Chinese Indonesians
Chinese Indonesians (Mandarin: Yìndùníxīyà Huárén (Traditional: 印度尼西亞華人, Simplified: 印度尼西亚华人） Hakka: Thong ngin, Min: Teng lang, Indonesian: Tionghoa Indonesia, or (derisively) Cina totok) are ethnically Chinese people living in Indonesia, as a result of centuries of overseas Chinese migration.
Chinese Indonesian people are diverse in their origins, timing and circumstances of immigration to Indonesia, and level of ties to China. Many trace their origins to the southern parts of China, such as Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan provinces.
Broadly speaking, there were three waves of immigration of ethnic Chinese to Southeast Asia in general and Indonesia in particular. The first wave was spurred by trading activities dating back to the time of Zheng He's voyage in the early 15th century, the second wave around the time of the Opium War, and the third wave around the first half of the 20th century.
Chinese Indonesians whose ancestors immigrated in the first and second waves, and have thus become creolised or huan-na (in Hokkien) by marriage and assimilation, are called Peranakan Chinese. The more recent Chinese immigrants and those who are still culturally Chinese are called Cina Totok.
Most Chinese who migrated to Indonesia came as traders or labourers. Colonial policies made it difficult for Chinese to acquire land, and the only region with a significant Chinese farmer population was West Kalimantan. (There is also a significant population of Peranakan peasant farmers in the countryside around Jakarta. They are descended from what were probably amongst the earliest Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia.) The largest populations of Chinese Indonesians today are in the cities of Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Pekan Baru, Semarang, Pontianak, Makassar, Palembang, and Bandung.
Chinese Indonesian people are diverse in their origins, timing and circumstances of immigration to Indonesia, and level of ties to China. Many trace their origins to the southern parts of China, such as Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan provinces.
Broadly speaking, there were three waves of immigration of ethnic Chinese to Southeast Asia in general and Indonesia in particular. The first wave was spurred by trading activities dating back to the time of Zheng He's voyage in the early 15th century, the second wave around the time of the Opium War, and the third wave around the first half of the 20th century.
Chinese Indonesians whose ancestors immigrated in the first and second waves, and have thus become creolised or huan-na (in Hokkien) by marriage and assimilation, are called Peranakan Chinese. The more recent Chinese immigrants and those who are still culturally Chinese are called Cina Totok.
Most Chinese who migrated to Indonesia came as traders or labourers. Colonial policies made it difficult for Chinese to acquire land, and the only region with a significant Chinese farmer population was West Kalimantan. (There is also a significant population of Peranakan peasant farmers in the countryside around Jakarta. They are descended from what were probably amongst the earliest Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia.) The largest populations of Chinese Indonesians today are in the cities of Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Pekan Baru, Semarang, Pontianak, Makassar, Palembang, and Bandung.
