Henghua

Henghua

English

Alternative forms

• Hinghwa, Hinghua, Hing Hua, Heng Hua

Etymology

From Hokkien 興化 (Heng-hòa). Doublet of Xinghua.

Proper noun

Henghua

1. (Southeast Asia, chiefly Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia) Alternative form of Hinghwa
   • 1960, Steven Runciman, The White Rajahs: A History of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946‎, Cambridge University Press, OCLC 163357233, page 209:

     In 1911 there was another influx of Chinese Methodists, when a missionary called Brest brought a large party of Henghuas.

   • 1976, D. E. Brown, Principles of Social Structure: Southeast Asia‎, Duckworth Books, →ISBN, OCLC 611594807, page 155:

     The Kotak Association, mentioned above, is an example. Its membership was overwhelmingly Henghua (96%).

   • 1995, Sterling Seagrave, Lords of the Rim: The Invisible Empire of the Overseas Chinese‎, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, LCCN 94-44555, OCLC 777312564, page 113:

     Between Foochow and Amoy they speak Henghua.

2. (Southeast Asia, chiefly Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia) a person who traces his/her ancestry to Putian or the surrounding region
   • 2009, Philip A. Kuhn, Chinese Among Others: Emigration in Modern Times‎, Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 48:

     Apparently, a Henghua immigrant named Yeow in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, who had apprenticed himself to an agent for British cycles, learned the business thoroughly, left his employer, and established his own shop. Inevitably, his own (Henghua) employees hived off likewise so that within half a century the Henghua had established thousands of bicycle shops in Singapore, Malaya, and Indonesia. In Singapore, the Henghua were joined by Henghua-speaking Hokchia who later branched out into spare-parts, motorcycle, trishaw, and taxicab business.

Adjective

Henghua (not comparable)

1. (Southeast Asia, chiefly Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia) of or relating to the Puxian Min family of Chinese dialects
   • 1983 December, T'IEN Ju-K'ang, “The Chinese of Sarawak: Thirty Years of Change”, in Southeast Asian Studies‎, volume 21, number 3, ISSN 0563-8682, OCLC 421719004, archived from the original on 30 April 2019, retrieved 24 June 2021, page 280:

     Road development greatly motivated the Henghua people to expand their control of the transport business, with which no other dialect group was believed to be familiar.

   • 2016 November 4, Samantha Khor, “The Origins Of The Hokkien, Cantonese, And Other Chinese Dialect Groups In Malaysia”, in SAYS.com‎, archived from the original on November 7, 2017:

     Originally from Henan, the Henghua people migrated to Putian, part of the Fujian province after the civil war before coming to Malaysia.

   • 2017 April 6, Toh Wen Li, “At a loss for words? Try Henghua”, in The Straits Times‎, archived from the original on April 6, 2017:

     "It seems Henghua people have all the while been very proud," Mr Lim said, noting that this pride might come from their long association with scholarly achievement.[...]"I think youngsters are getting interested in nostalgia, and heritage food," said Mr Ho, who remembers watching Henghua puppet shows outside the restaurant when it was still located in Sungei Road.

Synonyms

• Xinghua

Anagrams

• Huang He, Huanghe