Putian people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Above 5,000,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Puxian Min, Mandarin, and Min Nan | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Traditional Chinese religion or Atheism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ancient Minyue people†, Fuzhou people, Hoklo people, Leizhou Min speakers and other Han Chinese |
The Putian people, (Chinese: 莆田人, pinyin: Pútiánrén; Puxian Min: 莆仙儂, Hinghwa Romanized: Pó-sing-náng) also known as Henghua or Hinghwa, are Han Chinese people from Putian, part of Fujian Province, China. They speak Puxian Min, a Min language. Min is one of the Sinitic languages.
They may also be referred to as Xinghua. Hing Hua district was carved out from Quanzhou district during the Song dynasty and was given the name HingHua. Putianese people originated from Guāng Prefecture (光州) in what is now Xinyang, Henan province and migrated to the present day area of Putian many centuries ago. Putianese people were said to be mostly in charge of religious affair during that era, and migrated to Fujian after the civil war.[citation needed]
They are referred to as Henghua in Malaysia and Singapore.[1]
Today, there are significantly large Henghua diaspora communities throughout Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia where they can be found in cities such as Kuala Terengganu and Kuching. In Indonesia, most Henghua live in Java and since long have been known for their businesses that mainly related with bicycle and transportation vehicles.
Notable people
- Mazu: Chinese goddess
- Cai Xiang: Chinese calligrapher, poet, scholar and official
- Chen Wenlong: a Zhuangyuan (状元) after topping first place in the Imperial Examinations and one of the three military heroes of Southern Song Dynasty.
- Jianqing Fan, a statistician and financial econometrician. He is currently the Frederick L. Moore '18 Professor of Finance, a Professor of Statistics, and a former Chairman of Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering.
- John Sung: Christian evangelist
- Ng Teng Fong: richest person in Singapore
- Dato Sri Tahir or Ang Tjoen Ming: Founder and CEO, Mayapada Group, Indonesia
- Mochtar Riady: Founder, Lippo Group, Indonesia
- Sukanto Tanoto: Founder, Raja Garuda Mas International (now Royal Golden Eagle), Indonesia
- James Riady: Son of Mochtar Riady; Deputy chairman, Lippo Group, Indonesia
- Moses Lim, Singapore comedian and actor
- Liem Swie King (林水鏡; Lín Shuǐjìng, born 28 February 1956 in Kudus) a former Indonesian badminton player, once one of the top players in the world
- Ng Eng Hen, Minister of Defence (Singapore).
- Che Yin Wong (黄志贤, 1959−): Businessman and philanthropist, Hong Kong;[2] Founder and chairman of Kong Fung International Group
- Theresa Fu (1984-) Hong Kong singer and actress.
- Fong Chi Chung, founder of Singapore-based restaurant chain Putien.
