Chinese Historical Society of San Diego ~ 1tt r -If tp ~~ Jt 11~ tt t~ bull 404 Third Avenue San Diego CA 92101

Museum Update Sculpture Exhibit a Financial Success

--- Alexander Chuang

The M useum staffand volunteer helpers have been busy organizing and preparshying exhi bits and events in the past few mon ths From M ay 31 to July 10 1997 the San Diego Chinese Historical Mushyseum s ponsored a sculpture exhi bit by Cheng Bing fro m Beijing China Only th irty years old the artist has earned an international reputation and has been the wi nner of several awards The exhishybItion Incl uded forty-seven pieces 01

figurative modern sculpture that showed intluence from Chinese and Western styles His wife Du Chunmei also had her waterco]ors on display Cheng Bings work was well-received by the Chinese community and art connoisseurs Twenty-four of his pieces were sold totaling $43000 The museum received one-third of the total which for tax purshyposes is considered a contribution to the

museum

On June 21 a second exhibit opened the commem oration of the hand over of Hong Kong on July I 1997 This exshyhibit fe atures sixty-four visual images of important events during Britain s censhytury-l ong rule including the signing of the draft agreem(nt in 1984 that decided

the f Ie of Hong Kong copies of the Nanki ng Treaty (in English and Chishynese) along with other pictures of Hong Kong in various periods and Imperial China prior to the Opium War Doug

Newsletter-- Summer 1997

Guesis mingle among Cheng fJlI1gmiddots mallY sculplures dUring Ihe May J 1 middotr~middot~middot~pttOn at the

Museum Pho(o-MKL

CurleeofKUSIChanneI951 andJudy Hsu of KFMB Channel 8 both visited the museum and covered the exhibit on the local news which included intershyviews with the Museum staff The Mushyseum was opened on Monday June 30 and the Hong Kong exhibit set up exclushysively for Channel 8s live bromiddotJcast The exhibit will run for one month

BeginningJuly 31 the Museum with the Taichung Sister City group is showing a collection of Taiwan aboriginal artifacts from Taichung Mostly from the Ching Dynasty pottery clothing jewelry and decorative and household items will be

on view The Mayor ofTaichung will be

attending the opening ceremony for this exhibition During this period the 41st Annual Sister Cities International Conshyference will be meeting in town

New Museum Donations Marion So $1000 (total-$3500) Claire amp Robert Reiss $1000 (total-$II 000) Jim Shieh $83333 Patricia Howell amp Ralph Jones $85667 Gene Lay $603334 (total-II 03334) Tsong-Ling Wang $66667 Alexander Chuang $500 (total-$3500) William Wei $400 (total-

Inside This Issue

Museum Update Community Outreach

How Hong Kong Became a British Colony

The Significance of Hong Kong to Chinese American Immigrants

Chinese American History in Nevada How Kowloon Got Its Name

Coming Events

$2400) Clifton Asche $66667 J Robshyert Orton $000 Shu Chien $666 67 (total-366667) Manching Lam $500 (total-$IOOO) Lynn Chou $500 (total $1500) Julia Hsu $500 (total$15500) Ali ce Gu $200 (total-$2200) Theresa Lo $200 (total-$700) John Wang $11667 San Diego Chinese Womens Assoc $1000 (total $2500) Miles Hom $50 Jeff McIllwain $100 Total $1679002

[n addition to these donations the family ofYao-Ling Hom who passed away on July 9 designated the Chinese Historishycal Society as one of the places where donations in her memory could be made Yao-Lings photo and story of her comshying from Burma appears in the exhibitIn

Presidents Message-shy

Dear Friends Thank you for your support We appreciate that many of you have renewed your membership For those of you that have not yet done so we hope that you can take a few minutes to complete the form and send in your dues so that you can conti nue to receive the newsletter and be notified of events We are in the process of preparing a membership directory Of course we would like all of you to be included

The Chinese Historical Museum has put on a wonderful exhibit to commemorate Hong Kongs return to China Including sixty-two pictures of hi storical accounts prior to the 1842 Nanking Treaty to the day of the hand-over on July 1 1997 the exhibit is the only one in the San Diego Chinese Community docu menting the history of Hong Kong KFMB Channel 8 News and KUSI Channel 9 News have both visited the Museum to cover this historical exhibition

-- Michael Lee

Search of Gold Mountain in the Mushy set up the M useum exhibit at the United seum She will also be remembered in Church of C hrist conference at Har ey Community the Museum s Memorial Book Mudd C ollege in C laremont COutreach Murray also gave an historic al presenshyPersonnel Changes Departing T rustees Lilly Cheng Ruth Carpenter and David Wong Arriving Trustees Daniel Chang Michael Lee Robert Reiss Jenny Benson New Socishyety Director Virginia Kim New Mushyseum volunteer Luan Knotts Thank you departees welcome new arrivals

Officers President Michael Lee

Vice President Art Risser Secretary Michael Yee

Treasurer Jim Wang President Emeritus Sally Wong

Board of Directors Alexander Chuang

Dorothy Hom Tom Hom

Sawyer Hsu Virginia Kim

Donna Lee Milton Low

Paul Pai Carmen Tom

Richard Wang

Newsletter Editorial Team

Murray K and Gladys S Lee This Newsletter is published by

Chinese Historical Society of San Diego

404 Third Avenue San Diego CA 92101

--- Murray K Lee

From the 8th through the 16th of May the exhibit on the history of the restoration of the Chinese Mission as the Chinese Hisshytorical Museum was shown in the City Administration Building in conjunction with the California Archaeological Week and National Preservation Week Next year they would like to indude some of our archaeological artifacts

On May 8 Murray Lee gave a slide preshysentation of In Search ofGold Mountain

at the monthly meeting of the Rancho del Norte Corral of the Westerners at Anthonys Restaurant in Rancho Bernardo The Westerners is an internashytional organization founded in 1944 for the study and enjoyment of Western hisshytory There are 112 corrals worldwide

On May 22 Murray Lee was invited to be the keynote speaker at the Third Annual Multi-Cultural Celebration of the San Diego Sector of the US Border Patrol at Brown Field The all day event inshycluded food entertainment presentations and awards The Museum historical exshyhibit was also put on display

On June 13-14 Murray and Gladys Lee

tation at the request of the Pacific Is shyland Asian- Am e rican Ministries (PAAM) during their cultural sharing

On June 17 members of the Chinese American WW II Veterans ofSouthshyern Cal ifornia Research Project of the Chinese His torical Society ofSouthshyern California came to the Museum to help us register our veterans T hey are publishing a book on the veterans and decided at the last minute to include veterans from San Diego Munay Lee rounded up as many vets as possi ble in theshort time provided them wi th forms to fill out and invited them to the Mushyseumforinterviews A Veterans Regshyistry has been created for San Dicgo and will be an on-going project of the Museum and include local Chinese American vets of all wars If you are a vet and havent been contacted or know of a vet that should be included contact Murray at the Museum or at 272-2366

On June 29 the Hong Kong exhibit was set up at the dinner commemoratshying the return of Hong Kong at the Kings Garden Restaurant (University Ave) Lee Ann Kim of Channel IO was there and interviewed a number of guests including Alex Chuang and Museum volunteer Luan Knotts

Page 2 Chinese Historical Society of San Diego

$2400) Clifton Asche $66667 J Robshyert Orton $000 Shu Chien $666 67 (total-366667) Manching Lam $500 (total-$IOOO) Lynn Chou $500 (total $1500) Julia Hsu $500 (total$15500) Ali ce Gu $200 (total-$2200) Theresa Lo $200 (total-$700) John Wang $11667 San Diego Chinese Womens Assoc $1000 (total $2500) Miles Hom $50 Jeff McIllwain $100 Total $1679002

[n addition to these donations the family ofYao-Ling Hom who passed away on July 9 designated the Chinese Historishycal Society as one of the places where donations in her memory could be made Yao-Lings photo and story of her comshying from Burma appears in the exhibitIn

Presidents Message-shy

Dear Friends Thank you for your support We appreciate that many of you have renewed your membership For those of you that have not yet done so we hope that you can take a few minutes to complete the form and send in your dues so that you can conti nue to receive the newsletter and be notified of events We are in the process of preparing a membership directory Of course we would like all of you to be included

The Chinese Historical Museum has put on a wonderful exhibit to commemorate Hong Kongs return to China Including sixty-two pictures of hi storical accounts prior to the 1842 Nanking Treaty to the day of the hand-over on July 1 1997 the exhibit is the only one in the San Diego Chinese Community docu menting the history of Hong Kong KFMB Channel 8 News and KUSI Channel 9 News have both visited the Museum to cover this historical exhibition

-- Michael Lee

Search of Gold Mountain in the Mushy set up the M useum exhibit at the United seum She will also be remembered in Church of C hrist conference at Har ey Community the Museum s Memorial Book Mudd C ollege in C laremont COutreach Murray also gave an historic al presenshyPersonnel Changes Departing T rustees Lilly Cheng Ruth Carpenter and David Wong Arriving Trustees Daniel Chang Michael Lee Robert Reiss Jenny Benson New Socishyety Director Virginia Kim New Mushyseum volunteer Luan Knotts Thank you departees welcome new arrivals

Officers President Michael Lee

Vice President Art Risser Secretary Michael Yee

Treasurer Jim Wang President Emeritus Sally Wong

Board of Directors Alexander Chuang

Dorothy Hom Tom Hom

Sawyer Hsu Virginia Kim

Donna Lee Milton Low

Paul Pai Carmen Tom

Richard Wang

Newsletter Editorial Team

Murray K and Gladys S Lee This Newsletter is published by

Chinese Historical Society of San Diego

404 Third Avenue San Diego CA 92101

--- Murray K Lee

From the 8th through the 16th of May the exhibit on the history of the restoration of the Chinese Mission as the Chinese Hisshytorical Museum was shown in the City Administration Building in conjunction with the California Archaeological Week and National Preservation Week Next year they would like to indude some of our archaeological artifacts

On May 8 Murray Lee gave a slide preshysentation of In Search ofGold Mountain

at the monthly meeting of the Rancho del Norte Corral of the Westerners at Anthonys Restaurant in Rancho Bernardo The Westerners is an internashytional organization founded in 1944 for the study and enjoyment of Western hisshytory There are 112 corrals worldwide

On May 22 Murray Lee was invited to be the keynote speaker at the Third Annual Multi-Cultural Celebration of the San Diego Sector of the US Border Patrol at Brown Field The all day event inshycluded food entertainment presentations and awards The Museum historical exshyhibit was also put on display

On June 13-14 Murray and Gladys Lee

tation at the request of the Pacific Is shyland Asian- Am e rican Ministries (PAAM) during their cultural sharing

On June 17 members of the Chinese American WW II Veterans ofSouthshyern Cal ifornia Research Project of the Chinese His torical Society ofSouthshyern California came to the Museum to help us register our veterans T hey are publishing a book on the veterans and decided at the last minute to include veterans from San Diego Munay Lee rounded up as many vets as possi ble in theshort time provided them wi th forms to fill out and invited them to the Mushyseumforinterviews A Veterans Regshyistry has been created for San Dicgo and will be an on-going project of the Museum and include local Chinese American vets of all wars If you are a vet and havent been contacted or know of a vet that should be included contact Murray at the Museum or at 272-2366

