Staff Seminar 1: Chinese Dialect Group Distribution and Occupational Structure in Malaya, 1800-1911
 Attendees |
 Presentation of Staff Seminar by Dr. Wang Fubing and moderator was Dr. Lew Bon Hoi. |
 Presentation of souvenir by Dr. Voon Phin Keong (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, New Era University College) to speaker(left). |
Title: Chinese Dialect Group Distribution and Occupational Structure in Malaya, 1800-1911
Date: 11 January 2017（Wednesday）
Time: 3:00pm-4:30pm
Venue: New Era College, Block B, 2nd Floor, Room 204
Organizer: Office of Academic Affairs, New Era College
Language: Chinese
Speaker: Associate Professor WANG Fubing
(Research School for Southeast Asian Studies, Xiamen University, China)
Résumé of Speaker:
Dr. Wang Fubing is a Research Associate in the Institute of China Studies, University of Malaya and Council Member of The Overseas Chinese History Society, China, specializing in the history of Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore and the social changes of Fujian immigrants overseas. His publications include Chinese Dialect Group Distribution and Occupational Structure in Malaya, 1800-1911 and The Social Changes of Qiaoxiang in Fujian, and papers on the studies of the problems of new emigrants from the coastal areas of Fuzhou, Chinese occupational structure in Singapore, 1819-1911, estimations of remittances from Overseas Chinese in the Qing dynasty and their social impact, etc. His research interest includes the social structure of Fujianese in Malaysia and Singapore, 1912-1978.
Moderator: Dr. LEW Bon Hoi
(Head, Centre of Malaysian History, New Era College)
Abstract:
Following the influx of Chinese into Malaya during the 19th and early 20th centuries, various dialect groups with distinct distribution and occupational characteristics became an important part of the history of the community. This seminar will examine the social structure of the Chinese in Malaya and inter-dialect group relations arising from their distribution patterns and occupational structure in the period between 1800 and 1911. In general, the Hokkiens tended to engage in commercial activities, the Teochews in the cultivation of sugarcane, gambier and other cash crops, and the Hakkas and Cantonese largely in tin mining and retailing. This occupational specialization was linked to issues of dialect identity and reflected in the creation of economic niches. Additionally, the place of residence was also a determining factor in the choice of occupations.