Hainan people

The Hainan people (Chinese: 海南人 Hái-nâm nâng), or Hainam people (pronounced in Hainamese) or Hainanese people, is a geographic term referring to the natives of Hainan, the southernmost and smallest Chinese province. The term "Hainanese" was frequently used to refer to all inhabitants of Hainan island - both Han and non-Han. Hainam Min speakers often refer to themselves as Qiongwen to distinguish themselves from other groups of Hainan such as the Cantonese, Tanka, Hlai, etc.

History

Hainan Han people trace their origins to Han colonists from the mainland south such as Putian city, Ningde and Guangdong's villages and towns, and fishers^[1] from nearby^[2]. By contrast, the Lingaoese, Hlai, Tanka migrated to the island much earlier and are regarded as part of the Nanyue or Baiyue peoples.^[3]

Putian colonists colonised Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan island from Putian city, displacing Nanyue aborigines such as Hlai, who moved to mountain areas. Important areas of settlement by Fujian-origin Han include the areas in and around Haikou, Wenchang, Qiongzhou, and Wanning. In the main, Haikou samples show that the Hainanese Han cluster most closely with Singapore Chinese and Taiwan Han.^[4] However, other studies show that Hainanese genetically cluster closely with Guangxi and Guangdong Han Chinese.^[5]

Similarly to Fujian and Guangdong provinces, Hainan has been a source for emigration. Towards the turn of the 20th century, many Hainamese migrated to various Southeast Asian nations, where they worked as cooks, restaurateurs, coffee shop owners, clothes makers, sailors and hoteliers.

Famous Persons

Like other Chinese dialect groups outside of mainland China, individuals of Hainanese Han descent have also become prominent politicians, businesspersons and entertainers.

In Hong Kong, prominent individuals of Hainanese Han ancestry include Chan Sing, one of the "villain" movie stars that dotted the Hong Kong movie industry and Alex Fong (born Fu Li, 17 March 1963, Macau). ^[6]

In Thailand, prominent individuals of Hainanese Han ancestry include the Thailand Prime Minister Pote Sarasin, Bank of Bangkok President Boonchu Rojanastien, singer Nichkhun of 2PM, media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, the politically influential Sarasin family, as well as two of the wealthiest business families, the Chirathivats and the Yoovidhyas.

In Laos, former deputy prime minister Somsavat Lengsavad is also of Hainanese descent.

In Singapore, notable Hainanese politicians and statesmen include the current Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, as well as former education minister Lee Chiaw Meng, Cedric Foo, Chin Harn Tong and Mah Bow Tan. In the area of entertainment, Singapore model-turned-photographer and influencer Tan Chuando, known for his good looks and extremely youthful appearance, is of Hainanese Han descent ^[7] as was the bartender who invented the world-famous Singapore Sling at the renowned Singapore Raffles Hotel, Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon.

In Malaysia, notable Hainanese Han businesspersons and philanthropists include famous Malaccan Pang Chin Hin, the founder of popular snack brand Mamee^[8]. Former PM Abdullah Badawi is also of Hainanese origin, although he comes from the minority Cham-Utsul community, a non-Han ethnic group.

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  HK-based actor Alex Fong Chung Sun, of Hainan Han ancestry
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  Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong
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  Thai singer Nichkhun of 2PM, of Hainan Han ancestry
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  Tos Chirathivat, Thai businessperson of Hainanese Han ancestry

Culture

Language

In Hainan, the lingua franca and language of prestige is referred to as Hainanese.^[9] Hainanese is a southern Min language, in the same family of Chinese languages or dialects such as Hokkien and Teochew.^[10] It has also developed unique phonological characteristics such as the use of implosives. Linguists hypothesize this characteristic resulted from the contact between Han Chinese settlers in garrison towns and their Tai-Kradai tribal neighbours.^[11] Numerous Wenchang Hainanese descended from Jinshi (metropolitan scholars) and merchants from Putian as many of their Jiapu (family genealogies) show.^[12] Standard Chinese is also the lingua franca in the island province as in the rest of China.

Cuisine

Numerous signature dishes such as the Hainanese chicken rice, Wenchang chicken, Hainanese pork chop, Hainanese mutton soup, Hainanese salted fish soup and beef noodle soup. Hainanese chicken rice is a recognised dish throughout Southeast Asia due to the Hainanese diaspora in these areas who famed it.

All these signature dishes are served at the various eateries located along Purvis Street, within the Hainanese enclave; as a result, Purvis Street is often referred to as "Hainan Second Street", while Middle Road and Seah Street are referred to as "Hainan First Street" and "Hainan Third Street" respectively.^[13] It is often labelled as Singapore's national dish.^[14]

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  Wenchang chicken
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  Hainanese chicken rice
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  Hainan rice noodles

Architecture

Hainanese architecture follows the same design plan as Han Chinese architecture with buildings aligned around a central courtyard or series of courtyards. The style for public buildings follows essentially that from the southern regions such as Fujian, with upturned eaves and ready use of colour. A well-preserved example of Hainanese architecture can actually be seen in Hoi An, Vietnam in the Hoi An Hainanese Assembly Hall.

Arts

Music and Arts

Hainanese opera (Qiong opera) is a passion for many Hainanese, particularly for the older generation. Enriched with local flavours, Hainanese opera is part and parcel of Hainanese culture.

In addition, Hainan has one of China's oldest musical traditions - known as the "Ba Yin" or "Eight Tone" school of music.^[15] It derives from the mainland Chinese musical tradition and was brought over by Han settlers. Traditional Chinese instruments such as string, qin, flute, pipe, flute, gong, drum and cymbal are deployed. However, materials such as coconut shells and rosewood are employed in the crafting of instruments. Historically, almost all villages in Hainan each had their own Bayin troupe and performances were ubiquitous at weddings and funerals.^[16] About 500 musical scores from over the last 1000 years, dating to the time of the Song dynasty, have been preserved until today.^[17] The art is currently being transmitted amongst the overseas diaspora in Malaysia and Singapore.

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  Hainan opera performance
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  Vintage skirt with human figures woven by the Run Li people of Hainan, courtesy the Wovensouls collection

Genetics

Hainanese Han represent the southernmost branch of the different types of Han Chinese, first being Han colonists to the island in significant numbers civilizing the island, particularly after the fall of the Northern Song dynasty. At this time, the island was considered a place of exile. More Han colonists migrated throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.^[18]

According to an analysis of autosomal loci using the Huaxia platinum system, the Hainanese Han grouped together with geographically close Taiwan Han, even while showing subtle differentiation from other Han populations.^[19]

According to an article published in the European Journal of Genetics on 2 March 2020, the Hainanese Han^[20] cluster first with the Singapore Chinese and the Minnan Han population, followed by the Cantonese population. The same article states that Hainanese Han showed a close genetic relationship with the wider Han population with a pairwise FST of 0.002.^[21]

See also

• Thai Chinese
• Cantonese people
• Putian people

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hainanese people.