Abstract
Based on published inscriptional data, the paper attempts to study a group of Chinese subcommunal elites in 19th-century Penang. The group comprises in general the social and the economic elite. The former is gauged by their frequency in donating to the many Chinese voluntary associations, and the latter by the total amount donated throughout the 19th century.
It is found that the Hokkiens produced a disproportionately large group of social elites, in comparison with other contemporary Chinese speech groups. While the well-spread Hokkien economic elite also dominated the Chinese community in Penang, the group's ascendancy was curtailed and checked by the Cantonese/Hakka elite whose top donor's contributions dwarfed that of his Hokkien counterpart.
The Hokkien elite is said to have been drawn from five major clans by the surnames Chen, Lin, Qiu, Xie and Yang. The Qius were the most influential group, but the Yang's status seems to have been inappropriately conferred.
