OVER SEVERAL CENTURIES, armadas of Chinese junks journeyed southwards with cargoes of coveted luxury goods and treasures, calling on ports along the Straits of Malacca. The Maritime Silk Road brought people and interests together to the already-cosmopolitan and globalised port cities of Penang, Melaka and Singapore. These places were privy to the precious cargoes unloaded from Chinese junks – tea, silk and porcelain.
When it came to porcelain, the renowned kilns in Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province, China, would customise their export wares to suit its overseas clientele. Among these exports were armorial objects to exchange for European tributes, Bencharong made to Thai specifications and “Allah” plates with Arabic inscriptions bound for the Middle East and Central Asia. Despite high global demand, a dedicated clientele for their blue and white and the commissioned Famille rose porcelains existed in Penang, Melaka and Singapore. These customers were the Straits Chinese Baba Nyonyas.
Many of the early Chinese migrants to the peninsula originate from the southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian; these came intermittently through the centuries for commerce and trade, sometimes to escape revolution and turmoil, and sometimes, for opportunity and adventure. In Malaya, they set up homes mostly in the Straits Settlements, with women from the region –Thais, Burmese and Indonesians, among others. These Straits Chinese also embraced the culture and lifestyle of European arrivals, infusing these into their food, fashion and lifestyle.
