and occasional business practices of Min Chinese entrepreneurs have generated some controversy, the community is by and large respected as an integral part of the Chinese economic framework.