Chapter 40 Chapter 19 Overseas Chinese Missions, Overseas Chinese Schools, Overseas Chinese Newspapers

There are many overseas Chinese groups, which is a major feature of the overseas Chinese society in Southeast Asia.Most of the early overseas Chinese came from the rural areas along the southeast coast of China. They were attached to the land for a long time, self-sufficient, and lived in groups. The ancestral halls in the villages often became the activity centers of the clansmen, and worshiping ancestors became the main activity of the clansmen.People who grew up in such an environment, wandering in foreign lands, often face all kinds of difficulties that are much more serious than what they experienced in their hometowns. The instinct of survival forces them to rely on various social organizations in their hometowns to help each other and help each other. Overcoming difficulties together.As a result, various types of associations have sprung up like mushrooms after a spring rain, gradually forming a social landscape in Southeast Asia of "overseas Chinese associations everywhere".

The rudiments of overseas Chinese groups are temples and righteous mountains. When people were alive, in order to pray for the blessings of their gods and ancestors, they built temples for the gods and gods worshiped in their hometowns, such as Guanyin Bodhisattva, the land god "Da Bogong", and the navigating god Mazu.These temples are not only where people's spiritual support is, but also a place where people gather.After some overseas Chinese died, no one took care of their funeral due to poverty, illness, or widowhood.Out of compatriots and kinship, some people will take the lead in buying mountain land as public cemeteries, that is, Yishan and Yizhong, to bury the dead.It is also a kind of spiritual comfort for the living that people of the same clan can sleep together in the same grave, so that they will not become lonely souls in the underworld. In 1650, overseas Chinese in Batavia (now Jakarta) built the "Guanyin Pavilion", which may be the earliest overseas Chinese temple in Southeast Asia. In 1775, Guanyin Pavilion was renamed "Jindeyuan", which is the oldest overseas Chinese temple in Indonesia. In 1673, overseas Chinese in Malacca built the "Ching Yun Ting", which is also a temple dedicated to Guanyin.As for the public cemetery, Batavia's "Tang Renyi Tomb" appeared in 1650 and is one of the earliest overseas Chinese cemeteries in Southeast Asia.These temples, temples, pavilions, palaces, righteous mountains, and righteous tombs are the initial forms of many overseas Chinese associations established according to blood and geography.

At the end of the 18th century, especially after entering the 19th century, overseas Chinese groups based on blood and geography emerged. Clan guild halls are blood-related organizations and associations composed of clan members with one or more surnames, generally called halls, churches, associations, offices, etc. The "Cao's House" established in Singapore in 1819 was the earliest clan guild established. Later, a large number of clan associations were established, such as "Nanyang Tang Clan Association" and "Qiong Overseas Chinese Xing Clan Association" according to the place of residence (Nanyang) or ancestral home. An overseas Chinese group composed of people with the same surname in the provincial capital (Qiong, namely Hainan Island).There are also several surnames who form a community, such as Lei, Fang, and Kuang combined to form the "Taoyuantang"; during the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei "Taoyuan Sanjie", and later Zhao Yun joined the alliance in the ancient city. Among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, there are "ancient city guild halls" with the four surnames Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Zhao.

Township guild halls are associations established based on common geography.These societies are quite complex.Although the geography is the same, that is, the same township, the size of the "township" is different. The same township and the same town are undoubtedly the same township, but some are in the same county, state, prefecture, and province. At best, they can only be counted as "great fellowship".There are also associations formed across provinces, across counties, or within a province, a prefecture and a county because of the relationship of the same dialect, clan, and township.Guangdong Guild Hall, Fujian Guild Hall, Zhongshan Guild Hall and other associations can know their geographical conditions from their names, which can be said to be clear at a glance.Gangzhou Guild Hall is an association for overseas Chinese in Xinhui County, Guangdong, and "Ngee Ann Company" in Singapore is the earliest association established by overseas Chinese from Chaozhou in Guangdong. They use ancient place names.Xinhui was called Gangzhou in ancient times, and Chaozhou was called Ngee'an County in ancient times, hence the name.Hometown associations are often combined with dialect groups, and pay more attention to the commonality of dialects.For example, in 1888, Singapore established the "Fengyong Company", which was composed of overseas Chinese from Fengshun, Dapu, and Yongding counties in Fujian. The area belongs to the same dialect group, so they also formed fellow village associations.

