The Chinese Question

A Book Review
Presented to the History Department
College of Liberal Arts
De La Salle University - Manila

In partial fulfillment
Of the course requirements
For HIS512M (Thematic Course 1: Ethnohistory)

SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. Lars Raymund C. Ubaldo

SUBMITTED BY:
Mendoza, Darwyn Albert T.

April 06, 2018

 Table of Contents

I. The Author ..................................................................................... 1

II. Introduction…………………………………………………………...1-4

III. Discussion…………………………………………………………...4-10

IV. Conclusion…………………………………………………………10-11

V. References…………………………………………………………….12
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 1

I. The Author

Caroline Sy Hau is a Chinese-Filipino writer and scholarly known for her work

on Filipino culture and writing and for her books The Chinese Question: Ethnicity,

Nation and Region In and Beyond the Philippines and Necessary Fictions: Philippine

Literature and the Nation, 1946—1980.

She obtained her B.A. in English from the University of the Philippines

Diliman and her M.A. what's more, Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from

Cornell University. She right now fills in as Professor of Southeast Asian writing at

the Center for Southeast Asian Studies in Kyoto University.

II. Introduction

During the early twentieth century, Manila was known as a frontier city and a

city with a blend of cultures. This is where one can say that Asia or the East meets

the West since individuals from different parts of the world came to Manila and

brought their cultures and languages to Manila, particularly the Spaniards, Chinese,

and Americans, thus resulting to a merge of both cultures and languages. Gloria

Gonzales mentioned that, "the long history of trade and cultural interaction between

what we now call Chinese and Filipinos dates to the Song Dynasty. While the

Chinese traded and interacted with the people of the Philippine archipelago as far

back as the tenth century". This just shows how far the relationship of the Filipinos

and the Chinese goes, because the Chinese has been doing exchange and

interacting with the Filipinos even before the Spaniards arrived and discovered

Manila.
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 2

“For centuries, migration and trade have bound the Philippines and China,

long before Spanish, American and Japanese colonizers conquered its shores. In

1594, the world’s first Chinatown was established in the Philippine capital Manila.

The Chinese influence has become embedded into the country’s identity, becoming

distinctly Filipino - from country’s national hero, Jose Rizal to its Fujian-style

noodles, pancit canton (Regencia, 2015).” It isn't a surprise that numerous Chinese

people have migrated to the Philippines mostly from Amoy (Xiamen) or other parts of

the Fujian Province. In this way, these people are consistently adding to the growing

population of the Chinese people in the Philippines. It is very fascinating that as the

time goes by, the Chinese married Filipino or Chinese individuals born and raised in

the Philippines, open up their own business, and have a family here. A perfect

example can be found in Binondo, Manila, particularly in the well-known street of

"Ongpin", where there are numerous Chinese families that have begun their very

own business there.

Nowadays, it is extremely intriguing that many Filipinos wish to learn the

Chinese language, especially Mandarin, since it is believed to be the second

language after the English language and that many people likewise believes that the

Chinese language can open new working opportunities and a bright future for them.

It is very true that learning in the Chinese language is extremely useful as far as

engaging in business is concerned, but the language itself is also believed to be one

of the hardest languages to learn, thus it is recommended to start learning the

Chinese language at a very age possible. The issue however is simply the language

itself, since Mandarin is not the same as Fukien. Mandarin is considered as the
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 3

national dialect in both Taiwan and China. Then again, Fukien is some way or

another seen as the "provincial language" that many people may no longer learn

Fukien, instead focusing in learning Mandarin to the point that there many

Taiwanese and Chinese in the Philippines, particularly the younger generations, that

don’t know how to speak and cannot understand the Fukien dialect1.

It is obvious that the Chinese culture is shared and all around acknowledged

by the Filipinos and this can be found in the manner in which the Filipinos observe

Chinese New Year alongside the Chinese. To give some examples, The Filipinos

have loved and adored mooncakes, nian gao or sticky cake (otherwise called tikoy

by Filipinos), and hopia.

Descendants from Filipino-Chinese families are either Chinese or Chinese

mestizos and this is especially clear through the physical appearances of the

children, however these children are practicing both Chinese and Filipino cultures

and customs. These descendants who practice the two different cultures that, to a

few people may actually say that it is conflicting to each other, however it isn't

exactly hard to adjust to the two societies, due to the way that the Philippines is a

multicultural nation, that has been mainly influenced by the Spaniards, Americans,

Japanese and the Chinese. It is the truth, however that there are contrasts between

the Chinese culture and the Filipino culture, yet comparing the two similarities, the

differences are just a few. Many descendants from Chinese families learn how to

accept that they are Filipino by citizen and name, but they have Chinese blood

1 See, Teresita Ang. The Chinese in the Philippines: Problems & Perspectives.
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 4

running through their veins. They learn how to speak in Mandarin, Fukien, Filipino

or Tagalog, and English, thus they have become multilingual speakers.

