The Teochew Store Blog / history

Teochew through the eyes of its visitors: The captains of “Ship No. 47”

Xu Xuanguan and Yang Lianguan were the captain and vice-captain of a Chinese junk that sailed from Siam for Japan in June 1693. However, adverse winds at sea forced them to divert to Teochew prefecture, where they spent the winter. They finally reached Nagasaki port a year after their original departure and gave testimony to a secret that even the Emperor of China was kept hidden from.

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Why do Teochew numbers 1-10 sound similar to Cantonese, Japanese and even Thai?

Have you ever noticed that our Teochew numbers 1 to 10 sound different, but yet somewhat similar, to the numbers in Cantonese? 

What's the story behind? Let's find out!

 Number Teochew Cantonese Japanese Thai
1 一 zêg8 (ig4) yat1 ichi หนึ่ง nueng
2 二  no6 (ji6) yi6 ni สอง sawng
3 三 san1  saam1 san สาม saam
4 四 si3  sei3 shi (yon) สี่ see
5 五 ngou6 ng5 go ห้า hah
6 六 lag8  luk6 roku หก hoke
7 七 cig4 cat1 shichi (nana) เจ็ด jed
8 八 boih4 baat3 hachi แปด ppaed
9 九 gao2 gau2 kyuu เก้า gaao
10 十 zab8 sap6 juu สิบ sip

     

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    Vivian Lee: Passing on the Teochew language with technology and dedication

    Teochew Gasig  (潮州教室) is an Instagram and Facebook platform that teaches and explains daily Teochew words and phrases in English, Indonesian and Mandarin. Since its inception in 2021, it has built a strong following among young Teochews from many countries.

    The founder of Teochew Gasig is Vivian Lee, who lives on Batam Island. What made this member of Generation Z want to promote our ageless and charming Teochew language to other youngsters on social media? Recently The Teochew Store has had the privilege to chat with Vivian to find out about her journey in running Teochew GaSig.

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    李佳纹:用科技和匠心接棒潮语传承

    潮州教室(Teochew GaSig )是一个用英语、印尼语及华语来教授及解释日常潮州词语及短语的InstagramFacebook账号。自2021年创办至今,深受各国年轻潮州人的欢迎。

    居住在印尼巴淡岛的李佳纹小姐是潮州教室的创办人。究竟是什么原因让作为Z世代的她,开始在社交媒体向年轻人推广潮州话这门历史悠久、别具魅力的语言?近日,潮舖The Teochew Store特别连线佳纹,请她与我们分享创办“潮州教室”的心路历程。

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    Teochew Short Film for the Hungry Ghost Festival 潮语中元节微电影: "The Overseas Sojourner"《番客》

    A Teochew language short film about a Teochew who left for Siam, returning home after many years.

    本作品围绕过番习俗,以艺术拍摄手法和原创动画制作形式表达潮州人在盛行出国谋生的“过番”年代,“番客”与家人之间的离别相思之情。

    Click on link below to watch. 请点击观赏:
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    Teochew through the eyes of its visitors: A Spanish Jesuit shipwrecked in Teochew (Part 2)

     

    "Well-built and tall, of white complexion, cheerful and good-looking". These were the descriptions of the physical appearance of the Teochew people given by Adriano de las Cortes, a Spanish Jesuit Father who was shipwrecked in Teochew in 1625.

    However, what Cortes wrote about their character is a far less pleasant read: “They are extremely subtle, cunning and deceitful, and they show neither friendship, fidelity, nor compassion to foreigners and, moreover, show very little of it among themselves”. Was he being bias, vindictive or simply giving his true opinions?

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    Teochew through the eyes of its visitors: A Spanish Jesuit shipwrecked in Teochew (Part 1)

    Three words that strike fear in every Teochew child: pah ka-ceng 拍尻倉!

    Did you know that this was once also a punishment meted out to adults in China? A Jesuit Father, Adriano de las Cortes, learned this shuddering fact, and more, when a shipwreck made him an accidental visitor to the Teochew region 400 years ago.

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    Deng Cueng: Telling the Story of Teochew through Documentary & Old Photos

    Wild Teochew, the first ever nature-documentary on wildlife in the Teochew region was officially released in the Teochew language recently. Deng Cueng (丁銓), who hails from Teochew, China, is the documentary’s director, as well as the editor of the photographic collection Historical Photos of Teochew. The Teochew Store had the pleasure of interviewing Deng Cueng to learn about his enthusiasm in promoting the nature and culture of his homeplace and the gains he has received from it.