On June 29 the Hong Kong exhibit was set up at the dinner commemoratshying the return of Hong Kong at the Kings Garden Restaurant (University Ave) Lee Ann Kim of Channel IO was there and interviewed a number of guests including Alex Chuang and Museum volunteer Luan Knotts

Page 2 Chinese Historical Society of San Diego

shyth U ew I churd iJure Mu rruy ue oy Hong Jim Fung Buld 111 Hum und

JefUlings Hom aT the World War If veteran s reg istration day t the M useum Photo- NF

On Jul y 10 a reception wru c -sponshysored by the Chines Hjs torical M ushyseum Chine e Historical Society and tbeSan Diego Historical oci ty (SDHS) at the Museum of San Diego History in Balboa Park An exhi bition of The Robes of China was previewed T he Lucky Lion Dancers ente rtained the guests and the food served by Chi na Camp was arranged by Michael Lee Wine and othe r drillks were provided by the SDHS Thi wa a very successful j oi nt ve nture provid ing the opportunity fQf both memberships to share an eveni ng together

How Hong Kong Became a British Colony

- Paochin Chu

On July I 1997 Hong Kong the Orienshytal Pearl retu rned to the Motherland after I SO years of colonial rule under Briti h im perialism Mo t Chinese thr ughoutthe world were overwhelmed wi th great joy Ho ng Kong was ceded to the British at the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 when China lost the Opium War China reet very of Hong Ko ng means elimination of the last legacy of Western [mperialism in C hina

cul turally supe rior and economically se lf suffi cient Th is univers al Middle Kingshydom was used to the idea that foreign states could have relations with C hina onl y as tributaries without the idea of modern in ternational relations of so vershye ign states The international trade was considered only as his majesty s beshynevolence toward people fro m a disshytance During the late M ing and the early Ching periods missionaries in China greatly promoted cul tural exchanges between China and the West Merchants

from Portugal and Holland who came to

C hina could only do limited business in several designated ports

In 1720 officials in Canton responsible for foreign trad bull passed regu lati ons for des ignated me rchant firm ~ to deal equall y wi th fo re ig n merchant III order to r ~d uce the ircompetiti n o r most of the years there were 6 to 13 but e entushyall y they remaJ ned at 13 and became known as the T hirteen C ohong The C ohong wa given monopoly of fore ign trad and was also re ponsiblc for forshyeig ners behavior In order to reduce foreign impact toward tradnional Ch ishyn se cul ture and the poss ibility of pi racy problems C anton was des ignated as the

nly trading port in 1757

By 1736 among the 86 B re ign shi ps arri vi ng in Canton 61 belonged to the

British or three quarters ltllUrall y improving the trading condition wilh C hina became the major concern of the British Between 1755 and 1837 the British govern ment upon recom menshyda tion of the East India Com pany disshypatched severa l missions to C hina tryshying to establish a factory in Beijing to trade in Ningpo and other ports to have a settlement near C anton and to reduce or eliminate inner river taxes without

Murra y u e Ale Chuang Michael Lee Sawyer Hm and Norman F()ng wuh Jud H~11

For ~ e nlUries China was a strong empire during her broadcastrom chI M useum Photo- GSL

ummer 1997 Issue Page 3

r fbull

The Canton f actories foreis n occupied warehouses offices and bachelor quarters on the wateljront c 1780

result Ho we er the British did not wage a large scale war with C hina until the opium problem became serious

In the earlier years around 1719 only 200 cases (a case equals 133 to 150 po unds) of opium were exported to China Through the management of East India C ompany it increased to 34776 cases in the year 1837 As deshybilitation from smuking re sulted and the loss of silver became very serious an imperial edict w~ issued in 17 [9 that traders as well as those who operated smoki ng stores be prosecuted In 18 [5 the restriction was extended to foreign

ships carry ing opium They were prosshyecuted and their cargo confiscated The Cohong merchant were held responshysible fo r violations Years later the

opium im port became more serious The Ching court split between the officials for Iega[ization and for suppression In [838 Empcror Tao-kuang was impressed by Governor Ge neral Lin Tse-hsu s

memorial of suppression that all who grew sold manufactured smoking tools and smoked would be condemned to die After nineteen audiences wi th

EmperorTao-kuang Lin was appointed Imperial Commissioner and sent to C anshyton to deal with the problem of opium As soon as Lin arrived in Canton he

assembled several hundred students to provide him with information concernshying names and places of opium wholeshy

salers and retailers After he purged hi s corrupted officers who profited from opium smuggling he demanded thal all forei gn merchants sign a contract that they wo uld never carry opium again In case t wP~ were any vi olations me n wo uld be executed and goods be confi sshycated When there was no rcsponse from the B ritish he ordered that the Bri tish factory be sealed up Under press ure from shortage of supplies and services British Superintendent Charles Elliot handed over all British opium as well as other merchants opium totaling more than 20000 cases to Lin It took Lin 23 days to have the opium destroyed in June [839

The death of Lin Wei-hsi a village r from

Kowloon offered the British Goverment an excuse for war Drunken British sailors beat Lin Wei-hs i to death When Commissioner Lin demanded the Britshyish to hand over the sailors to the C hishynese Government for trial acco rding to the Chinese legal system British Supershyintendent Elliot refused Added to the death of Lin Wei-hsi and the dispute of the opium there was the conflict over diplomatic relations and legal jurisd icshytion In June 1840 the British Parliashyment sent a fleet under Rear Adm iral George Elliot to China When Admiral Elliot found Canton was well defended

he turned to the north The court raged when the British fleet arrived in Taku

and when the British command reacbed the Ching court near Tientsin Commisshysioner Lin was fired The British Fleet was only tricked back to South C hina and the long negotiations and casual fighting continued

From June 184 [ to August 1842 the Bri tis h took over many significant isshylands and ports along the C hinese coast including Amoy Ningpo hanghai and finally C heng-Chiang (he city a t the entrance of the Y ang tse Valley rice hi pshyping to enter the G rand Canal fo r the capita l Eventually C hina surrendered and the T reaty o f Nanking was signed by Si r Henry Poltjnge r and the Ching Shih Y ing on the British warship Corn wallis of ugust 29 1942

The Treaty ofNanking incl uded (I ) abolshyishing C ohong monopoly f foreign trade (2) fixed tariff r te (3) ceding Hong Kong to Britain (4) opening fiv e ports to Briti sh res idents an d trade C anton Amoy Foochow Ningpo and Shanghai (5) an indemnity of 2 1 milshylion foreign si lvcrdolla rs to cover opium destroyed and the war costs Under the most favored nat ion lause treatment all the Western nations including the US enjoyed simi lar benefitmiddot in Chi na

In August 1856 the Chi nese patrol searched the Arrow Boat a Chinese boat wi th Chinese sailors and d iscovshyered its registration at Hong Kong was

long expired The Chinese na y look down the B rit ish flag and arr sted 12 Chinese sailors Under protest of the B rit ish Consul Henry S Parkes Canton Governor General Yeh M ing-c hen reshyleased the sailors wi thout apology The Bri tish warships began to bombard Canshyton city Shortly in Decemb r a Bri tish

sailor was killed by the villagers the British sailors burned the whole vill age and the villagers in turn burned th Britshyish factory Now the Bri tish found an excuse for war and that was the fact that

the British factory was burned and the British flag was insulted By December Lord Elgin commanded an expedi tionshyary flee t to the East in cooperation with the French They sacked Can ton and captured Governor General Yeh and

Page 4 Chinese Historical Society of San Diego

Governor Po Kuei In August 1860 the Allies sacked Tientsin and entered Peshyking (Beijing) In October the SinoshyBritish of Peking and Tientsin and SinoshyFranco Treaties were signed Kowloon was ceded to the British besides opening ten more trade ports 16 million indemshynity and allowing opium to be imported to Chi na Before the British withdrawal the famous imperial garden Yuan Ming Yuan was burned

In the late nineteenth century when the various power pressed Chi na for leasshyItlg coastal pons the British under the pretense tha t the French was leasing the gulf of Canton demanded Weihaiwei and the north part of Kowloon (New Territory) Under British threat a speshy

ial agreement of99 year lease between Lhe British and China was signed to extend Hong K ng territory to the present line known a New Territory on June 9 1898 It was well known tha t at the end of World War II the Nationalist Govshyernment rushed troops [rom Yunnan to Canton so that they could take back HongKong However the Chinese army could no t go faster than the British fl eet When they reached the Hong Kong area the British fleet had already accepted the surrender of the Japanese Now 99 years are over Hong Ko ng fin al reshyturned to her motherland With the new (ompletcd north -s outh trunkw ay shyBeijing- Kowl oon Railway Hong Kong should maintain its unique position as the major trading port of South Chjna and manufacturing center

Pao(hill Chu is a Professor ofHistory at San Diego Slale University

The Significance of Hong Kong to Chinese American Immigrants

--- Murm K Lee

The r turn of Hong Kung has been deshyscribed as the end of humiliation or 150 years of n tional shame The Ching (Qing ) Dyn asty when trying to curtail the importation and use of opium by its people lost the Opium War and was

compelled to sign the treaty ofNankjng in 1942 the first of a series of unequal treaties which ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain In spite of much of the distaste for thei r weak dynasty at that time the Chinese people proud of their history and cultural heritage found the violations of their sovereignty by forshyeign barbarians a di sgrace But throughout Hong Kongs history the colony has served a unique position which has had a beneficial impact on many Chinese especi all y Chinese American immigrants

The first wave of Chinese who emishygrated from the Pearl River Delta area of Guangdong to America in the midshy1800s were able to do so because of Hong Kong Traditionally leaving China was forbidden to its citizens and punishable by death Furthermore for a son to leave his ancestral home was a

Throughout its history Hong Kong served as a sanctuary f or the Chinese people

sign of unfilial behavior and was not condoned but the strife the deteriorashytion of the government and fa mine comshybined wi th the lure of Gold Mountain provided the necessary circumstances to buck tradition and the authorities and to set out for a foreign destinati ofl

After Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain the British quickly established a major port to serve the entire area As a consequence there were the necessary foreign ships and mechanisms to facil ishytate this exodus It was relatively easy for the men of the nearby villages to make their way to Hong Kong After the first emigrants reported back and the volume of emigration increased due to the opportunities and demand for Chishynese labor in California a whole army of middlemen and labor brokers set up shop ill Hong Kung They pu bl ished circulars and advertisements touting the opportunities for high wage~ and reshywards in America The following is an 1862 example of a comprador or middlemans circular

To the countrymen of Au Ch an l There are laborers wanted in the land of Oregon in the United States of America There is much inducement to go to this new country as they have many great works there which are not in your own country They will suppl y good houses and plenty offood They will pay you $28 a month after your arrival and treat you considerately when yo u arri ve There is no fear of slavery All is nice The ship is now going and will take all who can pay their passage The money required is $54 Persons having property can have it sold for them by correspondents orborrow money of me upon security I cannot take security in your chilshydren or your wife Come to me in Hong Kong and I will care for you unt il you tart The ship is su bstanti al and con ve nient Au Chan

