新加坡和文莱是东南亚两个国情迥异但又多有相似的小国。两国隔海相望，同属马来世界，同为海洋文化，但一个以马来文化为底色、以华人文化为主体，一个以马来文化为主体、以伊斯兰绝对君主制为特色。对两国进行文化溯源，有助于以史为鉴，让我们更好地理解海上丝绸之路在古代海洋东南亚文化发展史上扮演的角色，助力民心相通，为共建21世纪海上丝绸之路贡献力量。
Singapore and Brunei are two unique city states in Southeast Asia. They are vastly different while sometimes，surprisingly，similar. They both embraced a deeply rooted Malay cultural gene and prolonged histories of cultural exchanges with other Asian civilizations. Meanwhile one inherits a Chinese majority with a Malay backdrop，the other is proud of a Malay Islamic monarchy. This chapter tries to search for the origins of these two cultures from a history point of view by examining their ancient names，different phasing in terms of cultural development and cultural exchanges with China and so on.
