谈新加坡土生华人 ：二战对于土生华人文化的影响及其未来走向 = Peranakan Chinese in Singapore : impact of World War II on its culture and future trends

Abstract

19世纪初期，新加坡成为自由港口以后，随即而来的便是富有独特文化的土 生华人族群。这批土生华人成为了新加坡第一批土生华人，为早期新加坡的发展尽了一份力。由于土生华人精通英语，也十分效忠于英殖民政府，因此他们受到了英殖民政府的青睐与信任，两者之间保持着良好的关系。同时，19世纪初的土生华人也在社会上扮演了举足轻重的角色，拥有着崇高的地位，能算是土生华人文化最兴盛的时期。然而，二战时期，土生华人社群受到了严重的打击，从而导致了土生华人文化走向了衰落的道路。至今，土生华人依然无法完全恢复其社会地位以及二战前的辉煌，土生华人文化甚至面临着衰落的危机。In the 19th century, Singapore became a free port and a large group of Peranakan Chinese came flocking into the country, bringing along their unique indigenous culture. During the British colonial era, the British government highly favoured and trusted the Peranakan Chinese in Singapore as they possessed substantial abilities in the English language and also pledged their loyalty to the British. At that point of time, the Peranakan Chinese played a very significant role in the society and enjoyed high social status. As a result, the culture of Peranakan Chinese prospered. However, their flourishing culture soon faced a downturn after World War II broke out in Singapore and the Peranakans, who were greatly affected by the war, found difficulties in recovering even after the World War II ended. Thus, this thesis attempts to study the differences of the Peranakan culture before and after the World War II, so as to prove that World War II had made a significant impact on the culture. Additionally, it will be further enhanced with an analysis on the long-term effect the war had brought upon the diminishing Peranakan culture. Lastly, the thesis will conclude with a presumption of future trends of the Peranakan culture based on the long- term impact of the war.