Southeast Asia has long been a vital part of the trade routes connecting China with India, Arabia, and Europe. Chinese interactions with peoples of the Malay-Indonesian archipelago date back to the 5th century, and Chinese tradesmen have formed communities in this region since the 15th, especially along the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca, and Singapore. Illustrated with hundreds of archival photographs and also color plates of the region's unique architecture, domestic objects, costumes, beadwork, textiles, ceramics, and jewellery, this book provides a detailed account of the development of the Straits Chinese social and material culture.