In Southeast Asia, especially in Singapore, there are so-called "gangs" centered on clansmen, fellow villagers or dialect groups.The big gangs are: Cantonese Gang, Chaozhou Gang, Hakka Gang in Guangdong Province, Hainan Gang in Hainan Province, Minnan Gang, Xinghua Gang, Fuzhou Gang, and Sanjiang Gang in Fujian Province.The Sanjiang Gang is composed of people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces centered in Shanghai.Different groups were formed by gangs, and when a comprehensive large society was established later, the number of directors was also allocated according to gangs.

Trade associations are industry-related organizations.Overseas Chinese, especially the early overseas Chinese, had all-encompassing means of earning a living and had many industries. In order to protect the interests of the various industries they were engaged in, people in the same industry organized various economic guilds. In 1868, Singapore's "Northern City Tour" was an early trade association that worshiped Mr. Hou Luban in Beicheng. It was an industry organization for construction workers from Guangdong.Others, such as the Rice Merchants Association, the Rubber Association, etc. are all.

In addition to the above-mentioned blood, geographical, and industry-related associations, there are some other types of associations, the most influential of which are charitable associations, such as the Overseas Chinese Baodeshantang in Bangkok, Thailand (1887), Tianhua Hospital (1905) That is.They provide medicine and medicine, help the poor and orphans, establish schools, promote religious and cultural activities, and serve the social welfare of the country where the overseas Chinese live. They have a good reputation. After entering the 20th century, the development of overseas Chinese groups in Southeast Asia has also entered a new period.Overseas Chinese groups have not only increased in number, number of members, social influence and contributions, but also gradually surpassed the gap between gangs, and organizations that transcend regions, gangs, and industries have emerged: General Chambers of Commerce, Federations, etc.Their appearance shows that the overseas Chinese society is becoming more and more mature and the unity of overseas Chinese is increasing day by day.

The earliest Chinese Chamber of Commerce was established in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaya, and Manila, Philippines in 1904. It was originally called the Chinese (or Chinese) Business Bureau.Among the chambers of commerce and general associations established in various places in the early 20th century, the most influential one was the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry established in 1906, which was established under the persuasion of the Ministry of Commerce of the Qing government.It safeguarded the economic rights and interests of Chinese businessmen, opposed the discriminatory policies of the British colonial government, and served as a bridge between the overseas Chinese community, the Qing government and the British colonial government. In 1921, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly established the "Malaysian Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry" with the Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry in various parts of Malaya. When the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, the Chinese Entrepreneur Association convened an "Overseas Chinese Assembly" with 118 overseas Chinese groups, and announced the establishment of a "Relief Association" to support the motherland's Anti-Japanese War.Under the influence and drive of the Singapore Relief Association, similar anti-Japanese and national salvation groups were established in various parts of Southeast Asia. "("Southern Overseas Chinese Federation"), as the highest leading organization of overseas Chinese in Nanyang to fight against Japan and save the nation, has made great contributions to promoting the movement of resisting Japan and saving the nation.

Comprehensive overseas Chinese groups in Southeast Asia also include "Bacheng Chinese Association" (1900, Indonesia), "Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall" (1923, Malaya) and so on. Overseas Chinese groups of different forms and natures come along with the formation and development of overseas Chinese society, and they are an indispensable part of overseas Chinese society.An ordinary Chinese, empty-handed, left his hometown and moved to a strange place. When encountering difficulties, relying on his fellow-townsman relationship and a common dialect, "if you are close or not, you are from your hometown", and the hometown organization will send charcoal in real time. He has overcome the first difficulty of living in a foreign land; when this person integrates into the society of the place of residence, he can still get support and help of one kind or another from various overseas Chinese groups.Of course, this person will also regard the associations that support him as his "home" and will give back, and use these associations to connect with his motherland that has been plagued by disasters and fulfill the obligations of an expatriate to the motherland.

Overseas Chinese groups have a flesh-and-blood relationship with the people they represent, so they are full of vitality.