Shipping companies also took advanshytage of the exodus with regular transpashycific voyages and the use of a credit ticket system alowed nany to go and repay their fares with deductions from their earnings in the new land As a result Hong Kong became the point of embarkation for almost all of the early Chi nese immigrants Unlike the Chishynese migrations to Southeast Asia the means by which the Chi nese crossed the Paci fic was almost enti rel y by western ships at fi rst by s iling vess Is and later by steamers Economic exploitation was involved in the immigration and ship ow ners and middlemen all profited from the business The debts usually required longer th an originally anticipated to reshypay but in spite of the system the debts were eventually rep aid

TIlfoughout its history Hong Kong served a a sanctuary for the Chi nese people Besides providing the means for Chishynese migration to America Hong Kon g also provided a haven forChinese during the Taiping rebellion the 1911 re vo lushytion the Sino-Japanese war in the 1930s and after the Chinese Communist takeshyover of the mainland in 1949 Since the advent of the Peoples Republ ic Hong Ko ng has served as a safety valve for thousands ofpolitica( and economic refushygees In 1962 inoneofthemostpuzzling policies of the Communists the regime permitted 60000 refugees to swarm across the 17 mile border with Hon g

Summer 1997 Issue Page 5

Kong The colony already swollen with a population of over three and a half mi ll ion began to close its borders and send many back across the Bam boo Curtai n After protes ts from a sympashythet ic Amer ican publ ic Presi den t Kennedy invoked provis ions ofexisting r fugce legislation and from 1962 t 1965 paroled over 15000 Chi nese refu shygee who entered the US from Hong Kong

Seventeen years later in 1979 another high point in Hong Kongs re fu gee dishyI mma was rcached Around 150000 re fugee crossed the border from ChIna of whic h appro imatety one third were caught and re turned home Un fortushynately 1979 marked anoth r phase in refuge Hong Kong would be the des tishynation of thou ands more refugees this ti me from the South C hi na Se War in Indoc hi na created a mass exod us to su rshyroundi ng areas with the majority headed fo r Hong Kong Those that came by sea were tagged boat peop le and were mo tly ethn ic Chinese Hong Ko ng al shyready bursti ng with refugees had to proshyvide a haven for e en more In 1979 there were ovef 66000 in re fugee camps awaiting seu lement to any country that would take them From 1975 to the end of 1979 the United S tates took over 233000 Southeas t As ian refugees

Hong Kong also erved as a place of East West contact dur ing the many years of the Cold War This relati ons hip proshyvided many opportunities for both sides and the people of Hong Kong enjoyed the freedom to develop as a manufacturshying center and world trade entrepot- a modern economic miracle M any Chishynese American~ took advantage of th is d namic development and established close connections with the colony Alshythough the c ircumstances in which Chi na lost this terri tory and had to endure the unequal treat ies cannot he con idered a period f r hi h the C hinese can look back upon without thoug hts of humiliashytion the role of Hong Ko ng throughout much o f its histo ry certainly had a posishyti ve impact on man y Chinese especially those who sought refuge and opportushynity in the Free World

Las Vegas tour group visll the Nemiddot Chinato wn ureu Jor dinner and pose for Iheir photo PholO- AC

Chinese American History in Nevada

---Tom Hom

April was a good time of the year to visi t Las Vegas with the desert weather in the 70s and the eveni ngs mildly cool Twenty members of the Chinese H isshytorical Society took advantage of this and spent April 28th through May 1st in Las Vegas primarily to visit the Nevada State H istorical Museu ms outstanding exhibit of Nevadas Chinese Amnican history entitl ed Beyond Gum Sun

The exhibit was concei ved and coordishynated by Professor Sue Fawn Chung of the Uni versi ty of Las Vegas Professor C hung very gracious ly took time from her busy academic schedule to give the Society a personal tour and lecture on the histofY of the C hinese presence in the development of Nevada and their life style during that ti me T he exhibit included many of the implements and tools the Chinese used while working the rich silver mines railroads and other

occupations while in Nevada It also had an xten ive presen tat ion o n e a rl y C hi nese settlements tha t one time eX ISle throug hout Ne shyvada whicl have since vanished or have deteriorated with the last remshynants o f ghos t towns The exhibit also incl uded a fine sca le model of a Chinatown ettleshymen It was most enlighten ing and educational

There pro ably has never been a tour to Las Vegas whic h di d not include the

famous casinos Our tour group tOok ad vantage of this occasion and had a good time visiting these exc iti ng places Some even had a be tter time than ant icishypated because of thei r good fo rtune at the gaming machi nes

Of course there was food food food includ ing our C hinese banquet in the New C hi natown As fo r the night owls they a lso had all the Chinese style oxtail that they could eat in downtown Las Vegas after visiting the Frem nt Experishyence Bes ides a ll the eati ng money transactions and the vis it to the mushyseum someofthegroup also we nltos e the engineering marvel Hoove r Dam while others went gol fing

It was a fun- filled and duc3tional trip well worth taking Among the good time fellow travelers were Gorman and Delores Fong Roy and Eli zabe th Hong Doug and Frances McArth ur Soc ie ty President Michael Lee Alex and Ag nes C huang Sam and Bonnie Dang Kwan and Yee Wah J ungNorm an andPau linc Fang Paul and Phy llis Cha Mimi Beasley and others The tour leaders were Tom and Dorothy Hom

Page 6 Chinese Historical Society of Sail Diego

How Kowloon Got Its Name

--- Gladys S Lee

From Chinese Potpourri by James ZeeshyMin Lee 1951

In the 13th century savage Mongol hordes invaded China in an attempt to wipe out the Sung Dynasty The Mongols c nquered city after city in the north and occupied the ancient capital of Kaifang causi ng the seat of the Imperial governshyment to be moved to Hangchow Before long the Mongols took Hangchow forcshying the Sung Emperor and his court to fl ee further south to Foochow on the seac as t where yet another new capital was established Again it was not long before the Mo ngols were advancing on Foochow Lu Hsiu Fu the Chief Minisshyter to the Sung E mperor stubbornly reshyfu sed to surrender to the Mongols He firmly believed that as long as the rightshyful hei r to the throne was ali ve he could someday reclaim his birthright as emshyperor Therefore Lu decided to flee the enemy and build a stronghold to protect the Emperor and wait for the time to rerum to the Imperial Capital W ith thou~ands of officers and soldiers of the Im perial Anny they fled by sea o n imshyperia l j unks to the south

On their flight from Foochow the Emshyperor Tuan Tsung died and his eleven year old brother Ping was proclaimed as the 18th Sung Emperor according to the the decree on line of succession It was at this point in the year 1278 that the Emperor Ping his Chief Ministe his officers and soldiers sailed into the transhyquil waters of the harbor now known as Hong Kong The harbor was surrounded by mountain ranges as far as the eye could see and appeared to be a safe haven The junks were docked and the Chief Minister disembarked to look for the village elder The royal surveyors were dispatched to study the land and to determine its suitability Upon thorough in vestigation it was determined that the

area would not be a suitable place to build a stronghold because it was a penshyinsu la which could be cut off from the land on one side and easily surrounded by a powerful f1eet on the other three sides However temporary quarters would have to be found for the Eeror while supplies were collected aod reshypairs made to the junks before proceedshying to a more acceptable site

All the buildings in the poor Hakka vilshylage where the fleet had docked were mud hovds and thatched huts totally unsu itable for housing an emperor so it was decided to erect a bamboo matshyhouse on a suitable site The village elder Tam Kung pointed to a high circushy

lar green hill with a huge flat boulder on its summit which the villagers called the Sacred Hill and said it might be a suitable site It was agreed that thefeng shui of the spot was excellent so the bamboo mat house was erected The young Emperor Ping and his retinue were escorted ashore and ascended the hill terrace to his temporary quarters

That even ing the young emperor stood near the edge of the hill surveying his surroundings As he looked to the east he could see long ranges of mountains stretching east and west with more ranges to the north He started to count the mountains over and over again and when he tired of doing this he turned to the C hief Minister and said I have just counted the mountains The geomancer says there is a dragon in every mountain I have counted those mountains over and over again and there are eight so there m ust be eight dragons here No your M ajesty replied Lu there are nine dragons here The young emperor replied How can that be Ive recounted the mountains and I see only eight Where is the ninth The Chief Minisshy

tersaid An emperor is considered to be a dragon so you your Majesty is the n i n th dragon The boy Emperor laughed gleefully and said Yes yes I didnt think of that Kowloon - this place has nine dragons The village elder Tam Kung upon hearing the conversation

Membership and Renewal Application C hi nese Hist rical Society of San Diego Date_________ _ Annual dues (except Life) (619) 338-9888 (museum)

D Active $20Narne _________________________________ Spouse D Active couple $30

Address 0 Senior 60+ $10

0 Senior couple $15C ity _____________ State ______ Zip code

0 Student $lO Home phone _ __________ Work phone _ ____________

0 Life $200

Occupation ___________________ FirmSchool _____ ____ _ ___ D Life eoupk $300

Please return your application or renewal with check to D Corporate $500 Chinese Historical Society 404 Third Avenue Memberships are valid through calendar year San Diego CA 92101 We are a tax-exempt non-profIt organization

Summer 1997 Issue Page 7

said to himself Kowloon Kowloo n Words spoken by the golden mouth of the emperor What an appropriate name for this place it s name shall be Kowloon (nine dragons)

As Kowloon was not a suitable site for the stronghold plans were made to go even further south to a site situated at a sou thwesterly estuary of the Canton River In due course the group moved to this island As they were in the process of reorganizi ng the ir forces and consolishydating their positions a courier came wi th the news that the Mongol fleet had taken a circuitous route to block the coast and was already outside the mouth of the China Sea The Emperors people were extremely fearful and begged Lu to abandon the fle t and flee inland but Lu refused to be discouraged saying to the ministers If we eep running away the ongols will just keep following and eventually catch up with us We must make a determined stand somewhere sometime TI1is locality is wel l chosen so let it be here and now We will fight to the death to protect our emperor So

it was that they made their final stand at the mouth of the estuary Lu stood high on the deck of the imperial barge and watched his long line of fleet towed into position poised for war He did not wait for the enemy to strike first As the Mongol fleet came nearer he gave orshyders to fire Instantly thousands of arshyrows rained onto the Mongol junks This was repeated several times and kept the enemy back But the Mongols with their better armament and numerishycally superior force soon gained the upper hand over the weary imperial soldiers In sheer desperation some of the undamaged imperial junks attempted to break through the blockage One or two were believed to have escaped The Chief Minister soon realized all was lost He rushed to the lower deck of the barge where his wife and daughter hudd led in fear and commanded them O

drown themselves He then seized the emperors jade seal tied it to his girdle and carried the te rri fied emperor on his back to the upper deck mutteringmiddot Your majestys honorable death is preferable to ignominious capitulation He then

leaped into the sea carrying the Emperor with him thus endi ng the Sung Dynasty

Coming Events On October 5 there will be a Paci fic Ri m Festival in the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District The streets in the area of the Museum will be closed and there will be a stage feat uri ng entertainment booths featuring a variety of Asian wares food and organizations Tour of the areas historic sites wi ll be conducted and the Chinese Historical Museum wi ll hold an exhibit feat uri ng local Asian history archaeolog and cul ture

