Chinese Brazilians

Chinese Brazilians
Sino-brasileiro
Total population
250,000
Regions with significant populations
São Paulo City, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro
Languages
Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin and Macanese Patois
Related ethnic groups
Asian Brazilians, Asian Americans, Macanese people

Chinese Brazilians (Portuguese: Sino-brasileiro or Chinês-brasileiro; Chinese: 巴西华人 or 巴西华裔) are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to Brazil. The Chinese Brazilian population was estimated to be approximately 250,000.[1]

Brazil imported slaves from Lisbon's population of Chinese slaves in Portugal.[2] Fillippo Sassetti saw some Chinese and Japanese slaves in Lisbon among the large slave community in 1578, although most of the slaves were blacks.[3] Portugal exported to Brazil some Chinese slaves. Military, religious, and civil service secretarial work and other lenient and light jobs were given to Chinese slaves while hard labor was given to Africans. Only African slaves in 1578 Lisbon outnumbered the large numbers of Japanese and Chinese slaves in the same city.[4]

It is known that there were Chinese in Brazil as far back as the late 18th century. Rugendas painted a depiction of Chinese Tea planters in Rio de Janeiro during the period of the Portuguese Royal family in Brazil. In 1814 John VI of Portugal brought 300 Chinese from Macau to work in the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro.

São Paulo has the largest Chinese Brazilian population, in particular on the district of Liberdade. Besides being an area famous for its strong Japanese presence, a significant number of Taiwanese immigrants have settled in Liberdade, and many Chinese immigrants have come to Liberdade following the Communist revolution in 1949. Many Cantonese from Hong Kong and Portuguese-speaking Macau, including some Macanese of mixed Chinese and Portuguese descent, have also settled in Brazil. These Macau immigrants can usually speak and understand Portuguese (its Creole, Macanese or Patuá, is also spoken), allowing them to adjust more easily to life in Brazil. Today, the majority of Chinese Brazilians only speak Portuguese, although some may be bilingual, speaking Portuguese and Chinese.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ http://portuguese.cri.cn/165/2007/05/22/1@67710.htm
  2. ↑ Teixeira Leite 1999, p. 20: "Já por aí se vê que devem ter sido numerosos os escravos chineses que tomaram o caminho de Lisboa — e por extensão o do Brasil ... Em 1744 era o imperador Qianlong quem ordenava que nenhum Chinês ou europeu de Macau vendesse filhos e filhas, prohibição reiterada em 1750 pelo vice-rei de Cantão."
  3. ↑ Jonathan D. Spence (1985). The memory palace of Matteo Ricci (illustrated, reprint ed.). Penguin Books. p. 208. ISBN 0-14-008098-8. Retrieved 2012-05-05. countryside.16 Slaves were everywhere in Lisbon, according to the Florentine merchant Filippo Sassetti, who was also living in the city during 1578. Black slaves were the most numerous, but there were also a scattering of Chinese
  4. ↑ José Roberto Teixeira Leite (1999). A China no Brasil: influências, marcas, ecos e sobrevivências chinesas na sociedade e na arte brasileiras (in Portuguese). UNICAMP. Universidade Estadual de Campinas. p. 19. ISBN 85-268-0436-7. Retrieved 2012-05-05. Idéias e costumes da China podem ter-nos chegado também através de escravos chineses, de uns poucos dos quais sabe-se da presença no Brasil de começos do Setecentos.17 Mas não deve ter sido através desses raros infelizes que a influência chinesa nos atingiu, mesmo porque escravos chineses (e também japoneses) já existiam aos montes em Lisboa por volta de 1578, quando Filippo Sassetti visitou a cidade,18 apenas suplantados em número pelos africanos. Parece aliás que aos últimos cabia o trabalho pesado, ficando reservadas aos chins tarefas e funções mais amenas, inclusive a de em certos casos secretariar autoridades civis, religiosas e militares.

External links

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