The Chaozhou People
The term "Chaozhou" came from the name of an ancient riverside city that used to be a major port in the region. This group comprises the second largest dialect group in southeast Asia. Today, the region near Shantou that is populated by the Chaozhous is referred to as the Chaoshan (or the 'mountains of Chao') region. The people who live there are very proud of their cultural heritage.
Beginning with the Tang dynasty in the ninth century until the Ming dynasty in the fifteen century, the Hokkien-speaking people began to migrate from present day southern Fujian province and occupied the fertile coastal region of eastern Guandong province. Over time, the Hokkien dialect used by these migrants evolved into the Chaozhou tongue that is spoken today.
In terms of size, the Chaoshan region is about 100 miles lengthwise and about 50 miles at its width. The actual city of Chaozhou has since been overshadowed by the coastal port city of Shantou. Shantou is also called Swatow in China. It was officially founded in 1861.
There is not one uniform dialect spoken in the Chaoshan area. There are a number of Chaozhou variants (each peculiar to each sub-region or county), with sometimes vastly different pronunciations for the same word. The dialect spoken around the Shantou area is considered the linguistic standard.
The Chaozhou culture has its own distinct traditions (one example is visiting friends and relatives during Lunar New Year and greeting them with a pair of mandarin oranges). They also have unique foods and art forms, such as Chaozhou opera. Traditionally, Chaozhous are the most famous for their distinctive food style. This includes such things as having soup at least once a day, eating "hot pot" style, where everyone sits at a round table and cooks their food in a large pot filled with steaming broth, wonderful fresh seafood, and also white rice porridge.
As a people, the Chaozhou are great tea-drinkers. Their version of tea is called kung-fu tea. It has nothing to do with the martial arts but simply describes that it takes some skill to prepare the drink. It is a true art form to prepare the tea. You first wash the tiny cups with boiling water, then you make up a pot of tea that you fill the cups with to season then drain. Finally the tea is ready to be served piping hot. In traditional restaurants, this tea is served once before and once after all dishes are served. Everywhere you go in Shantou, you can find a kung fu tea plate and cups set out for guests.
Shantou and its surrounding areas supply most of the migrants to SE Asia, including Singapore. The Chaozhou dialect in Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam are very similar to that spoken in Shantou.
