[7] Prior to the establishment of Singapore as a British trading port, there was a small population of 120 Malays who were followers of Temenggong Abdul Rahman, and about 20–30 Chinese living on the island.

[9] Many Chinese Singaporeans can trace their ancestry to provinces of southeastern China that mainly include speakers of Hokkien, Teochew, and to a lesser extent, Hakka and Cantonese.

The Singapore Department of Statistics defines "Chinese" as a "race" or "ethnic group", in conjunction with "Malay, Indian and Others" under the CMIO model.

[7] Prior to the establishment of Singapore as a British trading port, there was a small population of 120 Malays who were the followers of Temenggong Abdul Rahman, and about 20–30 Chinese living on the island.

[7] Following the decline of Srivijayan power, Temasek was alternately claimed by the Majapahit and the Siamese, but the invasion of 1377 and 1391 caused Singapore to be destroyed.

Singapore is marked as Dan Ma Xi in the Mao Kun map that dates back to the naval voyage of Chinese explorer Zheng He in 1403.

[6][17] The writings of Stamford Raffles and William Farquhar indicate that the British found Temenggong Abdul Rahman with 400 to 500 residents in Singapore in January 1819.

[9] Change in social attitude in the modern era also meant that Chinese women were freer to emigrate from China, and the sex ratio began to normalise in the 20th century.

The Second Sino-Japanese War, started in 1937, revived a perceived sense of patriotism in the local Chinese to their native homeland in China which led them to impose an embargo against Japanese goods and products in Singapore.

Following the growth of Singaporean national identity, the Chinese immigrants began to change their mindset from that of temporary migrants to permanent settlers, thus establishing roots in Singapore.

[31] Other popular deities are the Kew Ong Yah, Guan Teh Gong, Kuan Yim Hood Chor, Ong Yah Gong, Qing Shui Zhu Shi, Bao Sheng Da Di, Kai Zhang Sheng Wang, Fu De Zheng Shen and especially the Jade Emperor, 9th Day of the 1st Lunar Month is the birthday of Jade Emperor and is considered by many Chinese to be the most important day of the lunar year.

The Deity will provides wide range of divine assistance from bestowing blessings to oracles consultation to exorcism to giving spiritual protection and talismans.

These clan associations (kongsi) served as unions for the mostly illiterate Chinese labourers and represented them when dealing with their colonial administrators or employers.

They originated from Hong Kong and the southern region of Guangdong province in China, including Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhaoqing, Jiangmen, Maoming, Zhongshan, Yunfu, Shenzhen, Yangjiang, Zhuhai, Dongguan and Zhanjiang.

Apart from Lee Kuan Yew, many first-generation leaders of Singapore were of Hakka descent, including Chor Yeok Eng, Hon Sui Sen, Howe Yoon Chong and Yong Nyuk Lin.

The Peranakans are descendants of mixed-race Chinese subgroups such as the lower class Tankas who have for generations extensively intermarried with the indigenous Malays, Bugis, Balinese, Javanese or Europeans and assimilating their adopted slave children.

Many Peranakans and Hokkien Chinese moved out of the congested town of Singapore – today's Central Business District – and built seaside mansions and villas along the East Coast in Tanjong Katong for their families.

Many Peranakans converted to Roman Catholicism during the 17th and 18th century Dutch, Portuguese, British and Spanish colonisation of Southeast Asia, which saw missionaries set up posts in Batavia (today's Jakarta) and along the Malay Peninsula.

As a result of the government's policy, English or Singlish has become widespread among the residents of Singapore, including but not limited to the Chinese Singaporeans, and this especially the case among the younger generations.

[46] But at work or in the city and business district, English is the official lingua franca, but ironically Hokkien remains extant amongst Singaporeans, not limited to the Chinese, and operates as an unofficial common language, reminiscent of Singapore before the 1980s.

Colloquially, as with all other languages spoken in Singapore, the Chinese Singaporeans prefer a localised flavour of mixing words from English, Hokkien, Malay, and some other varieties, into their Mandarin speech.

This exigency is translated into recently renewed efforts by Chinese clan associations in Singapore to impart and revive their respective Sinitic mother tongues, which are met with warm reception, including by some of the younger generations.

[61][dubious – discuss][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74] Characterized as a diminutive yet prosperous outsider nation surrounded and standing out amidst its geographically larger, politically unstable, technologically underdeveloped, and economically impoverished Southeast Asian counterparts that have remained hostile to the city-state's continued existence since its founding.

Throughout the far reaches of Maritime Southeast Asia, Singapore itself is known and regarded as a "small Chinese Island in a Muslim Sea," as the Chinese Singaporeans are reputed for their enterprising disposition, entrepreneurial prowess, financial savvy, and investment acumen that has led them to being regarded as the "Jew of the Orient" as a result of the community's extensive economic influence that pervasively permeates throughout the country and the wider regional Southeast Asian economic outspread at large.

[76] Given contemporary China's growing economic strength, a number of Chinese Singaporean businessmen and investors have turned to their ancestral roots through clan associations to rekindle with their Han Chinese ancestry as well as to exhibit a sense of ethnic pride by expressing their homage, tribute, and honour to their forgone ancestors by partaking in China's economic development through the pursuit overseas business and investment opportunities offered in the country.

The household and median income for Chinese Singaporeans commonly exceed the national average where it remained the highest out of the three major ethnic groups in 2000.

To attract western investments, the Singaporean government decided to adopt the fundamental policy of making English its main lingua franca and working language.

However, the destruction of Chinese-medium education system in Singapore has been causing the younger generation of Chinese Singaporeans to gradually losing their heritage and roots.

The active writers at that time include Miao Xiu (苗秀), Yaozhi (姚紫), Zhaorong (赵戎) and Shushu (絮絮).

Singapore also features a thriving Chinese pop music scene and are known for producing Mandopop artists such as JJ Lin, Stefanie Sun, Tanya Chua etc.