The
early Chinese immigrants in Singapore came from China. The Chinese immigrants
came to Singapore by junk. And they work as coolies or laborers here. In the
early days Chinese spoke dialect instead of Mandarin. The Hokiens, Teochews,
Cantonese and Hakkas were the four major dialect groups.
The
Chinese set up Clan House to help each other in their problems and have
gathering during festivals, as they are mostly single. The Clan House also acts
as a place for them to chitchat and spent their free time there.
In
the early days most Chinese know how to speak Malay. This is because in those
days all of them live in kampong where the majority were Malay. This brings the two
different cultures together. Thus living together in harmony.