III. Discussion

The term, Filipino Chinese, possess both Filipino and Chinese characteristics

and cultures, which they valued equally. They also want to balance out both being a

Filipino and Chinese at the same time. According to Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran, Inc.,

Filipino Chinese refers to the traditional Chinese individuals who are mainly Chinese

by blood but Filipino in citizenship and by heart. These are individuals who are

usually Philippine-born who were born to ethnic Chinese parents, who identify

themselves as Chinese, but have citizenship of a Filipino.

The culture of the Chinese deeply grew its roots in the Philippines and the

Chinese did not lose its age-old family traditions. One prominent example is that a

Chinese must only be married to a fellow Chinese; because it is considered a ‘taboo’

for a Chinese to marry a Filipino or a foreigner, thus, creating conflicts to both sides.

There are instances, where a member of a traditional Filipino-Chinese family may be

denied of his or her inheritance and more likely to be disowned by due to marrying a

non-Chinese. However, there are some exceptions, where interracial to a Filipino or

a foreigner is acceptable, for instance, if the Filipino’s family is well-off, influential or

born to power, etc.

At the beginning of the 21st century, some Chinese Filipino families begin to

allow their children to marry Filipinos. As contrast to when the Second World War

just ended, Chinese families in the Philippines were much stricter when it comes to

marriages to their children. Now, it has become more lenient. However, many still
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 5

favor to still respect tradition and prefer that the Filipino would have some Chinese

blood2.

Hau mentioned that the oldest Chinese newspaper in the Philippines is the

Chinese Commercial News. It is the only existing pre-war newspaper to this day.

To the Chinese-Filipino community, The Chinese Commercial News is more

popularly known as “Siongpo”. “Siong” meaning commercial and “po” means

newspaper. The term “Siongpo” is in the Fukien dialect, this term was used because

majority of the Chinese-Filipinos’ ancestral village are from the Fujian Province in

China. However, in the Mandarin dialect, it’s known as “Shangbao”.

Chinese Commercial News was founded in October 1919; its humble

beginnings were just a monthly newsletter of the then Manila Chinese Chamber of

Commerce. The founding publisher of the Chinese Commercial News was Mr. Yu Ti

Tung, who died in 1945. During that time, he established ten editorials polices for

Siongpo: (1) Improve relationship with the local community, (2) Eliminate the class

difference between capital and labor, (3) Provide leadership for the Chinese

community, (4) Encourage the improvement of education for the local Chinese, (5)

Support political reforms in China, (6) Coordinate Chinese organizations ; (7)

Expand overseas business ; (8) Develop business investments in China ; (9)

Disseminate business knowledge ; and (10) Report business news. The newspaper

was also meant to be published monthly to the readers, however in April 1922, it

was transformed to a daily paper and it still does so now.3

2 Pe, Roger. "Filipino-Chinese Interracial Marriage: A Cracked Mirror?" BusinessMirror,

3
Chua, Wesley. "Chinese Commercial News." Interview.
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 6

To the Chinese-Filipino community, The Chinese Commercial News is more

popularly known as “Siongpo”. “Siong” meaning commercial and “po” means

newspaper. The term “Siongpo” is in the Fukien dialect, this term was used because

majority of the Chinese-Filipinos’ ancestral village are from the Fujian Province in

China. However, in the Mandarin dialect, it’s known as “Shangbao”.

Chinese Commercial News was founded in October 1919; its humble

beginnings were just a monthly newsletter of the then Manila Chinese Chamber of

Commerce. The founding publisher of the Chinese Commercial News was Mr. Yu Ti

Tung, who died in 1945. During that time, he established ten editorials polices for

Siongpo: (1) Improve relationship with the local community, (2) Eliminate the class

difference between capital and labor, (3) Provide leadership for the Chinese

community, (4) Encourage the improvement of education for the local Chinese, (5)

Support political reforms in China, (6) Coordinate Chinese organizations ; (7)

Expand overseas business ; (8) Develop business investments in China ; (9)

Disseminate business knowledge ; and (10) Report business news. The newspaper

was also meant to be published monthly to the readers, however in April 1922, it

was transformed to a daily paper and it still does so now. 4 However, in the present

day, the newspaper is not as powerful as it was before. The rise of its competitors

such as World News and United Daily News, affected Chinese Commercial News’s

circulation shrunk big time. So now, they are to come up with strategies in order for

them to keep up with the competitive Chinese newspaper industry.