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    丁铨:用纪录片和老照片讲述潮州故事

    近期,首部讲述潮州野生世界的自然纪录片《野性潮州》潮语版正式上映。来自中国潮州的丁铨是这部纪录片的导演,也是影集《旧影潮州》的编著者。潮舖特别连线丁铨先生,请他与我们分享他在推广家乡自然及人文文化中的热忱和收获。

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    Teochew through the eyes of its visitors: The Scholar-Officials of Song

    A thousand years ago our ancestors in Teochew lived together with giants. Giants that weighed four tons, neared three metres in height, had two floppy ears, a trunk and a mammoth appetite.

    An entry in the History of Song (宋史), dated 1171, reported that farmers in the Teochew prefecture had to set up pit traps in their fields after hundreds of wild elephants ate their crops. The cause of the conflict was quite imaginably the expansion of human settlements and agricultural activities into the animals’ habitats and stomping grounds. However, the elephants did not withdraw into the forests as a result. Instead, they organised themselves into herds and waited on the roads to ambush any passing cart or horse, which they encircled until the humans collected grain to feed them. To live with nature rather than conquer it was a wisdom our forefathers understood well.

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    Teochew through the eyes of its visitors: Chen Yaozou, an unsung hero

    History has a funny old way of repeating itself.

    Chen Yaozuo (陳堯佐) was a prime minister and grand tutor of the crown prince of the Song dynasty (960–1279) in the 11th century. Coming from a family of officials, he was a rising star at the start of his career, until he bravely, or some might say foolishly, answered a call of Emperor Zhenzong for open criticisms by submitting a memorial that spelt out the ills of the times, including matters that no one else dared to speak about. As a result, Chen Yaozuo was banished and demoted to become an assistant prefect in the Teochew prefecture. This happened in 998, almost 180 years after Han Yu of the Tang dynasty suffered a similar fate.

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    Teochew through the eyes of its visitors: Han Yu, the genius who discovered one of life's greatest joys

    Have you ever wondered how did our forefathers live 100 years ago, 200 years ago, or even 1,000 years ago?

    Our ancestors were a lot of things. Merchants, traders, seafarers, fishermen, agriculturalists, tea connoisseurs, culinary experts, artisans, builders, artists, musicians, poets, etc. But somehow there was not a historian among them. They spent their lives and energies in pursuit of happiness in many ways that today endow us with a rich cultural heritage and identity. Yet, it did not occur to them to document themselves or the world they lived in.

    Fortunately, the Teochew region had over the centuries its fair share of visitors, of whom a few were both keen observers and skilled writers.

    We begin a new series of articles telling the history and people of Teochew through the eyes of these men and women, with Han Yu (韓愈), a literary genius from the Tang dynasty, who came to Teochew more than 1000 years ago and not only escaped death here, but also discovered here one of the life's greatest joys. 

     

     

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    Remembering the 1922 Swatow Typhoon 百年善纪——纪念潮汕八二风灾100周年

    Watch 《百年善纪——纪念潮汕八二风灾100周年》, a four-part documentary produced by Shantou Television to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1922 Swatow Typhoon. 

    Commentary in Mandarin, with interviews in Teochew and Chinese subtitles.

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    Swatow Typhoon of 1922

    “When the tidal wave came, the most vulnerable died tragically: some parents who carried several children were forced to let go the daughters to save themselves from drowning. Some mothers carried the babies with them and floated in the water, but the husbands took away the babies in order to save their wives. Some elderly parents could not swim and their sons did not abandon them, and they were all drowned. Some parents could not hold too many children together and they griped the children’s hair and little arms, but when they reached the high grounds, the younger ones had already died. Some elderly parents did not want to burden their adult children and they drowned themselves in order to save the family line. There were couples tied themselves together with strings but they were drowned. After the disaster, some people could not bear the deaths of their loved ones and they committed suicide.”

    ~ Chen Yuan (陳沅), magistrate of Jaopeng county

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    Ah Ma's Hair Bun 阿嫲的头鬃

    Did your Ah-ma wear a hair bun like the grandmother character in our Wa Si Teochew Kia—My First 120 Teochew Expressions flashcards?

    你记忆中的阿嫲是不是梳着《我是潮州囝——精选一百二十潮语词语》早教图卡中的“亞媽”(潮语:奶奶)一样的发髻?

