The Chinese Diaspora's Secret — How Overseas Chinese Built Asia's Richest Empires

海外华人的隐秘力量：华人如何缔造亚洲顶级商业财团

Seventy percent of the billionaires in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia trace their bloodline to refugees who once fled a dying empire. How did the poorest survivors of nineteenth century China end up quietly running the richest economies of Southeast Asia?

This unpacks the hidden machinery behind the overseas Chinese empires — the bamboo network of clan halls, handshake credit and information arbitrage that out-traded colonial banks for two centuries. From Salim and CP Group to Robert Kuok and Henry Sy, four refugee families built four dynasties, and Beiing rediscovered them as the soft power layer of the Belt and Road era.

印尼、泰国、马来西亚的七成亿万富豪，祖上都是当年离开中国的华人。19世纪那些一无所有、艰难求生的华人，为何能悄然掌控东南亚最核心的经济命脉？

海外华人商业帝国背后的底层运转体系——依托宗亲会馆搭建起的竹网商圈，依靠口头信誉开展贸易、利用信息差牟利，这套商业体系两百年来交易规模远超殖民时期的外资银行。从三林集团、正大集团，到郭鹤年、施至成，缔造了四大商业王朝；而如今中国也重新联结这群海外华商，将其打造为一带一路时代的软实力支撑。

以下是各国网友的评论：

LiewBrian-o5j
There're about 40 million people of Chinese descent in S.E. Asia with a population around 600 million .

东南亚总人口约6亿，当地华裔群体大约有4000万人。

HoAng-h7e
Bamboo network was an invisible network which was efficient

竹网人脉圈是一套隐形的社交商贸网络，运作效率极高。

Piak2517
Agreed with the story. I am a 4th generation Chinese diaspora in Bangkok. The previous 3's always want to go back to China. The 5th and I are happy here. We appreciate our ancestors who decided to temporarily leave the collapsing China so we could have the chance to exst and live comfortably. Thailand is our motherland now.

我认同。我是生活在曼谷的第四代华裔。前三代祖辈一直盼着回到中国，而我和第五代后辈早已适应这里的生活。很感激先辈当年在旧中国时局动荡时远赴海外，我们才有机会安稳富足地生活，如今泰国就是我们的祖国。

TrumpNowSaysChinaGood
Your story is nothing new if the Ethnic Chinese Diaspora wanted to go back to China they would
But they still mostly carry the genetics, culture and society in their new Countries
And their FDI to China was the largest in the Chinese double digit growth decades
And China is using this bamboo network to invest in these SE Asian Countries these days

这类说法并不新鲜，如果海外华裔一心归国，早就回去了。

但他们大多保留着华人血脉、传统文化与人情往来模式。

在中国经济连续多年两位数高速增长时期，海外华商是对华最大外资投资方。

如今中国也依托这套竹网人脉，到东南亚各国开展投资布局。

kikichin
My Taishan County Clan Hall is at King Street, Georgetown, Penang.

我们台山同乡会馆坐落在槟城乔治市国王街。

TengGee-f5i
Thank you for the lmformation,very much appreciated,my father,a former employee of Strait Ship company during the 2nd World War before migrating to Kuala Lumpur and I'm inquisitive to know whether the company still exsts ?.My parents were Taishanese.

我的父母都是台山人，父亲二战期间在海峡轮船公司任职，之后举家搬到吉隆坡，我想问问这家公司现在还在运营吗？

Zerpentsa6598
@TengGee-f5i There's a Strait Steamship Company of Malaya. It was acquired by the Keppel Group in 1983.

 当年的马来亚海峡轮船公司，在1983年被吉宝集团收购。

TengGee-f5i
@Zerpentsa6598 Thank you very much for the prompt reply and I'm still kee my late father's appointment letter issued by the management of Strait steamship company as a memoir.

 十分感谢，我至今还保存着已故父亲当年海峡轮船公司下发的入职聘书，当作纪念。

richardchow4775
The best place in South East Asia then & even now is Malaysia. If you're hardworking, you'll survive & live comfortably. I can see it everyday in the hardworking Myanmarese happily running their own stalls in kopitiams. As for the Chinese who came from China in the past - at least they don't have to change their names to fit in like in Thailand, Indonesia & the Philippines.

无论过去还是现在，马来西亚都是东南亚生活条件最好的国家。只要踏实肯干，就能安稳舒心过日子。我每天都能看到勤恳的缅甸人在街边茶室摆摊营生，过得很知足。早年南下的华人在马来西亚，至少不用像在泰国、印尼、菲律宾那样，为了融入当地被迫改掉中式姓名。

merlinaroyeras4581
Was the Bamboo network planned? No. These migrant Chinese were fated to become rich. They are very hard working, good spotter of opportunities, has singular attitude towards being rich. The good thing the did is to pay back and respect their homelands. They helped rebuild the broken empire. They were grateful Chinese. I am not Chinese but I admire them.