In 2011, tensions began to arise between China and the Philippines,

particularly the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. China was well-known by its
4
Chua, Wesley. "Chinese Commercial News." Interview.
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 7

neighboring countries to have guts to claim an island near their territory belonging to

them. Due to tensions, the Philippines renamed the sea, from South China Sea to

West Philippine Sea.

All of the tensions then affect the local Filipino-Chinese here in the

Philippines. Filipinos with little or no background on the difference between

Mainland Chinese and the Filipino-Chinese people, tend to blame or bully the local

Chinoys in the Philippines for the tensions, saying phrases like “Go back to China”,

“Land-Grabber”, etc.

During the 1990s, the Chinese Filipino community had been traumatized by

increasing events of kidnapping. Teresita Ang-See, an editor of a Chinese-Filipino

magazine and one of the few prominent Chinese-Filipinos spoke out about the

kidnappings. She mentioned that "You can call Chinese-Filipinos perfect victims

because they don't talk." Meaning, Chinoys use their common sense, where in

times of trouble such as kidnapping, they would quickly act to a certain extent that it

would not result into grave circumstances.5

Hau cited an example of a famous film entitled, Mano Po. The film was one

of the most successful series in Philippine cinema history. The very first Mano Po

was filmed in 2002, where it focuses on the lives of the Chinese Filipino community.

The succeeding Mano Po films created more insights into the lives of Chinoys,

including their love stories, tradition, and honor to one’s family. The films already

had seven different series, the latest was in 2016, “Mano Po 7: Chinoy”. 6

5Shenon, P. (1992, October 18). Abductions 'Traumatize' Chinese in Philippines. New York Times.
6The Manila Times. (2016, June 28). ‘Mano Po’ through the years. The Manila Times. Retrieved April 4,
2019, from https://www.manilatimes.net/mano-po-through-the-years/270442/
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 8

The core idea that connects Chinese Filipino families is called ‘kinship’. 7 In

the Chinese culture, there are many classifications as what to call certain relatives

on both sides of your family. For instance, to the Filipino culture, people would call

‘lolo’ for grandfather and ‘lola’ for grandmother, regardless on which side he or she is

referring too. Also, a Filipino would call ‘tito’ for uncle and ‘tita’ for aunt regardless

on which side and the order of birth in the family, and lastly ‘kuya’ for older brother

and ‘ate’ for older sister no matter how many there are. However, in the Chinese

culture, that is not the case, according to Oakton Community College from Chicago,

Illinois, United States of America, Chinese kinships are very specific, from which

side of the family you are referring to, the rank or order of birth, etc. For instance:

(1) Paternal Grandfather, the kinship is ‘zǔ fù (祖父)’ or ‘yé yé (爺爺)’ (Mandarin) and

‘Ang-kong’ (Fookien dialect); (2) Paternal Grandmother, the kinship is ‘zǔ mǔ (祖母)’

or ‘nǎi nai (奶奶)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ah-ma’ (Fookien dialect) ; (3) Maternal

Grandfather, the kinship is ‘wài zǔ fù (外祖父)’ or ‘wài gōng (外公)’ (Mandarin) and

‘Gua-kong’ (Fookien dialect); (4) Maternal Grandmother, the kinship is ‘wài zǔ mǔ (

外祖母)’ or ‘wài pó (外婆)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Gua-ma’ (Fookien dialect). Notice the

difference of the kinship between paternal and maternal side, in the maternal side,

the Chinese character of “wài (外)” is added, which means outside; because

according to Chinese customs, relatives in one’s mother’s side does not possess the

same surname as the person. In one’s parent’s generation on his or her father’s
7 Tong, W. (1995, May). Chinese Kinship Titles.
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 9

side, Father’s Older Brother is called ‘bó fù (伯父)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ah-pe’ (Fookien

dialect) and the wife is called ‘bó mǔ (伯母)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ah-uhm’ (Fookien

dialect). However, that is not always the case, if one’s father has several older

brothers, then the oldest brother of one’s father is called ‘dà bó fù (大伯父)’

(Mandarin) and ‘Tua-pe’ (Fookien dialect) and the wife is called ‘dà bó mǔ (大伯母)’