    Until about a couple of generations ago, all married Teochew women did so as a sign of their marital status. Learn more about this tradition that is at least 800 years old!

    大约两代人以前,这种发髻是已婚潮州女子的标志和象征。请一起来发现这至少流行了八百多年的潮州“拍鬃”传统!

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    Teochews in Down Under

    A gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s brought thousands of Chinese from Guangdong to Australia, including a small number of Teochews. The Land Down Under has today a mix of Teochew immigrants from Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and China and this documentary produced in 2000 documents their stories. Interestingly, the television crew from Swatow also discovered a place where the Teochew language was widely spoken in Sydney's Cabramatta suburb.

    在十九世紀五、六十年代,數千名來自廣東省的華工湧入澳洲採金,其中少數是潮州人。今日的澳洲有分別源於越南、柬埔寨、香港、台灣、新加坡、馬來西亞和中國等地的潮人。這部汕頭電視台2000年攝製的記錄片《騎在羊背上的潮州人》,記錄了他們不同的故事。有趣的是,記錄片的製作團隊竟然在悉尼的卡拉瑪打市郊發現了一個通用潮州話的地方。

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    Teochews in America

    Today's Teochew presence in the United States was largely established after a wave of migration in the 1970s and 1980s. However, do you know that historical shipping records show that about 40,000 coolies were shipped from Swatow to the country between 1852 to 1858, and some of them might have formed their own fishing settlements on the West Coast? Learn about this and various stories of success achieved by the Teochews in America in this documentary produced by Shantou Television 22 years ago. 

    二十世紀七、八十年代的一波移民潮形成了今日的美國潮人社群。其實船運記錄顯示,在一八五二年和一八五八年之間有大概四萬民“豬仔”從汕頭港被運到美國,而且他們有可能在美國西岸形成了自己的漁村。定居美國的潮人如何在這片大陸上成功立足?請看看這部由汕頭電視台在2000年攝製的記錄片,《美國潮人》。

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    The Teochew community in Cambodia's rebirth

    Watch how the Teochews living in Cambodia in the 1990s, after surviving the devastations of the brutal Pol Pot regime and years of war, devoted their  scarce resources towards the education of the next generation. 

    看看在上世紀九十年代,經歷過多年紅色高棉暴政和戰亂的柬埔寨潮州人如何把有限的資源投入在下一代的教育上。
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    Teochews in Singapore 25 years ago

    The 20th century produced many successful overseas Teochew businessmen, who always devoted their energy and wealth towards the education and other fields of philanthropy. Watch the late Lien Ying Chow of Overseas Union Bank and other Teochews in Singapore share their stories and the philosophy behind their selfless contributions towards the larger society in this documentary produced by Shantou Television in 1997.
    在二十世紀,誕生了不少成功的潮籍商人。他們熱心貢獻於教育和其他慈善領域。請觀看這部汕頭電視台1997年製作的紀錄片《獅城不只一座塑像》,聽聽已故大華銀行創辦人連瀛洲和其他新加坡潮州人講述他們的故事,以及對貢獻社會的理念。

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    The Teochew Community in Malaysia

    Do you know that the city of Penang in Malaysia has a “Swatow Street”? (It is officially known as Lebuh Kimberley.)Let’s watch this documentary produced by Shantou Television to find out more interesting facts about the lives of Teochews living in Malaysia 25 years ago.

    你知道嗎?馬來西亞檳城有條汕頭街。一起來觀賞汕頭電視台製作的紀錄片《落地生根 》,關注居住在大馬潮州二十五年前的生活。

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    A Documentary on Teochews in Thailand from 1997

    Thailand has the largest Teochew diaspora in the world, with the size of the community estimated at 5 million in the mid-1990s. This documentary from 1997 by Shantou Television gives a glimpse of the lives of the Teochews in Thailand. (Audio in Mandarin, with some interviews in Teochew).

    海外潮州人在泰国居多。根据上世纪90年代的统计,泰国的潮州社群约有五百万人。想了解潮州人在泰国过去的生活情况,请观看汕头电视台1997年制作的纪录片《佛國潮踪》。

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    11 Maps of Teochew region dated 1949

    The following 11 maps of the Teochew region and its counties are taken from the covers from the Volume Four issues of Teochew Home News (《潮州鄉訊》) magazine that were published between February and August 1949.

