海南人文地理｜下南洋，为何文昌人最多？Wenchang people, venturing to Nanyang

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“下南洋”曾经是海南岛东部较为独特的人文现象。“下南洋”是海南人开拓全新的生活空间、介入世界经济文化大潮、最后回归故里回报家乡的一代琼侨经历的缩影，也是近现代海南乃至中国发展变迁的生动缩影，体现了一百年来海南人前赴后继下南洋、不断取得新业绩的奋斗精神，其海岛文化特征鲜明。

“Venturing to Nanyang (Southeast Asia)" was once a unique cultural phenomenon in the eastern part of Hainan Island. It is an epitome of Hainan people who have opened up a new living space, participated in the tide of world economy and culture, and finally returned to their hometown as well reciprocated the hometown. It is also a vivid epitome of the development and changes in modern Hainan, even in China. It has reflected Hainan people’s fighting spirit of continuously venturing to Nanyang and continuously making new achievements in Southeast Asia in the past 100 years, which is full of distinctive island culture features.

Author: Ye Haisheng

Translated by Zhao Wanyu

数据对比

Data comparison

海南下南洋最多的三个市县分别是文昌、琼海和万宁。在三个市县中，下南洋最多的却是文昌。

In Hainan, three cities with large population venturing to Nanyang (Southeast Asia) are Wenchang, Qionghai and Wanning, of which Wenchang tops the list.

为什么下南洋的文昌人最多？口说无凭，先用数据来对比。

Why did Wenchang have the largest number of people venturing to Nanyang? It can be evidenced by data.

近年来，权威部门有这样的数据统计:

文昌华侨华人众多，约120 万人，遍布世界50 多国家和地区，主要聚居泰国（约50 万）、马来西亚（约35 万）、新加坡（约11 万）、越南（约15 万）等东南亚国家。文昌市境内归侨、侨眷约38 万人（文昌人口约57 万，可以说华侨人数比文昌居民还多出一倍），在文昌，没有海外关系的人很少。文昌在海南享誉着“华侨之乡”的美称，也是中国著名侨乡之一。

In recent years, authoritative departments have carried out such statistics:

There are a large number of overseas Chinese from Wenchang, with about 1.2 million people in more than 50 countries and regions in the world. They mainly live in Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand (about 500,000), Malaysia (about 350,000), Singapore (about 110,000) and Vietnam (about 150,000). There are about 380,000 returned overseas Chinese and their families in Wenchang (the population of Wenchang is about 570,000, thus, population of overseas Chinese is twice as large as Wenchang residents). In Wenchang, few people there has no overseas relations. Wenchang enjoys the reputation of “the hometown of overseas Chinese” in Hainan, and is also one of the most famous hometowns of overseas Chinese in China.

祖籍琼海的海外华侨、外籍华人和港澳台同胞约有 55 万人，分布在世界五大洲 28 个国家与地区。其中，约有百分之九十分布在东南亚的新加坡、马来西亚、印尼、泰国等国家。

There are about 550,000 overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan of Qionghai origin, distributing in 28 countries and regions around the world. And about 90% are distributed in Southeast Asian countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

万宁市共有海外侨胞、港澳同胞30多万人，分布在26个国家和地区；归侨侨眷近20万人，侨务资源非常丰富。

Wanning has more than 300,000 overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao, which distribute in 26 countries and regions. And there are nearly 200,000 returned overseas Chinese and their family. Thus, Wanning is rich in the resources of overseas Chinese.

三个市县有数据对比:120万，55万，30万。琼海的55万和万宁的30万是包含了港澳同胞。文昌的120万单纯指的是华侨，可见其华侨在海南的数据之最。

Data comparison among these three cities: 1.2 million, 550,000 and 300,000 respectively. The number “550,000” of Qionghai and “300,000” of Wanning both include the number of compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao; while 1.2 million of Wenchang only refers to overseas Chinese. It is thus clear that, Wenchang has the largest number of overseas Chinese in Hainan.

