Arrival of Chinese in Malaysia.

Malaysian Chinese or Chinese Malaysians also known as: 

Bahasa Malaysia: Kaum Cina Malaysia

Chinese: trad 馬來西亞華人, simp 马来西亚华人, pin Mǎláixīyà Huárén

Chinese is the second biggest ethnic group in Malaysia. They are the descendants of the Chinese people who arrived in Malaysiain the 15th to mid 20th centuries. 

Waves of Chinese emigration (also known as the Chinese Diaspora 中国流亡zhōng guó liú wáng ) have happened throughout history. The mass emigration occurred from the 19th century to 1949, was mainly caused by wars and starvation in mainland China, invasion from various foreign countries, as well as the problems resulting from political corruption. Most immigrants were illiterate, or average/poorly educated peasants and manual labourers, historically called coolies (Chinese: 苦力kǔ lì , translated as "hard labour"), who emigrated to work in Malaysia.

The coolies that worked at Malaysia during 18^th century.

There are 5 main waves of Chinese immigration occured.

First wave:

15th century

The friendly diplomatic relations between China and Malacca culminated during the reign of Sultan Mansur Syah, who married the Chinese princess Hang Li Po. A senior minister of state and five hundred youths and maids of noble birth accompanied the princess to Malacca. The descendants of these people, mostly from Fujian 福建 fú jiàn  province, are called the Baba 峇峇bā bā  (men) and Nyonya 娘惹niáng rě  (women).

Second wave:

1651-52

The massacre in Fujian when the Manchu 满族 mǎn zú  took over China. The Fujian refugees of Zhangzhou resettled on the northern part of the Malay peninsula while those of Amoy厦门shà mén and Quanzhou 泉州quán zhōu  resettled on the southern part of the peninsula. This group forms the majority of the Straits Chinese who were English-educated.

Third wave:

Late 19th century- Early 20th century

A much larger wave of immigrants, mainly from the controlled port of Fujian and Guangdong 广东guǎng dōng  provinces through the administration of the British, this is due to the First Opium War of Battle of Amoyand Battle of Canton (May 1841) resulting Canton and Amoy being captured by the British to enhance their trading of the orient namely Old China Trade. Their immigration to Malaya and Straits Settlements was encouraged by the British, who used the Chinese to work in tin mines and rubber plantations. This group established Chinese Schools and were mostly Chinese-educated.

Forth wave:

1911 – 1949

In the Chinese civil war, most of the Chinese migrated outside of Republic of China due to warring period due to arising warlord at the peak of declining state of Qing Dynasty empire. During Kuomintang mission to united whole of China, came along the Communist Party of China and are considered one of the biggest threats towards Kuomintang中国国民党zhōng guó guó mín dǎng  of Republic of China中华民国zhōng huá mín guó  (1912–49), between the period of 1911 - 1949. Many Chinese citizen who hold Republic of China citizenship are forced to migrate because of insecurity, high demand food and business opportunity due to war. In Post-war, Kuomintang's supporter and member migrated outside of mainland during settled down in Malaysia and automatically gain Malaysian citizenship in 1957 and 1963 as this country gained independence. 

Fifth wave:

1990s

A much smaller wave came after the 1990s, holding the citizenship of People's Republic of China, most of them came to seek for business opportunity.