竹网人脉圈并非刻意规划出来的。这些远赴海外的华人天生更容易积累财富，他们吃苦耐劳、善于捕捉商机，一心踏实求财。更难得的是他们心怀故土、懂得回馈，当年还出钱出力助力积贫积弱的祖国重建，是懂得感恩的一群人。我本身不是华人，但十分敬佩他们。

Mike-ys4sr2023
I am Guyanese Canadian and I shopped at the SM MALL in the Philippines between 2019 to 2021 on my visit there. Love the Philippines
I followed your blogs. Thanks for your information on China

我是圭亚那裔加拿大人，2019至2021年旅居菲律宾期间，经常去SM商场消费，我很喜欢菲律宾这个国家。我一直在关注你的内容，感谢你分享关于中国的各类资讯。

達民tm
When the Japanese occupied Malaya, the Chinese diaspora rallied together with the co unists to sabotage the Japanese. The British who fled the country rather than defend their colony had also depended on the co unists to try eradication of the brutal Japanese regime.
After the Japanese surrendered the British came back, they turned against the co unists and turned against them.

日军占领马来亚时期，当地华人联合地下组织四处破坏日军设施。英军当初弃殖民地仓皇出逃，当初还依靠这支队伍抵抗残暴的日军。
可日军投降、英国人卷土重来之后，却转头打压这些抗日力量。

TengGee-f5i
My late father saw the sin king of a British battleship off Penang island while employed by The Strait Steamship Company while my late grandfather,a recruitment of Force 136 to fight the Japanese was not pay a single cent by the British when they returned after World War 2

父亲当年在海峡轮船公司工作时，曾在槟城海域亲眼见过英国战列舰。我的祖父当年加入136特种部队抗击日军，可二战结束英国重返马来亚后，一分钱酬劳都没有发放给他。

popocucu4829
As an overseas Chinese I am happy living in my motherland now. However things could change in the future where there are more racial tensions now. What I know when Mainland getting stronger is also benefiting the overseas Chinese.

身为海外华人，我如今在定居国生活得很安稳。但当下种族矛盾不断增多，未来局势或许会发生变化。我能明显感受到，祖国发展壮大，海外华人也能从中受益。

henryyip1
The Overseas Chinese has contributed immensely to the prosperity & advancement of their host country. They are loyal to their host country & are seen even as National treasures. The host countries with great wisdom have leveraged on their extensive regional connections for win win outcomes

海外华人极大推动了定居国的经济发展与社会进步，他们忠于当地，甚至被视作国家宝贵资源。有远见的国家都会借助华人遍布各地的人脉网络，实现互利共赢。

nakim1200
Fully agree. There would be no economic success without the diaspora, or way slower.

我完全认同这个观点。如果没有海外华人助力，当地经济根本发展不起来，发展速度也会大幅放缓。

Zerpentsa6598
The were NOT exles. Majority were migrants seeking a better life abroad. Most were not refugees either. Many left before the Sino-Japanese wars. Those who left later were often recruited as bonded labourers, not refugees.

这群人绝大多数只是出国谋生的普通移民，算不上难民。很多人早在中日战争爆发前就远赴海外；后期离开故土的，大多是被招募的契约劳工，也不是难民。

joycechooi1062
Chinese are very attach to their roots, lineage because they ancestors worship. The ancestors tablet in their also imprint the family surname. The tombstone also inscribe their original place in China where they came from. We can only remember we are Chinese.As an individual I feel ancestors worship and the surname hold us together

华人祭祖的传统，让我们格外看重宗族与根源。家里供奉的牌位刻着姓氏，墓碑上也会标注祖籍地。这份祭祖传统与相同的姓氏，把所有华人紧紧联结在一起，让我们永远记得自己的华人身份。

nakim1200
The difficulties of integration (or not allowed to integrate) can also hold the community together.

难以融入当地、或是被当地排挤的处境，反而会让华人族群更加抱团。

lkhxlt7689
Malaysian tycoons were the ones daring enough to invest in co unist China even the legal commercial were not well defined then.. Why.. Malaysian greedy 30% equity requirement needed for Bumi standing, to participate in all tenders force them to look elsewhere..

当年不少马来西亚华商敢在国内商贸法规不完善时，大胆前往中国投资。背后原因是马来西亚规定土著必须持有企业三成股份才能参与各类竞标，严苛政策迫使本地富商向外寻找投资渠道。

kaInting45
What doesn't kill youbwill only make you richer!

但凡没能打倒你的磨难，最终都会让你积攒更多财富。

sleefairyrelaxngmedit2299
No matter where Chinese are from, we never forget about the motherland. But we love the country we are born in as well.

无论身在世界哪个角落，华人永远不会忘记故土，但我们同样热爱自己出生成长的这片土地。

akoto03
philippines: sy, gokongwei, tan, cojuangco, gatchalian, and others who adapted filipino-spanish names.