(Mandarin) and ‘Tua-uhm’ (Fookien dialect); the second oldest brother of one’s

father is called ‘èr bó fù (二伯父)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Di-pe’ (Fookien dialect) and the

wife is called ‘èr bó mǔ (二伯母)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Di-uhm’ (Fookien dialect); the third

oldest brother of one’s father ‘sān bó fù (三伯父)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Sa-pe’ (Fookien

dialect) and the wife is called ‘sān bó mǔ (三伯母)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Sa-uhm’

(Fookien dialect); and so on. With regards, father’s younger brother, he is called

‘shú fù (叔父)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ah-tsiak’ (Fookien dialect) and the wife is called ‘shú

mǔ (叔母)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ah-tsim’ (Fookien dialect). With regards, father’s sister,

she is called ‘gū mǔ (姑母)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ah-ko’ (Fookien dialect) and the

husband is called ‘gū fu (姑父)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ko-tiu’ (Fookien dialect).

Also, same as to father’s older brother, if one’s father also has several

younger brothers and sisters (regardless if the sister is older or younger than one’s
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 10

father), the kinship would depend also on the order of birth amongst the siblings by

using the Chinese numeral system. Same with one’s uncles and aunt in the

mother’s side, a mother’s brother (regardless older or younger than the mother) is

called ‘jiù fù (舅父)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ah-ku’ (Fookien dialect) and the wife is called

‘jiù mu (舅母)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ah-kim’ (Fookien dialect). For mother’s sister

(regardless older or younger than the mother) is called ‘yí mǔ (姨母)’ (Mandarin) and

‘Ah-yi’ (Fookien dialect) and the wife is called ‘yí fu (姨父)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Yi-tiu’

(Fookien dialect). Chinese numeral system also applies when there are several

brothers and sisters of the mother, depending also on their order of birth amongst

the siblings.

Lastly, with regards, to siblings, older brother is called ‘gē gē (哥哥) / ā xiōng (

阿兄)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ah-hia’ (Fookien dialect). Younger brother is called ‘dì dì (弟

弟) / ā dì (阿弟)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Sioti’ (Fookien dialect). Older sister is called ‘jiě jiě (

姐姐) / ā jiě (阿姐)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Ah-ji’ (Fookien dialect). Younger sister is called

‘mèi mei (妹妹) / ā mèi (阿妹)’ (Mandarin) and ‘Shobe’ (Fookien dialect). The

Chinese numeral system also applies when there are several brothers and sisters of

the mother, depending also on their order of birth amongst the siblings.

To conclude Chinese kinship is a very complicated and at the same time very

detailed to in terms of their communications to relative to both sides of the family.

 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 11

IV. Conclusion

The Philippines is the one and only country that future Filipino-Chinese will

pledge allegiance to. Most Chinoys might have no Filipino blood, but their love and

patriotism is to the Philippines. Filipinos and Chinese have been in good relations

for thousands of years, they learned and adapted from each other’s way of living.

Even though conflict exists between Filipinos and Chinoys nowadays,

especially due to conflict with The People’s Republic of China, Filipinos and Chinoys

still work hand in hand together in order to build better relations in this country.

Lastly, it is the local Filipinos and the local Chinoys themselves, who are the links to

a better enhancement of this country. It does not matter if it be Chinoys or local

Filipinos, as long as the two segments work together, the future will be bright

between the two identities.

 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 12

V. References

Chua, Wesley. "Chinese Commercial News." Interview.

Pe, Roger. "Filipino-Chinese Interracial Marriage: A Cracked

Mirror?" BusinessMirror, January 25, 2017. Accessed November 14, 2018.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/filipino-chinese-interracial-marriage-cracked-
mirror/.

See, Teresita Ang. The Chinese in the Philippines: Problems & Perspectives. Vol. 1.
Manila, Metro Manila: Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran, 1990.

See, Teresita Ang. The Chinese in the Philippines: Problems & Perspectives. Vol. 2.
Manila, Metro Manila: Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran, 1997.

See, Teresita Ang. The Chinese in the Philippines: Problems & Perspectives. Vol. 3.
Manila, Metro Manila: Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran, 2004.

Shenon, P. (1992, October 18). Abductions 'Traumatize' Chinese in Philippines. New

York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2019, from
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/18/world/abductions-traumatize-chinese-in-
philippines.html

The Manila Times. (2016, June 28). ‘Mano Po’ through the years. The Manila Times.
Retrieved April 4, 2019, from https://www.manilatimes.net/mano-po-through-
the-years/270442/
 A Book Review on The Chinese Question 13

Tong, W. (1995, May). Chinese Kinship Titles. Retrieved April 4, 2019, from
https://www.oakton.edu/user/4/billtong/chinaclass/chinesekin.htm