为什么文昌下南洋的人最多

Why did Wenchang have the largest population venturing to Nanyang?

在海南，为什么文昌下南洋的人最多？

至少有以下缘由:

In Hainan, why did Wenchang have the largest number of people venturing to Nanyang?At least for the following reasons:

其一，文昌人多地少。文昌作协主席符忠群说，文昌人均土地少，好些田地沙土多，淡水水源缺少，解放前文昌没有良好的灌溉体系，文昌的田地沙土较多，就是有田地也往往因灌溉问题而缺水，百姓能保证正常的生活饮水就知足。

First, Wenchang has a large population but limited land. Fu Zhongqun, chairman of Wenchang Writers Association, said that Wenchang has limited per capita land, and many fields have more sand than normal soil, fresh water resource is in short supply as well. Before the Liberation, Wenchang did not have a good irrigation system, in addition to sandy soil, fields were often short of water due to irrigation problems. Thus, the people were already satisfied as long as normal living and drinking water supply can be guaranteed.

又有强台风长年袭击，农作物产量不高，农耕基本上靠天吃饭，乡亲们日子过得艰难，需要想办法寻找生路和出路。清朝政府开放海禁后，为了寻找生活出路、很多青壮年在清澜港清澜码头登上帆船，飘洋过海，到异国他乡东南亚等国家打工谋生，然后寄钱回来养家糊口，这样的行为称为去番或者下南洋，家乡叫“番客村”的村庄比比皆是。后来文昌去国外打工谋生的人越来越多，现在外国生活华侨人口比本地人口多，因此文昌市被称为华侨之乡。

Besides, Wenchang were always attacked by strong typhoons for many years, causing the low output of crops. Farming basically depends on weather there. People all lived a difficult life and had to find other ways to survive and make a living. After the Qing government abolished the sea ban, in order to make a living, many young people boarded on sailboats at Qinglan dock in Qinglan port to cross the sea heading for the Southeast Asia to fight for life, and then sent money back to support their families. Such phenomenon is called “going to Fan (foreign countries)” or “venturing to Nanyang (Southeast Asia)”. Villages called "Fanke village" are everywhere in their hometown. Later, more and more people in Wenchang went to work abroad to make a living. Up to now, the number of overseas Chinese living abroad is much larger than the local population. Therefore, Wenchang is given the name of the hometown of overseas Chinese.

谭显波

文昌籍作家谭显波出版过长篇小说《蕃客村的女人》，生动具体地记述蕃客村女人的苦与痛，写下为蕃客独守空房、看家护院的女人所演绎的一幕幕悲欢离合、催人泪下的故事。

Tan Xianbo, a writer from Wenchang, has published a novel "Women in Fanke Village", which vividly and concretely described the sufferings and pains of women in Fanke Village. For women who lived alone and looked after their families in Fanke Village, he wrote down these weepy stories which are full of scenes of sorrow, joy, separation and reunion.

需要说明的是，海南的土地哪里贫瘠哪里肥沃很难一概而论，只是某地种某植物是否最适合，比如琼海适合种胡椒、槟榔和橡胶，定安很适合种花生，东方市宜于种花梨，文昌的东郊椰林可以上邮票的，说明文昌种椰子树最妥。

In fact, it is difficult to generalize where the land in Hainan is barren or fertile, but it can be tested whether a place is suitable for a certain plant. For example, Qionghai is suitable for planting pepper, betel nut and rubber; Ding'an is suitable for planting peanuts, and Dongfang City is suitable for planting rose wood; the coconut forest in the eastern suburb of Wenchang can appear on stamps, which shows that Wenchang is suitable for planting coconut trees.