    Map of all counties in Teochew 潮州各縣圖

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    1997 Publicity Video: Affection of Chaozhou 1997 年潮語宣傳片《情系潮州》 - 走向新輝煌

    Publicity Video: Affection of Chaozhou - On the Path of Glory. This is a video of Chaozhou (Teochew) City (comprising the old Teo-Ann and Jao-peng counties) from a publicity series produced in the mid-1990s. 

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    1997 Teochew Publicity Video: Today's Jieyang 1997年潮語宣傳片: 《今日揭陽》

    Gek-yor (or Kityang or Jieyang) was one of the Teochew prefecture's 8 counties and today the area's third largest city. Take a look at how this historical settlement looked like in the mid-1990s. (video dialogue in Teochew with Chinese and English subtitles)
    揭陽是古潮州府的八邑之一,今日是潮汕地區的第三大城市。一起來看看上世紀九十代中揭陽的面貌。
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    “The Forest of Miss Tang" - An Upcoming Teochew Animation Film Needs Your Help

    An animation film telling the history of the Teochew people, directed by a Teochew and dubbed entirely in Teochew language by 3 generations of Teochews living in France. How can you not be EXCITED?!

    “The Forest of Miss Tang" (陳小姐的森林) is in an advanced stage of production and it needs funding support to be complete. The project has so far raised over €20,000 through crowd funding, but more support is still needed for it to be better.

    The Teochew Store is lending our voice to this fund raising campaign as we believe this is a much worthy cause.

    Watch the introduction video of the film by director Denis Do below (in French with English subtitles). To back the production of "The Forest of Miss Tang", click here for the project fundraising page

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    Teochew Home News - A Publication of Our Own

    Goh Yee Siang (吳以湘) was born in 1912 in Nio-ior village, Sou-uang town, Thenghai County (澄海縣蘇灣都蓮陽鄉) (now Nio-zie town, Thenghai district, Swatow city [汕頭市澄海區蓮上鎮]). He was the editor-in-chief of a well-known publication Teochew Home News (潮州鄉訊) that was founded in Singapore in the late 1940s.
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    吳以湘與《潮州鄉訊》

    吳以湘,一九一二年出生於澄海縣蘇灣都蓮陽鄉(今屬汕頭市澄海區蓮上鎮),為上世紀四十年代末創刊於新加坡的一份著名刊物《潮州鄉訊》的主編。

    生長在「五四運動」時期的吳以湘,在「新文化運動」的熏陶下,少年時期就已經喜愛閱讀書報,對文學有濃厚的興趣也奠下深厚的文史根基。他南來新加坡後,曾到中正中學總校當老師教導國文(即華文)和史地等科目。吳以湘秉着一種讓僑胞通過家鄉事物,維繫鄉情的熱忱,用課餘時間辦起《潮州鄉訊》雙週刊。一九四七年八月,由他領導的編委會在新加坡小坡美芝路一七三號成立了「馬來亞潮州鄉訊社」,並交由當年的南洋印刷社承印,以每冊叻幣四角錢的售價,在南洋各埠的書局以及報社出售。
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    Brief Review – Primary Lessons in Swatow Grammar (Colloquial)

     
    Read our brief review on Primary Lessons in Swatow Grammar (Colloquial), a Teochew grammar guide published in Swatow in 1884 by an American Baptist missionary. Rev. William Ashmore. Out of print for many decades, Primary Lessons in Swatow Grammar (Colloquial) is now selling on Lulu.com.
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    The Teochew Store recommends: An Introduction to the History and Culture of the Teochews in Singapore

    An Introduction to the History and Culture of the Teochews in Singapore - a rare English language book on Teochew culture. Available for purchase on Amazon.

    "Penned in three sections covering a wide range of topics from history and architecture to customs and the performing arts, the 164-page book published by World Scientific is one of the few of its kind in English." - The Straits Times

    A review of the book can be read here.

     
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    The First Teochews in Singapore: Part 3 - The First Captain China & Oldest Temple in Singapore

    In this concluding part of  "The First Teochews in Singapore" series, we find out about the leader of Singapore's pioneer Chinese settlers, whom the Singapore government later appointed as the settlement's first Captain China, as well as the historical links of Wak Hai Cheng Bio (粵海清廟, a.k.a. Yueh Hai Ching Temple) - the oldest Teochew (possibly Chinese) temple here - to two temples in Riau (Bintan) and Bangkok's Chinatown. 

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