Chinese Cambodian
Chinese Cambodians at a wedding celebration in Kampong Thom
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (15,000 (est.) 0,1% of the Cambodian population (2013)) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Phnom Penh, Kampong Thom, Battambang, Kampot, soung | |
| Languages | |
| Khmer, Min Nan (Teochew, Hokkien and Hainanese), Hakka, Cantonese | |
| Religion | |
| Chinese folk religion (Taoism and Confucianism), Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Overseas Chinese |
Chinese Cambodians are Cambodian people of Chinese or partial Chinese descent. The Khmer term Khmer kat Chen (ខ្មែរកាត់ចិន) is used for peoples of mixed Cambodian & Chinese descent while Khmer Chen (ខ្មែរចិន) can mean Cambodian born citizens of Chinese ancestry (Khmer is the majority ethnic group of Cambodia and Chen means "Chinese" in the Khmer language). During the late 1960s and early 1970s, they were the largest ethnic minority in Cambodia; there were an estimated 425,000. However, by 1984, there were only 61,400 Cambodians of Chinese ancestry left. This has been attributed to a combination of warfare, economic stagnation, Khmer Rouge, and emigration. There are, however, tens of thousands of mixed Chinese and Khmer ancestry.
Despite their relatively small population, Chinese Cambodians are over represented in some of the most visible aspects of Cambodian society, often leading to feelings ranging from resentment to outright discrimination by "pure" Khmers. Chinese Cambodians play leading roles in the Cambodian business sector as well as within Cambodia's political scene. Chinese Cambodians also have a considerable presence in the Cambodian economy and are estimated to own a vast share of it. Many Chinese Cambodians are particularly influential in the Cambodian banking sector where money-lending and shopkeeping enterprises are prevalent. Of particular note is China's economic role in the country which encouraged Sino-Khmer businessmen to reestablish their past businesses which were once suppressed by the Khmer Rouge.
The earliest records of Chinese settlement dates back to the late 13th century. When the Yuan emissary Zhou Daguan visited Cambodia in 1296, he noted the presence of Chinese residents at Angkor. Much later in the early 1600s, Portuguese seafarers noted the presence of a Chinese settlement in Phnom Penh. Around the same period a Chinese privateer, Lim To Khieng also made the same observation when he came to Cambodia to conduct trade and sea raids. Shortly after the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, Chinese generals under the tutelage of Mac Cuu and Duong Ngan Dich brought many refugees from Fujian and Guangdong provinces to settle in modern-day Cochinchina, which was then under Cambodian rule. Some of these refugees also established settlements in Takeo and Kampot provinces. These Chinese immigrants were almost exclusively male, and they took Khmer women and wives. Their descendants quickly assimilated into the local community by integrating themselves economically and socially into the agricultural commune of ancient Cambodians. Some of them kept up the Ming practice of keeping a Chinese topknot until the 18th century.
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Wikipedia