On November 2 there will be a ce lebrashytion of the 70th anni versary of the firs t dedication of the Chi nese Mission build shying Old timers who had an association with this build ing and its dormi tory and their famil ies and friends will have a chance O remi nisce about those days

The annual dinner mee ting of the Chi shynese Historical Society is tentatively set for November 15 Save these dates

binese Historical Society of San Diego 404 Third Avenue San Diego CA 92101

on-Profi t Org us POST GE

PAID San Diego CA Permit No 1298

r fbull

The Canton f actories foreis n occupied warehouses offices and bachelor quarters on the wateljront c 1780

result Ho we er the British did not wage a large scale war with C hina until the opium problem became serious

In the earlier years around 1719 only 200 cases (a case equals 133 to 150 po unds) of opium were exported to China Through the management of East India C ompany it increased to 34776 cases in the year 1837 As deshybilitation from smuking re sulted and the loss of silver became very serious an imperial edict w~ issued in 17 [9 that traders as well as those who operated smoki ng stores be prosecuted In 18 [5 the restriction was extended to foreign

ships carry ing opium They were prosshyecuted and their cargo confiscated The Cohong merchant were held responshysible fo r violations Years later the

opium im port became more serious The Ching court split between the officials for Iega[ization and for suppression In [838 Empcror Tao-kuang was impressed by Governor Ge neral Lin Tse-hsu s

memorial of suppression that all who grew sold manufactured smoking tools and smoked would be condemned to die After nineteen audiences wi th

EmperorTao-kuang Lin was appointed Imperial Commissioner and sent to C anshyton to deal with the problem of opium As soon as Lin arrived in Canton he

assembled several hundred students to provide him with information concernshying names and places of opium wholeshy

salers and retailers After he purged hi s corrupted officers who profited from opium smuggling he demanded thal all forei gn merchants sign a contract that they wo uld never carry opium again In case t wP~ were any vi olations me n wo uld be executed and goods be confi sshycated When there was no rcsponse from the B ritish he ordered that the Bri tish factory be sealed up Under press ure from shortage of supplies and services British Superintendent Charles Elliot handed over all British opium as well as other merchants opium totaling more than 20000 cases to Lin It took Lin 23 days to have the opium destroyed in June [839

The death of Lin Wei-hsi a village r from

Kowloon offered the British Goverment an excuse for war Drunken British sailors beat Lin Wei-hs i to death When Commissioner Lin demanded the Britshyish to hand over the sailors to the C hishynese Government for trial acco rding to the Chinese legal system British Supershyintendent Elliot refused Added to the death of Lin Wei-hsi and the dispute of the opium there was the conflict over diplomatic relations and legal jurisd icshytion In June 1840 the British Parliashyment sent a fleet under Rear Adm iral George Elliot to China When Admiral Elliot found Canton was well defended

he turned to the north The court raged when the British fleet arrived in Taku

and when the British command reacbed the Ching court near Tientsin Commisshysioner Lin was fired The British Fleet was only tricked back to South C hina and the long negotiations and casual fighting continued

From June 184 [ to August 1842 the Bri tis h took over many significant isshylands and ports along the C hinese coast including Amoy Ningpo hanghai and finally C heng-Chiang (he city a t the entrance of the Y ang tse Valley rice hi pshyping to enter the G rand Canal fo r the capita l Eventually C hina surrendered and the T reaty o f Nanking was signed by Si r Henry Poltjnge r and the Ching Shih Y ing on the British warship Corn wallis of ugust 29 1942

The Treaty ofNanking incl uded (I ) abolshyishing C ohong monopoly f foreign trade (2) fixed tariff r te (3) ceding Hong Kong to Britain (4) opening fiv e ports to Briti sh res idents an d trade C anton Amoy Foochow Ningpo and Shanghai (5) an indemnity of 2 1 milshylion foreign si lvcrdolla rs to cover opium destroyed and the war costs Under the most favored nat ion lause treatment all the Western nations including the US enjoyed simi lar benefitmiddot in Chi na

In August 1856 the Chi nese patrol searched the Arrow Boat a Chinese boat wi th Chinese sailors and d iscovshyered its registration at Hong Kong was

long expired The Chinese na y look down the B rit ish flag and arr sted 12 Chinese sailors Under protest of the B rit ish Consul Henry S Parkes Canton Governor General Yeh M ing-c hen reshyleased the sailors wi thout apology The Bri tish warships began to bombard Canshyton city Shortly in Decemb r a Bri tish

sailor was killed by the villagers the British sailors burned the whole vill age and the villagers in turn burned th Britshyish factory Now the Bri tish found an excuse for war and that was the fact that

the British factory was burned and the British flag was insulted By December Lord Elgin commanded an expedi tionshyary flee t to the East in cooperation with the French They sacked Can ton and captured Governor General Yeh and

Page 4 Chinese Historical Society of San Diego

Governor Po Kuei In August 1860 the Allies sacked Tientsin and entered Peshyking (Beijing) In October the SinoshyBritish of Peking and Tientsin and SinoshyFranco Treaties were signed Kowloon was ceded to the British besides opening ten more trade ports 16 million indemshynity and allowing opium to be imported to Chi na Before the British withdrawal the famous imperial garden Yuan Ming Yuan was burned

In the late nineteenth century when the various power pressed Chi na for leasshyItlg coastal pons the British under the pretense tha t the French was leasing the gulf of Canton demanded Weihaiwei and the north part of Kowloon (New Territory) Under British threat a speshy

ial agreement of99 year lease between Lhe British and China was signed to extend Hong K ng territory to the present line known a New Territory on June 9 1898 It was well known tha t at the end of World War II the Nationalist Govshyernment rushed troops [rom Yunnan to Canton so that they could take back HongKong However the Chinese army could no t go faster than the British fl eet When they reached the Hong Kong area the British fleet had already accepted the surrender of the Japanese Now 99 years are over Hong Ko ng fin al reshyturned to her motherland With the new (ompletcd north -s outh trunkw ay shyBeijing- Kowl oon Railway Hong Kong should maintain its unique position as the major trading port of South Chjna and manufacturing center

Pao(hill Chu is a Professor ofHistory at San Diego Slale University

The Significance of Hong Kong to Chinese American Immigrants

--- Murm K Lee

The r turn of Hong Kung has been deshyscribed as the end of humiliation or 150 years of n tional shame The Ching (Qing ) Dyn asty when trying to curtail the importation and use of opium by its people lost the Opium War and was

compelled to sign the treaty ofNankjng in 1942 the first of a series of unequal treaties which ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain In spite of much of the distaste for thei r weak dynasty at that time the Chinese people proud of their history and cultural heritage found the violations of their sovereignty by forshyeign barbarians a di sgrace But throughout Hong Kongs history the colony has served a unique position which has had a beneficial impact on many Chinese especi all y Chinese American immigrants

The first wave of Chinese who emishygrated from the Pearl River Delta area of Guangdong to America in the midshy1800s were able to do so because of Hong Kong Traditionally leaving China was forbidden to its citizens and punishable by death Furthermore for a son to leave his ancestral home was a

Throughout its history Hong Kong served as a sanctuary f or the Chinese people

sign of unfilial behavior and was not condoned but the strife the deteriorashytion of the government and fa mine comshybined wi th the lure of Gold Mountain provided the necessary circumstances to buck tradition and the authorities and to set out for a foreign destinati ofl

After Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain the British quickly established a major port to serve the entire area As a consequence there were the necessary foreign ships and mechanisms to facil ishytate this exodus It was relatively easy for the men of the nearby villages to make their way to Hong Kong After the first emigrants reported back and the volume of emigration increased due to the opportunities and demand for Chishynese labor in California a whole army of middlemen and labor brokers set up shop ill Hong Kung They pu bl ished circulars and advertisements touting the opportunities for high wage~ and reshywards in America The following is an 1862 example of a comprador or middlemans circular

To the countrymen of Au Ch an l There are laborers wanted in the land of Oregon in the United States of America There is much inducement to go to this new country as they have many great works there which are not in your own country They will suppl y good houses and plenty offood They will pay you $28 a month after your arrival and treat you considerately when yo u arri ve There is no fear of slavery All is nice The ship is now going and will take all who can pay their passage The money required is $54 Persons having property can have it sold for them by correspondents orborrow money of me upon security I cannot take security in your chilshydren or your wife Come to me in Hong Kong and I will care for you unt il you tart The ship is su bstanti al and con ve nient Au Chan

Shipping companies also took advanshytage of the exodus with regular transpashycific voyages and the use of a credit ticket system alowed nany to go and repay their fares with deductions from their earnings in the new land As a result Hong Kong became the point of embarkation for almost all of the early Chi nese immigrants Unlike the Chishynese migrations to Southeast Asia the means by which the Chi nese crossed the Paci fic was almost enti rel y by western ships at fi rst by s iling vess Is and later by steamers Economic exploitation was involved in the immigration and ship ow ners and middlemen all profited from the business The debts usually required longer th an originally anticipated to reshypay but in spite of the system the debts were eventually rep aid

TIlfoughout its history Hong Kong served a a sanctuary for the Chi nese people Besides providing the means for Chishynese migration to America Hong Kon g also provided a haven forChinese during the Taiping rebellion the 1911 re vo lushytion the Sino-Japanese war in the 1930s and after the Chinese Communist takeshyover of the mainland in 1949 Since the advent of the Peoples Republ ic Hong Ko ng has served as a safety valve for thousands ofpolitica( and economic refushygees In 1962 inoneofthemostpuzzling policies of the Communists the regime permitted 60000 refugees to swarm across the 17 mile border with Hon g

Summer 1997 Issue Page 5

Kong The colony already swollen with a population of over three and a half mi ll ion began to close its borders and send many back across the Bam boo Curtai n After protes ts from a sympashythet ic Amer ican publ ic Presi den t Kennedy invoked provis ions ofexisting r fugce legislation and from 1962 t 1965 paroled over 15000 Chi nese refu shygee who entered the US from Hong Kong

Seventeen years later in 1979 another high point in Hong Kongs re fu gee dishyI mma was rcached Around 150000 re fugee crossed the border from ChIna of whic h appro imatety one third were caught and re turned home Un fortushynately 1979 marked anoth r phase in refuge Hong Kong would be the des tishynation of thou ands more refugees this ti me from the South C hi na Se War in Indoc hi na created a mass exod us to su rshyroundi ng areas with the majority headed fo r Hong Kong Those that came by sea were tagged boat peop le and were mo tly ethn ic Chinese Hong Ko ng al shyready bursti ng with refugees had to proshyvide a haven for e en more In 1979 there were ovef 66000 in re fugee camps awaiting seu lement to any country that would take them From 1975 to the end of 1979 the United S tates took over 233000 Southeas t As ian refugees

