Wenzhou people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (approximately 6 million people) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 China, Wenzhou (urban + rural areas) |
~6,000,000 (natives) |
|
China
|
1,700,000 (rest of country) |
 Italy
|
288,715 (90% of Chinese population). |
 France
|
60,000–100,000 |
 Spain
|
~116,000 <70% (+ Qingtian) |
 Taiwan
|
as part of the mainlander population |
 Australia
|
part of Chinese Australian population |
 United States
|
100,000 |
 Netherlands
|
part of Chinese people in the Netherlands |
| Languages | |
| Wenzhou dialect, Zhenan Min, Standard Mandarin Chinese, Italian | |
| Religion | |
| Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Irreligion, Chinese folk religion and a small Christian minorities | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Wu speaking people, Min speaking people, other Han Chinese | |
Wenzhou people or Wenzhounese people is a subgroup of Oujiang Wu Chinese speaking peoples, who live primarily in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. Wenzhou people are known for their business and money making skills. The area also has a large diaspora population in land for Europe and the United States, with a reputation for being enterprising natives who start restaurants, retail and wholesale businesses in their adopted countries. About two-thirds of the overseas community is in Europe. Wenzhounese people have also a notable contributions to mathematics and technology.
Wenzhou natives speak a unique form of Wu Chinese, which is the Chinese language branh which includes the people of neighbouring Hangzhou and Shanghai. However, geographic isolation and an admixture of Southern Min Chinese speakers from nearby Fujian Province, have caused Wenzhou's spoken language to evolve into a dialect that is notable for its highly divergent phonology. As a result even people from other regions of Zhejiang and Fujian both have trouble understanding Wenzhounese. The Taizhou dialect, located directly to the north, has little to no mutual intelligbility with Wenzhou. Many Wenzhou natives also speak a Southern Min dialect called Zhenan Min.
Nanxi is a form of Chinese opera developed in Wenzhou.
Wenzhou was home to the Yongjia School of thought, which emphasized pragmatism and commerce. This philosophy is thought to have been a forerunner to modern capitalism in the region.
There is a popular saying in China that reflects the status of the city of Wenzhou related to the Fengshui of Wenzhou which is "People of Excellence and Land of Wisdom"(人傑地靈), as the local Wenzhounese people are usually described in China as the people of excellence and the city of Wenzhou is usually praised as the city of wisdom.
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Wikipedia