文昌东阁镇大架村村委会主任林明奇

文昌东阁镇大架村村委会主任林明奇告诉笔者，有家公司想寻找最适合种香米水稻的田地，在全海南岛到处找，多个市县的土地都有缺憾，最后在文昌的东阁找到了。事实上，文昌的有些土地硒元素含量高，没有任何污染，能生产高端水稻，还可以大面积种植，但这种水稻种植时需要不少有机肥，好处是稻谷价格高，一收获还能全部被包销。现今来看文昌，符忠群主先生认为，文昌尽管人多地少，发展高效农业还是值得探索的新路子。

Lin Mingqi, director of the Village Committee of Dajia Village, Dongge Town, Wenchang, told me that a company once wanted to find the field which is the most suitable for planting fragrant rice. They searched all over Hainan Island, but fields in many cities and counties all had defects. Fortunately, they finally found the suitable field at Dongge in Wenchang. In fact, some fields in Wenchang are rich in selenium without any pollution. So high-end rice can be planted and produced on a large scale there. But this kind of rice requires a lot of organic fertilizer. It also has obvious advantages that the price of high-end rice is high and it can be fully underwritten once harvested. Looking at Wenchang today, Fu Zhongqun believes that although it has a large population but little land, efficient agriculture is a new way deserving to explore.

其二，生活动荡。1926年至1930年，由于当时福建、广东两省施政混乱，内战蔓延，人们的生活动荡不安，许多年轻的海南人便逃奔南洋各地，寻找新的生活。

Second, life was turbulent. From 1926 to 1930, due to the chaos of governance in Fujian and Guangdong Province, the civil war spread, people's activities were uneasy, and many young Hainanese fled to the Southeast Asia to find a new life.

其三，当时广州、琼山、雷州等港口都有外国船舶通商。船多来自大食和三佛齐（今阿拉伯和印尼），居住在岛东的文昌人利用航线的便利，随船到南洋谋生，成为最早的“住番”，其后裔就成为了当地的“土生唐人”。

Third, foreign ships often traded in Guangzhou, Qiongshan, Leizhou and other ports at that time. Most of ships came from Stag-gzig (now Arabia) and Srivijaya (now Indonesia), which enabled Wenchang people living in the east of the island to travel to Southeast Asia with the advantage of the shipping routes. Then they became the earliest "Zhufan (foreign residents)", and their descendants became the "native Tang people".

其四，文昌有相对风平浪静的铺前港和清澜港，为人员来往提供了良好条件。大多数文昌人从铺前、清澜两港出发，奔向东南亚各地。文昌人多从清澜、铺前乘三桅帆船于冬至前后启程，趁北风之势，随波漂流一个月左右，抵达越南、泰国、马来西亚、新加坡等国。

Fourth, Wenchang has relatively calm ports of Puqian and Qinglan, providing good conditions for travelers. Most Wenchang people started from the Puqian Port and Qinglan Port, and then headed for all parts of Southeast Asia. They usually set off around the winter solstice on barkentines, taking advantage of the north wind and drifting along the current for about a month. Finally, they would arrive in Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

据有关资料统计，从1876 至1898 年的23 年间，通过港口客运出洋的琼侨人数就达24.47 万人之多，平均每年1 万有余，最多年份可达2 万多人，其中文昌人占半数以上，几乎是青年劳动力。

According to relevant statistics, from 1876 to 1898, the number of Hainan overseas Chinese who went abroad through the port had reached 247,700, with an average of more than 10,000 per year. And it could be up to a maximum of more than 20,000 some year. Wenchang people accounted for more than a half of this figure, and they almost were young labor force.

其五，文昌人借助了海口的地利。现在我们说海澄文一体化，历史上，文昌和海口早在某些方面已经相融，比如人员往来就非常方便，好些文昌人从海口出发下南洋。在1902 年至1911 年间，海口已有洋轮开往曼谷、新加坡等各埠，春夏每月对开二、三次不等，每次多则载千余人，少则三四百以至五六百人，其中也是文昌人居多。

Fifth, Wenchang people took advantage of Haikou's good geographical location. Now we talk about the integration of Haikou, Chengmai and Wenchang. Historically, Wenchang and Haikou had already merged in some aspects. For example, it was very convenient for people exchanges and many Wenchang people set off from Haikou to Southeast Asia. From 1902 to 1911, Haikou already had ships sailing to Bangkok, Singapore and other ports, with two or three departures a month in spring and summer. Each time those ships could take more than 1,000 people at most, or 300 to 600 people at least. Of course, Wenchang people was still the majority of them.