Hong Kong also erved as a place of East West contact dur ing the many years of the Cold War This relati ons hip proshyvided many opportunities for both sides and the people of Hong Kong enjoyed the freedom to develop as a manufacturshying center and world trade entrepot- a modern economic miracle M any Chishynese American~ took advantage of th is d namic development and established close connections with the colony Alshythough the c ircumstances in which Chi na lost this terri tory and had to endure the unequal treat ies cannot he con idered a period f r hi h the C hinese can look back upon without thoug hts of humiliashytion the role of Hong Ko ng throughout much o f its histo ry certainly had a posishyti ve impact on man y Chinese especially those who sought refuge and opportushynity in the Free World

Las Vegas tour group visll the Nemiddot Chinato wn ureu Jor dinner and pose for Iheir photo PholO- AC

Chinese American History in Nevada

---Tom Hom

April was a good time of the year to visi t Las Vegas with the desert weather in the 70s and the eveni ngs mildly cool Twenty members of the Chinese H isshytorical Society took advantage of this and spent April 28th through May 1st in Las Vegas primarily to visit the Nevada State H istorical Museu ms outstanding exhibit of Nevadas Chinese Amnican history entitl ed Beyond Gum Sun

The exhibit was concei ved and coordishynated by Professor Sue Fawn Chung of the Uni versi ty of Las Vegas Professor C hung very gracious ly took time from her busy academic schedule to give the Society a personal tour and lecture on the histofY of the C hinese presence in the development of Nevada and their life style during that ti me T he exhibit included many of the implements and tools the Chinese used while working the rich silver mines railroads and other

occupations while in Nevada It also had an xten ive presen tat ion o n e a rl y C hi nese settlements tha t one time eX ISle throug hout Ne shyvada whicl have since vanished or have deteriorated with the last remshynants o f ghos t towns The exhibit also incl uded a fine sca le model of a Chinatown ettleshymen It was most enlighten ing and educational

There pro ably has never been a tour to Las Vegas whic h di d not include the

famous casinos Our tour group tOok ad vantage of this occasion and had a good time visiting these exc iti ng places Some even had a be tter time than ant icishypated because of thei r good fo rtune at the gaming machi nes

Of course there was food food food includ ing our C hinese banquet in the New C hi natown As fo r the night owls they a lso had all the Chinese style oxtail that they could eat in downtown Las Vegas after visiting the Frem nt Experishyence Bes ides a ll the eati ng money transactions and the vis it to the mushyseum someofthegroup also we nltos e the engineering marvel Hoove r Dam while others went gol fing

It was a fun- filled and duc3tional trip well worth taking Among the good time fellow travelers were Gorman and Delores Fong Roy and Eli zabe th Hong Doug and Frances McArth ur Soc ie ty President Michael Lee Alex and Ag nes C huang Sam and Bonnie Dang Kwan and Yee Wah J ungNorm an andPau linc Fang Paul and Phy llis Cha Mimi Beasley and others The tour leaders were Tom and Dorothy Hom

Page 6 Chinese Historical Society of Sail Diego

How Kowloon Got Its Name

--- Gladys S Lee

From Chinese Potpourri by James ZeeshyMin Lee 1951

In the 13th century savage Mongol hordes invaded China in an attempt to wipe out the Sung Dynasty The Mongols c nquered city after city in the north and occupied the ancient capital of Kaifang causi ng the seat of the Imperial governshyment to be moved to Hangchow Before long the Mongols took Hangchow forcshying the Sung Emperor and his court to fl ee further south to Foochow on the seac as t where yet another new capital was established Again it was not long before the Mo ngols were advancing on Foochow Lu Hsiu Fu the Chief Minisshyter to the Sung E mperor stubbornly reshyfu sed to surrender to the Mongols He firmly believed that as long as the rightshyful hei r to the throne was ali ve he could someday reclaim his birthright as emshyperor Therefore Lu decided to flee the enemy and build a stronghold to protect the Emperor and wait for the time to rerum to the Imperial Capital W ith thou~ands of officers and soldiers of the Im perial Anny they fled by sea o n imshyperia l j unks to the south

On their flight from Foochow the Emshyperor Tuan Tsung died and his eleven year old brother Ping was proclaimed as the 18th Sung Emperor according to the the decree on line of succession It was at this point in the year 1278 that the Emperor Ping his Chief Ministe his officers and soldiers sailed into the transhyquil waters of the harbor now known as Hong Kong The harbor was surrounded by mountain ranges as far as the eye could see and appeared to be a safe haven The junks were docked and the Chief Minister disembarked to look for the village elder The royal surveyors were dispatched to study the land and to determine its suitability Upon thorough in vestigation it was determined that the

area would not be a suitable place to build a stronghold because it was a penshyinsu la which could be cut off from the land on one side and easily surrounded by a powerful f1eet on the other three sides However temporary quarters would have to be found for the Eeror while supplies were collected aod reshypairs made to the junks before proceedshying to a more acceptable site

All the buildings in the poor Hakka vilshylage where the fleet had docked were mud hovds and thatched huts totally unsu itable for housing an emperor so it was decided to erect a bamboo matshyhouse on a suitable site The village elder Tam Kung pointed to a high circushy

lar green hill with a huge flat boulder on its summit which the villagers called the Sacred Hill and said it might be a suitable site It was agreed that thefeng shui of the spot was excellent so the bamboo mat house was erected The young Emperor Ping and his retinue were escorted ashore and ascended the hill terrace to his temporary quarters

That even ing the young emperor stood near the edge of the hill surveying his surroundings As he looked to the east he could see long ranges of mountains stretching east and west with more ranges to the north He started to count the mountains over and over again and when he tired of doing this he turned to the C hief Minister and said I have just counted the mountains The geomancer says there is a dragon in every mountain I have counted those mountains over and over again and there are eight so there m ust be eight dragons here No your M ajesty replied Lu there are nine dragons here The young emperor replied How can that be Ive recounted the mountains and I see only eight Where is the ninth The Chief Minisshy

tersaid An emperor is considered to be a dragon so you your Majesty is the n i n th dragon The boy Emperor laughed gleefully and said Yes yes I didnt think of that Kowloon - this place has nine dragons The village elder Tam Kung upon hearing the conversation

Membership and Renewal Application C hi nese Hist rical Society of San Diego Date_________ _ Annual dues (except Life) (619) 338-9888 (museum)

D Active $20Narne _________________________________ Spouse D Active couple $30

Address 0 Senior 60+ $10

0 Senior couple $15C ity _____________ State ______ Zip code

0 Student $lO Home phone _ __________ Work phone _ ____________

0 Life $200

Occupation ___________________ FirmSchool _____ ____ _ ___ D Life eoupk $300

Please return your application or renewal with check to D Corporate $500 Chinese Historical Society 404 Third Avenue Memberships are valid through calendar year San Diego CA 92101 We are a tax-exempt non-profIt organization

Summer 1997 Issue Page 7

said to himself Kowloon Kowloo n Words spoken by the golden mouth of the emperor What an appropriate name for this place it s name shall be Kowloon (nine dragons)

As Kowloon was not a suitable site for the stronghold plans were made to go even further south to a site situated at a sou thwesterly estuary of the Canton River In due course the group moved to this island As they were in the process of reorganizi ng the ir forces and consolishydating their positions a courier came wi th the news that the Mongol fleet had taken a circuitous route to block the coast and was already outside the mouth of the China Sea The Emperors people were extremely fearful and begged Lu to abandon the fle t and flee inland but Lu refused to be discouraged saying to the ministers If we eep running away the ongols will just keep following and eventually catch up with us We must make a determined stand somewhere sometime TI1is locality is wel l chosen so let it be here and now We will fight to the death to protect our emperor So

it was that they made their final stand at the mouth of the estuary Lu stood high on the deck of the imperial barge and watched his long line of fleet towed into position poised for war He did not wait for the enemy to strike first As the Mongol fleet came nearer he gave orshyders to fire Instantly thousands of arshyrows rained onto the Mongol junks This was repeated several times and kept the enemy back But the Mongols with their better armament and numerishycally superior force soon gained the upper hand over the weary imperial soldiers In sheer desperation some of the undamaged imperial junks attempted to break through the blockage One or two were believed to have escaped The Chief Minister soon realized all was lost He rushed to the lower deck of the barge where his wife and daughter hudd led in fear and commanded them O

drown themselves He then seized the emperors jade seal tied it to his girdle and carried the te rri fied emperor on his back to the upper deck mutteringmiddot Your majestys honorable death is preferable to ignominious capitulation He then

leaped into the sea carrying the Emperor with him thus endi ng the Sung Dynasty

Coming Events On October 5 there will be a Paci fic Ri m Festival in the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District The streets in the area of the Museum will be closed and there will be a stage feat uri ng entertainment booths featuring a variety of Asian wares food and organizations Tour of the areas historic sites wi ll be conducted and the Chinese Historical Museum wi ll hold an exhibit feat uri ng local Asian history archaeolog and cul ture

On November 2 there will be a ce lebrashytion of the 70th anni versary of the firs t dedication of the Chi nese Mission build shying Old timers who had an association with this build ing and its dormi tory and their famil ies and friends will have a chance O remi nisce about those days

The annual dinner mee ting of the Chi shynese Historical Society is tentatively set for November 15 Save these dates

binese Historical Society of San Diego 404 Third Avenue San Diego CA 92101

on-Profi t Org us POST GE

PAID San Diego CA Permit No 1298

Governor Po Kuei In August 1860 the Allies sacked Tientsin and entered Peshyking (Beijing) In October the SinoshyBritish of Peking and Tientsin and SinoshyFranco Treaties were signed Kowloon was ceded to the British besides opening ten more trade ports 16 million indemshynity and allowing opium to be imported to Chi na Before the British withdrawal the famous imperial garden Yuan Ming Yuan was burned

In the late nineteenth century when the various power pressed Chi na for leasshyItlg coastal pons the British under the pretense tha t the French was leasing the gulf of Canton demanded Weihaiwei and the north part of Kowloon (New Territory) Under British threat a speshy

ial agreement of99 year lease between Lhe British and China was signed to extend Hong K ng territory to the present line known a New Territory on June 9 1898 It was well known tha t at the end of World War II the Nationalist Govshyernment rushed troops [rom Yunnan to Canton so that they could take back HongKong However the Chinese army could no t go faster than the British fl eet When they reached the Hong Kong area the British fleet had already accepted the surrender of the Japanese Now 99 years are over Hong Ko ng fin al reshyturned to her motherland With the new (ompletcd north -s outh trunkw ay shyBeijing- Kowl oon Railway Hong Kong should maintain its unique position as the major trading port of South Chjna and manufacturing center

Pao(hill Chu is a Professor ofHistory at San Diego Slale University

The Significance of Hong Kong to Chinese American Immigrants

--- Murm K Lee

The r turn of Hong Kung has been deshyscribed as the end of humiliation or 150 years of n tional shame The Ching (Qing ) Dyn asty when trying to curtail the importation and use of opium by its people lost the Opium War and was

compelled to sign the treaty ofNankjng in 1942 the first of a series of unequal treaties which ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain In spite of much of the distaste for thei r weak dynasty at that time the Chinese people proud of their history and cultural heritage found the violations of their sovereignty by forshyeign barbarians a di sgrace But throughout Hong Kongs history the colony has served a unique position which has had a beneficial impact on many Chinese especi all y Chinese American immigrants

