By the middle of the Qing dynasty (1644- 1911) the rot had begun to set in at the Chinese court, and wave after wave of people from the Minnan (or Southern Fujian) coastal belt of China set out across the South China Sea in search of a better life.
清朝中葉，清廷腐象漸生，閩南沿海一帶的華人為了更好的生活願景，一波又一波地向南洋湧去。