This article is about people of Chinese origin in Thailand. For people of Chinese origin in Phuket and the Chinese minority in Northern Thailand, see Peranakans and Chin Haw.
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Thai Chinese
华裔泰国人 or 華裔泰國人 ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน
Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, a Chinese Buddhist temple in Thailand
Total population
c. 7–10 million[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
Thailand
9.5 million (2013)[3] country-wide, with significant diaspora in:
Australia United States Canada Taiwan Malaysia
Singapore
Languages
Central Thai (native by majority) Chinese Languages Min, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainanese, Cantonese, Mandarin
Religion
Predominantly Theravada Buddhism
Minorities Agnostic, Chinese folk religion, Mahayana Buddhism (Chinese Buddhism), Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Thais Peranakans Overseas Chinese Han Chinese
Thai Chinese
Traditional Chinese
華裔泰國人
Simplified Chinese
华裔泰国人
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Huáyì Tàiguórén
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping
Waa4 Jeoi6 Taai3 Gwok3 Jan4
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ
Hôa-è Thài-kok-lâng
Tâi-lô
Huâ-è Thài-kok-lâng
Teochew Peng'im
Huê 1 i6 tai3 gog4 nang5
Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin (Thai: ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; exonym and also domestically)[a] are Chinese descendants in Thailand. Thai Chinese are the largest minority group in the country and the largest overseas Chinese community in the world with a population of approximately 7-10 million people, accounting for 11–14 percent of the total population of the country as of 2012.[4][5][6] It is also the oldest and most prominently integrated overseas Chinese community, with a history dating back to the 1100s. Slightly more than half of the ethnic Chinese population in Thailand trace their ancestry to Chaoshan. This is evidenced by the prevalence of the Teochew dialect among the Chinese community in Thailand as well as other Chinese languages.[7]: 93 The term as commonly understood signifies those whose ancestors immigrated to Thailand before 1949.
The Thai Chinese have been deeply ingrained into all elements of Thai society over the past 200 years. The present Thai royal family, the Chakri dynasty, was founded by King Rama I who himself was partly Chinese.[8] His predecessor, King Taksin of the Thonburi Kingdom, was the son of a Chinese father from Chaoshan.[9] With the successful integration of historic Chinese immigrant communities in Thailand, a significant number of Thai Chinese are the descendants of intermarriages between ethnic Chinese and native Thais. Many of these descendants have assimilated into Thai society and self-identify solely as Thai.[10][11][12]
The Thai Chinese are well-established in the middle class and upper classes of Thai society and are well represented at all levels of Thai society.[13][14][15]: 3, 43 [16][17] They play a leading role in Thailand's business sector and dominate the Thai economy today.[18]: 22 [15]: 179 [19][20] In addition, Thai Chinese elites of Thailand have a strong presence in Thailand's political scene with most of Thailand's former Prime Ministers and the majority of parliament having at least some Chinese ancestry.[21][22][18]: 58 [23] Thai Chinese elites of Thailand are well represented among Thailand's rulers and other sectors.[24][25]
^"China: Countries with the largest number of overseas Chinese 2021".
^":: Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, R.o.c. ::". Archived from the original on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
^"Thailand - World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples". Minority Rights Group. 19 June 2015.
^John Draper; Joel Sawat Selway (January 2019). "A New Dataset on Horizontal Structural Ethnic Inequalities in Thailand in Order to Address Sustainable Development Goal 10". Social Indicators Research. 141 (4): 280. doi:10.1007/s11205-019-02065-4. S2CID 149845432. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
^Luangthongkum, Theraphan (2007). "The Position of Non-Thai Languages in Thailand". In Guan, Lee Hock; Suryadinata, Leo Suryadinata (eds.). Language, Nation and Development in Southeast Asia. ISEAS Publishing. p. 191. ISBN 9789812304827 – via Google Books.
^Barbara A. West (2009), Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania, Facts on File, p. 794, ISBN 978-1438119137 – via Google Books
^Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2009). A History of Thailand (2nd, paper ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521759151.
^Reid, Anthony (2015). A History of Southeast Asia: Critical Crossroads. John Wiley & Sons. p. 215. ISBN 9780631179610.
^Woodside 1971, p. 8.