The first wave of Chinese who emishygrated from the Pearl River Delta area of Guangdong to America in the midshy1800s were able to do so because of Hong Kong Traditionally leaving China was forbidden to its citizens and punishable by death Furthermore for a son to leave his ancestral home was a

Throughout its history Hong Kong served as a sanctuary f or the Chinese people

sign of unfilial behavior and was not condoned but the strife the deteriorashytion of the government and fa mine comshybined wi th the lure of Gold Mountain provided the necessary circumstances to buck tradition and the authorities and to set out for a foreign destinati ofl

After Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain the British quickly established a major port to serve the entire area As a consequence there were the necessary foreign ships and mechanisms to facil ishytate this exodus It was relatively easy for the men of the nearby villages to make their way to Hong Kong After the first emigrants reported back and the volume of emigration increased due to the opportunities and demand for Chishynese labor in California a whole army of middlemen and labor brokers set up shop ill Hong Kung They pu bl ished circulars and advertisements touting the opportunities for high wage~ and reshywards in America The following is an 1862 example of a comprador or middlemans circular

To the countrymen of Au Ch an l There are laborers wanted in the land of Oregon in the United States of America There is much inducement to go to this new country as they have many great works there which are not in your own country They will suppl y good houses and plenty offood They will pay you $28 a month after your arrival and treat you considerately when yo u arri ve There is no fear of slavery All is nice The ship is now going and will take all who can pay their passage The money required is $54 Persons having property can have it sold for them by correspondents orborrow money of me upon security I cannot take security in your chilshydren or your wife Come to me in Hong Kong and I will care for you unt il you tart The ship is su bstanti al and con ve nient Au Chan

Shipping companies also took advanshytage of the exodus with regular transpashycific voyages and the use of a credit ticket system alowed nany to go and repay their fares with deductions from their earnings in the new land As a result Hong Kong became the point of embarkation for almost all of the early Chi nese immigrants Unlike the Chishynese migrations to Southeast Asia the means by which the Chi nese crossed the Paci fic was almost enti rel y by western ships at fi rst by s iling vess Is and later by steamers Economic exploitation was involved in the immigration and ship ow ners and middlemen all profited from the business The debts usually required longer th an originally anticipated to reshypay but in spite of the system the debts were eventually rep aid

TIlfoughout its history Hong Kong served a a sanctuary for the Chi nese people Besides providing the means for Chishynese migration to America Hong Kon g also provided a haven forChinese during the Taiping rebellion the 1911 re vo lushytion the Sino-Japanese war in the 1930s and after the Chinese Communist takeshyover of the mainland in 1949 Since the advent of the Peoples Republ ic Hong Ko ng has served as a safety valve for thousands ofpolitica( and economic refushygees In 1962 inoneofthemostpuzzling policies of the Communists the regime permitted 60000 refugees to swarm across the 17 mile border with Hon g

Summer 1997 Issue Page 5

Kong The colony already swollen with a population of over three and a half mi ll ion began to close its borders and send many back across the Bam boo Curtai n After protes ts from a sympashythet ic Amer ican publ ic Presi den t Kennedy invoked provis ions ofexisting r fugce legislation and from 1962 t 1965 paroled over 15000 Chi nese refu shygee who entered the US from Hong Kong

Seventeen years later in 1979 another high point in Hong Kongs re fu gee dishyI mma was rcached Around 150000 re fugee crossed the border from ChIna of whic h appro imatety one third were caught and re turned home Un fortushynately 1979 marked anoth r phase in refuge Hong Kong would be the des tishynation of thou ands more refugees this ti me from the South C hi na Se War in Indoc hi na created a mass exod us to su rshyroundi ng areas with the majority headed fo r Hong Kong Those that came by sea were tagged boat peop le and were mo tly ethn ic Chinese Hong Ko ng al shyready bursti ng with refugees had to proshyvide a haven for e en more In 1979 there were ovef 66000 in re fugee camps awaiting seu lement to any country that would take them From 1975 to the end of 1979 the United S tates took over 233000 Southeas t As ian refugees

Hong Kong also erved as a place of East West contact dur ing the many years of the Cold War This relati ons hip proshyvided many opportunities for both sides and the people of Hong Kong enjoyed the freedom to develop as a manufacturshying center and world trade entrepot- a modern economic miracle M any Chishynese American~ took advantage of th is d namic development and established close connections with the colony Alshythough the c ircumstances in which Chi na lost this terri tory and had to endure the unequal treat ies cannot he con idered a period f r hi h the C hinese can look back upon without thoug hts of humiliashytion the role of Hong Ko ng throughout much o f its histo ry certainly had a posishyti ve impact on man y Chinese especially those who sought refuge and opportushynity in the Free World

Las Vegas tour group visll the Nemiddot Chinato wn ureu Jor dinner and pose for Iheir photo PholO- AC

Chinese American History in Nevada

---Tom Hom

April was a good time of the year to visi t Las Vegas with the desert weather in the 70s and the eveni ngs mildly cool Twenty members of the Chinese H isshytorical Society took advantage of this and spent April 28th through May 1st in Las Vegas primarily to visit the Nevada State H istorical Museu ms outstanding exhibit of Nevadas Chinese Amnican history entitl ed Beyond Gum Sun

The exhibit was concei ved and coordishynated by Professor Sue Fawn Chung of the Uni versi ty of Las Vegas Professor C hung very gracious ly took time from her busy academic schedule to give the Society a personal tour and lecture on the histofY of the C hinese presence in the development of Nevada and their life style during that ti me T he exhibit included many of the implements and tools the Chinese used while working the rich silver mines railroads and other

occupations while in Nevada It also had an xten ive presen tat ion o n e a rl y C hi nese settlements tha t one time eX ISle throug hout Ne shyvada whicl have since vanished or have deteriorated with the last remshynants o f ghos t towns The exhibit also incl uded a fine sca le model of a Chinatown ettleshymen It was most enlighten ing and educational

There pro ably has never been a tour to Las Vegas whic h di d not include the

famous casinos Our tour group tOok ad vantage of this occasion and had a good time visiting these exc iti ng places Some even had a be tter time than ant icishypated because of thei r good fo rtune at the gaming machi nes

Of course there was food food food includ ing our C hinese banquet in the New C hi natown As fo r the night owls they a lso had all the Chinese style oxtail that they could eat in downtown Las Vegas after visiting the Frem nt Experishyence Bes ides a ll the eati ng money transactions and the vis it to the mushyseum someofthegroup also we nltos e the engineering marvel Hoove r Dam while others went gol fing

It was a fun- filled and duc3tional trip well worth taking Among the good time fellow travelers were Gorman and Delores Fong Roy and Eli zabe th Hong Doug and Frances McArth ur Soc ie ty President Michael Lee Alex and Ag nes C huang Sam and Bonnie Dang Kwan and Yee Wah J ungNorm an andPau linc Fang Paul and Phy llis Cha Mimi Beasley and others The tour leaders were Tom and Dorothy Hom

Page 6 Chinese Historical Society of Sail Diego

How Kowloon Got Its Name

--- Gladys S Lee

From Chinese Potpourri by James ZeeshyMin Lee 1951

In the 13th century savage Mongol hordes invaded China in an attempt to wipe out the Sung Dynasty The Mongols c nquered city after city in the north and occupied the ancient capital of Kaifang causi ng the seat of the Imperial governshyment to be moved to Hangchow Before long the Mongols took Hangchow forcshying the Sung Emperor and his court to fl ee further south to Foochow on the seac as t where yet another new capital was established Again it was not long before the Mo ngols were advancing on Foochow Lu Hsiu Fu the Chief Minisshyter to the Sung E mperor stubbornly reshyfu sed to surrender to the Mongols He firmly believed that as long as the rightshyful hei r to the throne was ali ve he could someday reclaim his birthright as emshyperor Therefore Lu decided to flee the enemy and build a stronghold to protect the Emperor and wait for the time to rerum to the Imperial Capital W ith thou~ands of officers and soldiers of the Im perial Anny they fled by sea o n imshyperia l j unks to the south

On their flight from Foochow the Emshyperor Tuan Tsung died and his eleven year old brother Ping was proclaimed as the 18th Sung Emperor according to the the decree on line of succession It was at this point in the year 1278 that the Emperor Ping his Chief Ministe his officers and soldiers sailed into the transhyquil waters of the harbor now known as Hong Kong The harbor was surrounded by mountain ranges as far as the eye could see and appeared to be a safe haven The junks were docked and the Chief Minister disembarked to look for the village elder The royal surveyors were dispatched to study the land and to determine its suitability Upon thorough in vestigation it was determined that the

area would not be a suitable place to build a stronghold because it was a penshyinsu la which could be cut off from the land on one side and easily surrounded by a powerful f1eet on the other three sides However temporary quarters would have to be found for the Eeror while supplies were collected aod reshypairs made to the junks before proceedshying to a more acceptable site

All the buildings in the poor Hakka vilshylage where the fleet had docked were mud hovds and thatched huts totally unsu itable for housing an emperor so it was decided to erect a bamboo matshyhouse on a suitable site The village elder Tam Kung pointed to a high circushy

lar green hill with a huge flat boulder on its summit which the villagers called the Sacred Hill and said it might be a suitable site It was agreed that thefeng shui of the spot was excellent so the bamboo mat house was erected The young Emperor Ping and his retinue were escorted ashore and ascended the hill terrace to his temporary quarters

That even ing the young emperor stood near the edge of the hill surveying his surroundings As he looked to the east he could see long ranges of mountains stretching east and west with more ranges to the north He started to count the mountains over and over again and when he tired of doing this he turned to the C hief Minister and said I have just counted the mountains The geomancer says there is a dragon in every mountain I have counted those mountains over and over again and there are eight so there m ust be eight dragons here No your M ajesty replied Lu there are nine dragons here The young emperor replied How can that be Ive recounted the mountains and I see only eight Where is the ninth The Chief Minisshy

tersaid An emperor is considered to be a dragon so you your Majesty is the n i n th dragon The boy Emperor laughed gleefully and said Yes yes I didnt think of that Kowloon - this place has nine dragons The village elder Tam Kung upon hearing the conversation

Membership and Renewal Application C hi nese Hist rical Society of San Diego Date_________ _ Annual dues (except Life) (619) 338-9888 (museum)

D Active $20Narne _________________________________ Spouse D Active couple $30

Address 0 Senior 60+ $10

0 Senior couple $15C ity _____________ State ______ Zip code

0 Student $lO Home phone _ __________ Work phone _ ____________

0 Life $200

Occupation ___________________ FirmSchool _____ ____ _ ___ D Life eoupk $300

Please return your application or renewal with check to D Corporate $500 Chinese Historical Society 404 Third Avenue Memberships are valid through calendar year San Diego CA 92101 We are a tax-exempt non-profIt organization