菲律宾一众知名华商：施至成、吴奕辉、陈永栽、许寰哥、加查理安等人，都改用了带有菲律宾、西班牙风格的姓名。

TarlokNarula
Non of them schock me
Was survival

这些人的发家经历我一点都不意外，当年所有人都只是为了活下去。

jeffng8580
Clans, chinese 'banks', surnames, also how diaspora survived in usa, canada, Cuba, south America, Europe, Caribbean, Australia, jamaica, Trinidad, Mauritius, central America, etc from 1850s to 1950s

依靠宗亲会馆、民间钱庄、同姓宗族，19世纪50年代至20世纪50年代，海外华人就这样在美国、加拿大、古巴、南美、欧洲、加勒比、澳大利亚、牙买加、特立尼达、毛里求斯、中美洲等地扎根生存。

merlinaroyeras4581
Jewish and Chinese diaspora. They built their empire through businesses.

犹太族群与海外华人族群十分相似，都是依靠经商搭建起庞大的商业版图。

callcentertiger
I disagree the the previous commenter, lived in San Francisco and Los Angeles, US for 12 years all together, and in many neighborhoods, where the Bamboo netwotk is dominant, they under the guise of ethic pride, and yes even illicit loyalty, they do act and behave condensending and ethnocentricaly superior to other ethicities, especially Caucasians, in an almost covert pretend fashion, regardless of how many generations they been living in the host country, and yes, they were discriminated and possibly exploited, several generations back, wheen they arrived as fresh immigrants, but that dot not justify holding a grudge forever, and apply the same hostility and superiority, once you seemingly end up having the economic upper hand and becoming the dominant segment of the local host country population !!!

我在旧金山、洛杉矶一共生活了十二年。很多华人聚居区被竹网人脉圈把控，部分华人借着民族自豪感的名义，滋生排他式的族群忠诚，暗地里轻视其他种族，尤其看不起白人。哪怕已经在当地繁衍好几代人，这种心态依旧存在。诚然，祖辈初来乍到时遭受过歧视与压榨，但这不代表可以一直心怀怨恨。如今华人掌握大量财富、成为当地强势群体，不该反过来敌视、轻视其他族群。

M-Peeple
But they had something others in the colonial world did not have: skin colour. They became priveleged where other groups could not because they were too dark and subject to the worse injustices mankind has known. These groups had nothing and could not acquire anything because the system was stacked against them.The system constructed by the Chinese as you said did not start from zero. That's the difference! The bloodline of Africans for example are not known. Divide and rule of Africans exsted for 500 years! They divided people with similar language groups. So we imagined China towns to be the inclusive and protective "islands" of the Chinese and you confirm this. Edit: Black people were not allowed to own anything and invisibility was out of the question. Dogs were set on them, they were burnt and hanged ...even in the 70s. Now the bamboo network would deign to discriminate against blacks when blacks supported them with anti-discrimination, though the Chinese on average had more privilege

当年殖民时代，华人拥有其他族群不具备的优势——肤色。深色人种遭受极致不公，处处受限，完全没有积累财富的机会；华人却能获得一定生存优待。正如你所说，华人搭建的商贸人脉体系并非从零起步，这就是关键区别。以非洲族群为例，五百年来殖民者一直采用分而治之手段，割裂同源部族。唐人街本是庇护华人的避风港，这也证实了。补充：过去黑人不允许拥有任何资产，遭受极致迫害，哪怕上世纪七十年代，仍有放狗撕咬、焚烧、绞杀黑人的惨案。黑人曾经声援华人反抗歧视，如今部分依靠竹网商圈崛起的华人，反倒歧视黑人，可明明华人整体享受了更多社会优待。

callcentertiger
Unlike China itself, that is very HON ethnicaly monolitic and all other ethnic segments are small, in orhercAsian countries there other ernicities that are also substantial parts of the general population,mso the bamboo network has to realise, that unlike in China ot some moslem religwusly extreme bullying countries, and regardless of the fact in many instances the bambo network became over few generations, the mostvaffluent ethic segment of those countries, the need to be more tolerant and sensit8ve to other etnicities, and be less condensending and hollier than superior of non Chinese ethnicities. They need to learn that the unified whole is more important and sustainsble culturaly than a y 9ne particular segment, rega4dless of how economicaly successful they became kver the generations.

中国主体是汉族，少数族群占比很低；但东南亚各国都拥有规模庞大的本土族群。竹网人脉圈必须认清现实：这些国家既不像中国单一民族为主，也不是推行极端排外政策的msl国家。尽管几代人发展下来，华人大多成为当地最富裕的群体，但必须学会包容、尊重其他族群，放下高人一等的心态。华人要明白，多元族群和谐共存，才更利于当地长久稳定发展，不能只顾及自身族群利益。

RendezvousSam
The Chinese Diaspora or Bamboo Network as you had highlighted is insignificant compare to the Jews connection, they are interconnected in multinational financial institutions, banking, entertainment industrial, energy, arms, manufacturing etc.

海外华人与竹网商圈，规模影响力远比不上犹太族群人脉网络。犹太人深度渗透跨国金融、银行、文娱、能源、军工、制造等全产业链，彼此紧密联结。

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