The
Cantonese people () are
Han people whose
ancestral homes are in
Guangdong, China. The term "Cantonese people" would then be synonymous with the
Bun Dei (
Jyutping: bun2 dei6) subethnic group, and is sometimes known as
Gwong Fu Jan (廣府人) for this narrower definition. This article mainly focuses on this latter definition.
They are referred to as "Kongfu" in
Malaysia and "Konghu" in
Indonesia.
Culture
Cantonese is one of the major divisions of
spoken Chinese, with 70 million speakers. In the native areas of
Guangdong and
Guangxi, many closely related varieties exist, and linguists collectively refer to these as Yue Chinese.
More specifically, the Cantonese language can also refer to a specific and prestige variant of the language,
standard Cantonese. This is the language used as a
lingua franca, education, media, and by Cantonese people in
Hong Kong,
Macau, and overseas. Unlike most other varieties of Chinese, Cantonese has official status in
Hong Kong and
Macau, and has an independent tradition of
written vernacular.
Cantonese language
opera exists in the form of
Cantonese opera, which uses a theatrical form of Cantonese singing and rhyming patterns in its performances. The Cantonese opera tradition may date back as far as the
Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century.
Due to its political and economic status of being outside the direct control of the PRC,
Hong Kong has been an active (and primary) producer of Cantonese language entertainment.
Cantopop, Cantonese language
pop music, enjoys a multinational fanbase, and the major center of the Cantonese music industry is in Hong Kong. Well-known Cantopop artistes include
Andy Lau,
Jacky Cheung,
Leon Lai,
Faye Wong,
Sammi Cheng, and
Coco Lee. Many of these well known stars are Cantonese, and from the families of other internal Chinese immigrants. Hong Kong's
Cantonese-language cinema is a thriving industry that enjoys international fame. One of the world's largest motion picture industries, recent films such as
Kung Fu Hustle and
Infernal Affairs have generated acclaim worldwide.
Cantonese cuisine is one of the most famous types of
Chinese cuisine, popular both within and outside China and is characterized by its variety of cooking methods, freshness and use of seafood.
Dim sum is equally famous for its variety of small servings.
History
Until the 19th century, Cantonese history was largely part of the history of
Guangdong. What is now Guangdong was first brought under
Qin influence by a former
Qin Dynasty general named
Zhao Tuo, who annexed and absorbed territories into the kingdom of
Nanyue. Nanyue included the territories of modern-day Guangdong, Guangxi and northern Vietnam and its capital was situated at modern-day
Guangzhou. This kingdom was fully brought under
Han control under the
Han dynasty, but it wasn't until subsequent dynasties such as the
Jin Dynasty (265-420),
Tang dynasty and
Song dynasty that major waves of Han Chinese literati migration to the South occurred. The migration came in waves, displacing the existing local populations at different time periods, although many native groups, such as the
Zhuang, still reside. These peoples, however, tend to live in their own communities.
The
Opium Wars resulted in China's loss of control over
Hong Kong, which was ceded to the
British Empire.
Macau, a
Portuguese settlement subjected to Chinese sovereignty since
Ming Dynasty (16th century), was subsequently turned into a colony.
The turmoil of the second half of the 19th century compelled many residents of
Guangdong to seek their fortunes overseas. Until the second half of the 20th century, the majority of
overseas Chinese emigrated from two provinces of China,
Fujian and
Guangdong. As a result of these migrations, many Chinese with Cantonese ancestry have settled throughout the world, particularly in
North America,
Australia, and
Southeast Asia.
Unlike the migrants from
Fujian, who mostly settled in
Southeast Asia, many Cantonese emigrants also migrated to the western hemisphere, particularly the
United States and
Canada. Chinese immigrants in
North America were brought as cheap labourers to build the transcontinental railroads in the United States and Canada, while those in
South America were mostly forced laborers brought in as
coolies. Chinese in California participated in the
California Gold Rush, while
Chinese in Hawaii found employment in sugar plantations as contract laborers. These early immigrants founded communities of
Chinatowns but also faced hostility and a variety of discriminatory laws that targeted them. This includes denying the immigration of women to prevent Chinese families from taking root, culminating in anti-immigration laws that restricted Chinese migration. A large proportion of these early immigrants came from the
Siyi (Seiyap) region of Guangdong. As a result, these early communities spoke mostly
Taishanese, one of the dialects of Yue distinctive from
Standard Cantonese. The Taishan (Toisan (Hoisan)) dialect is still spoken in Chinese communities in the Americas, by older people as well as more recent immigrants from
Taishan. It should be noted that Taishanese and Standard Cantonese are not mutually intelligible. The relaxing of immigration laws after
World War II allowed for subsequent waves of migration to the United States from both
mainland China and
Hong Kong, while the majority of the
Chinese-Vietnamese boat people from the
Vietnam War spoke Cantonese either as a first or secondary language. As a result, Cantonese continues to be widely used by Chinese communities of Guangdong and Hong Kong origin in the western world and has not been supplanted by
Mandarin.
See also