Summer 1997 Issue Page 7

said to himself Kowloon Kowloo n Words spoken by the golden mouth of the emperor What an appropriate name for this place it s name shall be Kowloon (nine dragons)

As Kowloon was not a suitable site for the stronghold plans were made to go even further south to a site situated at a sou thwesterly estuary of the Canton River In due course the group moved to this island As they were in the process of reorganizi ng the ir forces and consolishydating their positions a courier came wi th the news that the Mongol fleet had taken a circuitous route to block the coast and was already outside the mouth of the China Sea The Emperors people were extremely fearful and begged Lu to abandon the fle t and flee inland but Lu refused to be discouraged saying to the ministers If we eep running away the ongols will just keep following and eventually catch up with us We must make a determined stand somewhere sometime TI1is locality is wel l chosen so let it be here and now We will fight to the death to protect our emperor So

it was that they made their final stand at the mouth of the estuary Lu stood high on the deck of the imperial barge and watched his long line of fleet towed into position poised for war He did not wait for the enemy to strike first As the Mongol fleet came nearer he gave orshyders to fire Instantly thousands of arshyrows rained onto the Mongol junks This was repeated several times and kept the enemy back But the Mongols with their better armament and numerishycally superior force soon gained the upper hand over the weary imperial soldiers In sheer desperation some of the undamaged imperial junks attempted to break through the blockage One or two were believed to have escaped The Chief Minister soon realized all was lost He rushed to the lower deck of the barge where his wife and daughter hudd led in fear and commanded them O

drown themselves He then seized the emperors jade seal tied it to his girdle and carried the te rri fied emperor on his back to the upper deck mutteringmiddot Your majestys honorable death is preferable to ignominious capitulation He then

leaped into the sea carrying the Emperor with him thus endi ng the Sung Dynasty

Coming Events On October 5 there will be a Paci fic Ri m Festival in the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District The streets in the area of the Museum will be closed and there will be a stage feat uri ng entertainment booths featuring a variety of Asian wares food and organizations Tour of the areas historic sites wi ll be conducted and the Chinese Historical Museum wi ll hold an exhibit feat uri ng local Asian history archaeolog and cul ture

On November 2 there will be a ce lebrashytion of the 70th anni versary of the firs t dedication of the Chi nese Mission build shying Old timers who had an association with this build ing and its dormi tory and their famil ies and friends will have a chance O remi nisce about those days

The annual dinner mee ting of the Chi shynese Historical Society is tentatively set for November 15 Save these dates

binese Historical Society of San Diego 404 Third Avenue San Diego CA 92101

on-Profi t Org us POST GE

PAID San Diego CA Permit No 1298

Kong The colony already swollen with a population of over three and a half mi ll ion began to close its borders and send many back across the Bam boo Curtai n After protes ts from a sympashythet ic Amer ican publ ic Presi den t Kennedy invoked provis ions ofexisting r fugce legislation and from 1962 t 1965 paroled over 15000 Chi nese refu shygee who entered the US from Hong Kong

Seventeen years later in 1979 another high point in Hong Kongs re fu gee dishyI mma was rcached Around 150000 re fugee crossed the border from ChIna of whic h appro imatety one third were caught and re turned home Un fortushynately 1979 marked anoth r phase in refuge Hong Kong would be the des tishynation of thou ands more refugees this ti me from the South C hi na Se War in Indoc hi na created a mass exod us to su rshyroundi ng areas with the majority headed fo r Hong Kong Those that came by sea were tagged boat peop le and were mo tly ethn ic Chinese Hong Ko ng al shyready bursti ng with refugees had to proshyvide a haven for e en more In 1979 there were ovef 66000 in re fugee camps awaiting seu lement to any country that would take them From 1975 to the end of 1979 the United S tates took over 233000 Southeas t As ian refugees

Hong Kong also erved as a place of East West contact dur ing the many years of the Cold War This relati ons hip proshyvided many opportunities for both sides and the people of Hong Kong enjoyed the freedom to develop as a manufacturshying center and world trade entrepot- a modern economic miracle M any Chishynese American~ took advantage of th is d namic development and established close connections with the colony Alshythough the c ircumstances in which Chi na lost this terri tory and had to endure the unequal treat ies cannot he con idered a period f r hi h the C hinese can look back upon without thoug hts of humiliashytion the role of Hong Ko ng throughout much o f its histo ry certainly had a posishyti ve impact on man y Chinese especially those who sought refuge and opportushynity in the Free World

Las Vegas tour group visll the Nemiddot Chinato wn ureu Jor dinner and pose for Iheir photo PholO- AC

Chinese American History in Nevada

---Tom Hom

April was a good time of the year to visi t Las Vegas with the desert weather in the 70s and the eveni ngs mildly cool Twenty members of the Chinese H isshytorical Society took advantage of this and spent April 28th through May 1st in Las Vegas primarily to visit the Nevada State H istorical Museu ms outstanding exhibit of Nevadas Chinese Amnican history entitl ed Beyond Gum Sun

The exhibit was concei ved and coordishynated by Professor Sue Fawn Chung of the Uni versi ty of Las Vegas Professor C hung very gracious ly took time from her busy academic schedule to give the Society a personal tour and lecture on the histofY of the C hinese presence in the development of Nevada and their life style during that ti me T he exhibit included many of the implements and tools the Chinese used while working the rich silver mines railroads and other

occupations while in Nevada It also had an xten ive presen tat ion o n e a rl y C hi nese settlements tha t one time eX ISle throug hout Ne shyvada whicl have since vanished or have deteriorated with the last remshynants o f ghos t towns The exhibit also incl uded a fine sca le model of a Chinatown ettleshymen It was most enlighten ing and educational

There pro ably has never been a tour to Las Vegas whic h di d not include the

famous casinos Our tour group tOok ad vantage of this occasion and had a good time visiting these exc iti ng places Some even had a be tter time than ant icishypated because of thei r good fo rtune at the gaming machi nes

Of course there was food food food includ ing our C hinese banquet in the New C hi natown As fo r the night owls they a lso had all the Chinese style oxtail that they could eat in downtown Las Vegas after visiting the Frem nt Experishyence Bes ides a ll the eati ng money transactions and the vis it to the mushyseum someofthegroup also we nltos e the engineering marvel Hoove r Dam while others went gol fing

It was a fun- filled and duc3tional trip well worth taking Among the good time fellow travelers were Gorman and Delores Fong Roy and Eli zabe th Hong Doug and Frances McArth ur Soc ie ty President Michael Lee Alex and Ag nes C huang Sam and Bonnie Dang Kwan and Yee Wah J ungNorm an andPau linc Fang Paul and Phy llis Cha Mimi Beasley and others The tour leaders were Tom and Dorothy Hom

Page 6 Chinese Historical Society of Sail Diego

How Kowloon Got Its Name

--- Gladys S Lee

From Chinese Potpourri by James ZeeshyMin Lee 1951

In the 13th century savage Mongol hordes invaded China in an attempt to wipe out the Sung Dynasty The Mongols c nquered city after city in the north and occupied the ancient capital of Kaifang causi ng the seat of the Imperial governshyment to be moved to Hangchow Before long the Mongols took Hangchow forcshying the Sung Emperor and his court to fl ee further south to Foochow on the seac as t where yet another new capital was established Again it was not long before the Mo ngols were advancing on Foochow Lu Hsiu Fu the Chief Minisshyter to the Sung E mperor stubbornly reshyfu sed to surrender to the Mongols He firmly believed that as long as the rightshyful hei r to the throne was ali ve he could someday reclaim his birthright as emshyperor Therefore Lu decided to flee the enemy and build a stronghold to protect the Emperor and wait for the time to rerum to the Imperial Capital W ith thou~ands of officers and soldiers of the Im perial Anny they fled by sea o n imshyperia l j unks to the south

On their flight from Foochow the Emshyperor Tuan Tsung died and his eleven year old brother Ping was proclaimed as the 18th Sung Emperor according to the the decree on line of succession It was at this point in the year 1278 that the Emperor Ping his Chief Ministe his officers and soldiers sailed into the transhyquil waters of the harbor now known as Hong Kong The harbor was surrounded by mountain ranges as far as the eye could see and appeared to be a safe haven The junks were docked and the Chief Minister disembarked to look for the village elder The royal surveyors were dispatched to study the land and to determine its suitability Upon thorough in vestigation it was determined that the

area would not be a suitable place to build a stronghold because it was a penshyinsu la which could be cut off from the land on one side and easily surrounded by a powerful f1eet on the other three sides However temporary quarters would have to be found for the Eeror while supplies were collected aod reshypairs made to the junks before proceedshying to a more acceptable site

All the buildings in the poor Hakka vilshylage where the fleet had docked were mud hovds and thatched huts totally unsu itable for housing an emperor so it was decided to erect a bamboo matshyhouse on a suitable site The village elder Tam Kung pointed to a high circushy

lar green hill with a huge flat boulder on its summit which the villagers called the Sacred Hill and said it might be a suitable site It was agreed that thefeng shui of the spot was excellent so the bamboo mat house was erected The young Emperor Ping and his retinue were escorted ashore and ascended the hill terrace to his temporary quarters

That even ing the young emperor stood near the edge of the hill surveying his surroundings As he looked to the east he could see long ranges of mountains stretching east and west with more ranges to the north He started to count the mountains over and over again and when he tired of doing this he turned to the C hief Minister and said I have just counted the mountains The geomancer says there is a dragon in every mountain I have counted those mountains over and over again and there are eight so there m ust be eight dragons here No your M ajesty replied Lu there are nine dragons here The young emperor replied How can that be Ive recounted the mountains and I see only eight Where is the ninth The Chief Minisshy

tersaid An emperor is considered to be a dragon so you your Majesty is the n i n th dragon The boy Emperor laughed gleefully and said Yes yes I didnt think of that Kowloon - this place has nine dragons The village elder Tam Kung upon hearing the conversation

Membership and Renewal Application C hi nese Hist rical Society of San Diego Date_________ _ Annual dues (except Life) (619) 338-9888 (museum)

D Active $20Narne _________________________________ Spouse D Active couple $30

Address 0 Senior 60+ $10

0 Senior couple $15C ity _____________ State ______ Zip code

0 Student $lO Home phone _ __________ Work phone _ ____________

0 Life $200

Occupation ___________________ FirmSchool _____ ____ _ ___ D Life eoupk $300

Please return your application or renewal with check to D Corporate $500 Chinese Historical Society 404 Third Avenue Memberships are valid through calendar year San Diego CA 92101 We are a tax-exempt non-profIt organization

Summer 1997 Issue Page 7

said to himself Kowloon Kowloo n Words spoken by the golden mouth of the emperor What an appropriate name for this place it s name shall be Kowloon (nine dragons)