^Jiangtao, Shi (16 October 2016). "Time of uncertainty lies ahead for Bangkok's ethnic Chinese". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference Gambe-2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Chaloemtiarana, Thak (25 December 2014). "Are We Them? Textual and Literary Representations of the Chinese in Twentieth-Century Thailand". Southeast Asian Studies. 3 (3). Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^Susanto, A. B.; Susa, Patricia (2013). The Dragon Network: Inside Stories of the Most Successful Chinese Family. Wiley. ISBN 9781118339404. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
^Choosing Coalition Partners: The Politics of Central Bank Independence in ... - Young Hark Byun, The University of Texas at Austin. Government - Google Books. 2006. ISBN 9780549392392. Retrieved 23 April 2012.[dead link]
^ abChua, Amy (2003). World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability(Paperback). Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-72186-8. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
^Vatikiotis, Michael; Daorueng, Prangtip (12 February 1998). "Entrepreneurs" (PDF). Far Eastern Economic Review. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
^"High technology and globalization challenges facing overseas Chinese entrepreneurs | SAM Advanced Management Journal". Find Articles. Retrieved 23 April 2012.[not specific enough to verify]
^ abChua, Amy L. (January 1998). "Markets, Democracy, and Ethnicity: Toward A New Paradigm For Law and Development". The Yale Law Journal. 108 (1): 58. doi:10.2307/797471. JSTOR 797471.
^Yeung, Henry Wai-Chung (2005). Chinese Capitalism in a Global Era: Towards a Hybrid Capitalism. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415309899.
^World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia - Marshall Cavendish Corporation, Not Available (NA) - Google Books. Marshall Cavendish. 1 September 2007. ISBN 9780761476313. Retrieved 23 April 2012.[not specific enough to verify]
^Kolodko, Grzegorz W. (2005). Globalization And Social Stress. Hauppauge NY: Nova Science Publishers. p. 171. ISBN 9781594541940. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
^Marshall, Tyler (17 June 2006). "Southeast Asia's new best friend". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
^Songkünnatham, Peera (30 June 2018). "Betraying my heritage: the riddles of Chinese and Lao". The Isaan Record. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
^Smith, Anthony (1 February 2005). "Thailand's Security and the Sino-Thai Relationship". China Brief. 5 (3). Retrieved 29 April 2020.
^Jiangtao, Shi (14 October 2016). "In Bangkok's Chinatown, grief and gratitude following Thai king's death". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
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ThaiChinese (also known as ChineseThais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin (Thai: ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; exonym and also domestically) are Chinese descendants...
also domestically), Southern Thai people (Southern Thai: คนใต้; exonym and also domestically), Siamese, ThaiSiam (Thai: ไทยสยาม; historical exonym and...
in Central Thailand and the vast majority of ThaiChinese enclaves throughout the country. It is the sole official language of Thailand. Thai is the most...
contains Thai text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Thai script. Thai cuisine (Thai: อาหารไทย...
Teochew), the dominant Chinese language within the ThaiChinese community. It is used in several Chinese dishes by the sizeable ThaiChinese community, and also...
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study the Thai Canal project. A canal through the Kra Isthmus, which would shorten shipping times around Asia, was suggested as early as 1677. Thai King Narai...
mark the New and Full Moons of the Chinese calendar, which typically differ by one day from those of the Thai. Thai lunar calendar dates appear below the...
anthem is: prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai (Thai: ประเทศไทยรวมเลือดเนื้อชาติเชื้อไทย), 'Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh and blood'. The...
Thai Americans (Thai: ชาวอเมริกันเชื้อสายไทย; formerly referred to as Siamese Americans) are Americans of Thai ancestry. The Thai American population...
as 'Northeastern Thai', following Thai government practice until the 2011 Country Report. Languages by number of speakers in Thailand with more than 400...
Asian countries. Thai names (given and family) are diverse and often long. The diversity of family names is due to the fact that Thai surnames are a recent...
largest beverage companies, with distilleries in Thailand, UK, and China. It is owned by ThaiChinese billionaire business magnate Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi...
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twelve-year animal cycle; ThaiChinese communities may observe the name-change earlier in accordance with the Chinese New Year. The Thai names of the months...
Imperial China falls far short of the standards set by innovative artists working within the Chinese tradition" and concluded, "Chinese or Siamese, this...
ethnic Chinese, and those of partially mixed Chinese ancestry account for as much as a third to a half of the Thai population. Those assigned Thai ethnicity...
Malaysian Chinese, Chinese Singaporean, Chinese Indonesian or Tionghoa, or ThaiChinese. One of the sub-groups of Chinese-Peranakan, Straits Chinese or Straits-born...
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Central Thailand and include ThaiChinese in Southern Thailand (Known in Southern Thai as Leang Ka Luang (Thai: แหลงข้าหลวง)). Southern Thai language...