其六，在抗日战争时期，大批文昌侨眷携带妻儿及亲友，冒着生命危险从清澜、铺前、宝陵、冯家、五龙等港口乘桅船，冲破日军封锁线，横渡琼州海峡，至广州湾赤坎、西霞（今湛江，当时为法租界）避难，然后乘轮船到南洋各埠，投靠亲人，另谋生路。

Sixth, during the Anti-Japanese War, a large number of Wenchang overseas Chinese took their families and relatives, risking their lives to take masted boats on Qinglan, Puqian, Baoling, Fengjia, and Wulong ports. They broke through the Japanese blockade, crossed the Qiongzhou Strait, took refuge in Chikan and Xixia (now Zhanjiang, the French concession at that time) in Guangzhou Bay, and then took boats to various ports in Southeast Asia to find their relatives and make a living.

据海关的统计，1937 年琼侨出洋由1936 年的3.3 万多人增至4.4 万多人。1939 年琼侨出洋达到最高潮，仅逃至广州湾的人数“几达五万之众”，后经由琼侨总会的救济帮助，绝大部分转往新、马、泰等地 。

According to the customs statistics, the number of overseas Chinese from Hainan increased from 33,000 in 1936 to more than 44,000 in 1937. In 1939, the number of Hainan overseas Chinese reached its peak. The number of people who fled to Guangzhou Bay "nearly reached 50,000". Then, with the aid of the Hainan Overseas Chinese Federation, most of them moved to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and other places.

在抗日战争时期，文昌人下南洋也开辟了陆路，主要是经过广西进入越南，或经云南进入缅甸，在东南亚各国流动。

During the Anti-Japanese War, Wenchang people also opened up land routes to Southeast Asia, mainly going to Vietnam via Guangxi province, or to Myanmar via Yunnan province.

早期文昌华侨在异国他乡谋生，为了敦睦情谊，互相扶助，共图福利，创立了不同形式的社会团体。地缘性的乡谊团体，有庙宇、神社、会馆、会所、同乡会等，在新加坡，地缘性组织及同乡会有 20 多个。琼海侨领王绍经、王先德曾先后担任琼州会馆主席。血缘性的宗亲团体，则以血缘关系为纽带，宗亲为单位，在新加坡、马来西亚有符氏社、琼崖黄氏社等 30 多个。业缘性的团体，多以行业为单位组织公会，宗旨是乡亲之间相互帮助。

In order to promote friendship, help each other and seek common welfare, the early Wenchang overseas Chinese who made a living in a foreign country, established different forms of social organizations. Geographically, there were temples, shrines, guild halls, clubs, and fellow provincials associations. In Singapore, there are more than 20 geographical organizations and fellow townsmen associations. Wang Shaojing and Wang Xiande, leaders of overseas Chinese from Qionghai, have served successively as the chairman of Qiongzhou Guild Hall. The consanguineous groups take kinship as the tie and clan as the unit. There are more than 30 such groups in Singapore and Malaysia, such as Fu's Clan and Qiongya Huang's Clan. Industry-related groups mostly take industry as the unit to organize associations, aiming at helping each other among fellow townsmen.

文昌人在东南亚一带先站住脚，之后是老乡带老乡，老乡帮老乡，为文昌人下南洋占了先机。

The early Wenchang people firstly find a footfold in Southeast Asia, and then helped their townsmen later on, giving Wenchang people an advantage of venturing Southeast Asia.

译者： 赵婉玉

小编： 丁昕

监审： 叶海声