As Kowloon was not a suitable site for the stronghold plans were made to go even further south to a site situated at a sou thwesterly estuary of the Canton River In due course the group moved to this island As they were in the process of reorganizi ng the ir forces and consolishydating their positions a courier came wi th the news that the Mongol fleet had taken a circuitous route to block the coast and was already outside the mouth of the China Sea The Emperors people were extremely fearful and begged Lu to abandon the fle t and flee inland but Lu refused to be discouraged saying to the ministers If we eep running away the ongols will just keep following and eventually catch up with us We must make a determined stand somewhere sometime TI1is locality is wel l chosen so let it be here and now We will fight to the death to protect our emperor So

it was that they made their final stand at the mouth of the estuary Lu stood high on the deck of the imperial barge and watched his long line of fleet towed into position poised for war He did not wait for the enemy to strike first As the Mongol fleet came nearer he gave orshyders to fire Instantly thousands of arshyrows rained onto the Mongol junks This was repeated several times and kept the enemy back But the Mongols with their better armament and numerishycally superior force soon gained the upper hand over the weary imperial soldiers In sheer desperation some of the undamaged imperial junks attempted to break through the blockage One or two were believed to have escaped The Chief Minister soon realized all was lost He rushed to the lower deck of the barge where his wife and daughter hudd led in fear and commanded them O

drown themselves He then seized the emperors jade seal tied it to his girdle and carried the te rri fied emperor on his back to the upper deck mutteringmiddot Your majestys honorable death is preferable to ignominious capitulation He then

leaped into the sea carrying the Emperor with him thus endi ng the Sung Dynasty

Coming Events On October 5 there will be a Paci fic Ri m Festival in the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District The streets in the area of the Museum will be closed and there will be a stage feat uri ng entertainment booths featuring a variety of Asian wares food and organizations Tour of the areas historic sites wi ll be conducted and the Chinese Historical Museum wi ll hold an exhibit feat uri ng local Asian history archaeolog and cul ture

On November 2 there will be a ce lebrashytion of the 70th anni versary of the firs t dedication of the Chi nese Mission build shying Old timers who had an association with this build ing and its dormi tory and their famil ies and friends will have a chance O remi nisce about those days

The annual dinner mee ting of the Chi shynese Historical Society is tentatively set for November 15 Save these dates

binese Historical Society of San Diego 404 Third Avenue San Diego CA 92101

on-Profi t Org us POST GE

PAID San Diego CA Permit No 1298

How Kowloon Got Its Name

--- Gladys S Lee

From Chinese Potpourri by James ZeeshyMin Lee 1951

In the 13th century savage Mongol hordes invaded China in an attempt to wipe out the Sung Dynasty The Mongols c nquered city after city in the north and occupied the ancient capital of Kaifang causi ng the seat of the Imperial governshyment to be moved to Hangchow Before long the Mongols took Hangchow forcshying the Sung Emperor and his court to fl ee further south to Foochow on the seac as t where yet another new capital was established Again it was not long before the Mo ngols were advancing on Foochow Lu Hsiu Fu the Chief Minisshyter to the Sung E mperor stubbornly reshyfu sed to surrender to the Mongols He firmly believed that as long as the rightshyful hei r to the throne was ali ve he could someday reclaim his birthright as emshyperor Therefore Lu decided to flee the enemy and build a stronghold to protect the Emperor and wait for the time to rerum to the Imperial Capital W ith thou~ands of officers and soldiers of the Im perial Anny they fled by sea o n imshyperia l j unks to the south

On their flight from Foochow the Emshyperor Tuan Tsung died and his eleven year old brother Ping was proclaimed as the 18th Sung Emperor according to the the decree on line of succession It was at this point in the year 1278 that the Emperor Ping his Chief Ministe his officers and soldiers sailed into the transhyquil waters of the harbor now known as Hong Kong The harbor was surrounded by mountain ranges as far as the eye could see and appeared to be a safe haven The junks were docked and the Chief Minister disembarked to look for the village elder The royal surveyors were dispatched to study the land and to determine its suitability Upon thorough in vestigation it was determined that the

area would not be a suitable place to build a stronghold because it was a penshyinsu la which could be cut off from the land on one side and easily surrounded by a powerful f1eet on the other three sides However temporary quarters would have to be found for the Eeror while supplies were collected aod reshypairs made to the junks before proceedshying to a more acceptable site

All the buildings in the poor Hakka vilshylage where the fleet had docked were mud hovds and thatched huts totally unsu itable for housing an emperor so it was decided to erect a bamboo matshyhouse on a suitable site The village elder Tam Kung pointed to a high circushy

lar green hill with a huge flat boulder on its summit which the villagers called the Sacred Hill and said it might be a suitable site It was agreed that thefeng shui of the spot was excellent so the bamboo mat house was erected The young Emperor Ping and his retinue were escorted ashore and ascended the hill terrace to his temporary quarters

That even ing the young emperor stood near the edge of the hill surveying his surroundings As he looked to the east he could see long ranges of mountains stretching east and west with more ranges to the north He started to count the mountains over and over again and when he tired of doing this he turned to the C hief Minister and said I have just counted the mountains The geomancer says there is a dragon in every mountain I have counted those mountains over and over again and there are eight so there m ust be eight dragons here No your M ajesty replied Lu there are nine dragons here The young emperor replied How can that be Ive recounted the mountains and I see only eight Where is the ninth The Chief Minisshy

tersaid An emperor is considered to be a dragon so you your Majesty is the n i n th dragon The boy Emperor laughed gleefully and said Yes yes I didnt think of that Kowloon - this place has nine dragons The village elder Tam Kung upon hearing the conversation

Membership and Renewal Application C hi nese Hist rical Society of San Diego Date_________ _ Annual dues (except Life) (619) 338-9888 (museum)

D Active $20Narne _________________________________ Spouse D Active couple $30

Address 0 Senior 60+ $10

0 Senior couple $15C ity _____________ State ______ Zip code

0 Student $lO Home phone _ __________ Work phone _ ____________

0 Life $200

Occupation ___________________ FirmSchool _____ ____ _ ___ D Life eoupk $300

Please return your application or renewal with check to D Corporate $500 Chinese Historical Society 404 Third Avenue Memberships are valid through calendar year San Diego CA 92101 We are a tax-exempt non-profIt organization

Summer 1997 Issue Page 7

said to himself Kowloon Kowloo n Words spoken by the golden mouth of the emperor What an appropriate name for this place it s name shall be Kowloon (nine dragons)

As Kowloon was not a suitable site for the stronghold plans were made to go even further south to a site situated at a sou thwesterly estuary of the Canton River In due course the group moved to this island As they were in the process of reorganizi ng the ir forces and consolishydating their positions a courier came wi th the news that the Mongol fleet had taken a circuitous route to block the coast and was already outside the mouth of the China Sea The Emperors people were extremely fearful and begged Lu to abandon the fle t and flee inland but Lu refused to be discouraged saying to the ministers If we eep running away the ongols will just keep following and eventually catch up with us We must make a determined stand somewhere sometime TI1is locality is wel l chosen so let it be here and now We will fight to the death to protect our emperor So

it was that they made their final stand at the mouth of the estuary Lu stood high on the deck of the imperial barge and watched his long line of fleet towed into position poised for war He did not wait for the enemy to strike first As the Mongol fleet came nearer he gave orshyders to fire Instantly thousands of arshyrows rained onto the Mongol junks This was repeated several times and kept the enemy back But the Mongols with their better armament and numerishycally superior force soon gained the upper hand over the weary imperial soldiers In sheer desperation some of the undamaged imperial junks attempted to break through the blockage One or two were believed to have escaped The Chief Minister soon realized all was lost He rushed to the lower deck of the barge where his wife and daughter hudd led in fear and commanded them O

drown themselves He then seized the emperors jade seal tied it to his girdle and carried the te rri fied emperor on his back to the upper deck mutteringmiddot Your majestys honorable death is preferable to ignominious capitulation He then

leaped into the sea carrying the Emperor with him thus endi ng the Sung Dynasty

Coming Events On October 5 there will be a Paci fic Ri m Festival in the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District The streets in the area of the Museum will be closed and there will be a stage feat uri ng entertainment booths featuring a variety of Asian wares food and organizations Tour of the areas historic sites wi ll be conducted and the Chinese Historical Museum wi ll hold an exhibit feat uri ng local Asian history archaeolog and cul ture

On November 2 there will be a ce lebrashytion of the 70th anni versary of the firs t dedication of the Chi nese Mission build shying Old timers who had an association with this build ing and its dormi tory and their famil ies and friends will have a chance O remi nisce about those days

The annual dinner mee ting of the Chi shynese Historical Society is tentatively set for November 15 Save these dates

binese Historical Society of San Diego 404 Third Avenue San Diego CA 92101

on-Profi t Org us POST GE

PAID San Diego CA Permit No 1298

said to himself Kowloon Kowloo n Words spoken by the golden mouth of the emperor What an appropriate name for this place it s name shall be Kowloon (nine dragons)

As Kowloon was not a suitable site for the stronghold plans were made to go even further south to a site situated at a sou thwesterly estuary of the Canton River In due course the group moved to this island As they were in the process of reorganizi ng the ir forces and consolishydating their positions a courier came wi th the news that the Mongol fleet had taken a circuitous route to block the coast and was already outside the mouth of the China Sea The Emperors people were extremely fearful and begged Lu to abandon the fle t and flee inland but Lu refused to be discouraged saying to the ministers If we eep running away the ongols will just keep following and eventually catch up with us We must make a determined stand somewhere sometime TI1is locality is wel l chosen so let it be here and now We will fight to the death to protect our emperor So

it was that they made their final stand at the mouth of the estuary Lu stood high on the deck of the imperial barge and watched his long line of fleet towed into position poised for war He did not wait for the enemy to strike first As the Mongol fleet came nearer he gave orshyders to fire Instantly thousands of arshyrows rained onto the Mongol junks This was repeated several times and kept the enemy back But the Mongols with their better armament and numerishycally superior force soon gained the upper hand over the weary imperial soldiers In sheer desperation some of the undamaged imperial junks attempted to break through the blockage One or two were believed to have escaped The Chief Minister soon realized all was lost He rushed to the lower deck of the barge where his wife and daughter hudd led in fear and commanded them O

drown themselves He then seized the emperors jade seal tied it to his girdle and carried the te rri fied emperor on his back to the upper deck mutteringmiddot Your majestys honorable death is preferable to ignominious capitulation He then

leaped into the sea carrying the Emperor with him thus endi ng the Sung Dynasty

Coming Events On October 5 there will be a Paci fic Ri m Festival in the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District The streets in the area of the Museum will be closed and there will be a stage feat uri ng entertainment booths featuring a variety of Asian wares food and organizations Tour of the areas historic sites wi ll be conducted and the Chinese Historical Museum wi ll hold an exhibit feat uri ng local Asian history archaeolog and cul ture

On November 2 there will be a ce lebrashytion of the 70th anni versary of the firs t dedication of the Chi nese Mission build shying Old timers who had an association with this build ing and its dormi tory and their famil ies and friends will have a chance O remi nisce about those days

The annual dinner mee ting of the Chi shynese Historical Society is tentatively set for November 15 Save these dates

binese Historical Society of San Diego 404 Third Avenue San Diego CA 92101

on-Profi t Org us POST GE

PAID San Diego CA Permit No 1298