Teochew dialect
Seah Eu Chin was born in 1805 as the son of Seah Keng Liat (), a minor provincial official of "Guek-po" (i.e. in Teochew dialect) "Village" at the Chenghai County of the former "Chaozhou Fu". He was educated in Chinese classics in his youth, but decided to seek his fortune abroad. He came to Singapore in 1823, first working as a clerk, then becoming a plantation owner and finally becoming a trader and a merchant.