First published in Tulay Monthly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 2, no. 7 (December 24, 1989): 9. Maraming taon ang nakaraan, isang awitin ang aking narinig na labis kong naibigan. Higit kaysa sa himig, ang tumimo sa aking isipan ay ang mensaheng dulot ng awitin: “Everybody wants to find the blue bird,” paulit-ulit na sinasabi sa awitin. Sa …
First published in Tulay, Monthly Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 7 (December 11, 1988): 8. It’s Christmas, an occasion to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene. We chose for our cover this issue the picture of a little-known black Nazarene, who is worshiped mostly by Chinese in a mixture of Chinese and Catholic rites. …
Worshiping the Chinese way: Jesus Nazareno of Capalonga Read More »
First published in Tulay Monthly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 7 (December 11, 1988): 9. There may be Christmas trees, artificial snow, twinkling lights and mistletoe, but Christmas in the Philippines is simply not complete without the star lantern. The use of lanterns is believed by some to have been introduced to our country by Chinese …
First published in Tulay Monthly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 7 (December 11, 1988): 5; 15. In the Philippines, the Christmas season is marked by religious solemnity, great festivities and revelry. Part of the merry making is the abundance of food and drinks. For the ordinary citizens, among the favorite beverages are such Filipino-made alcoholic drinks …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 25, no. 7 (September 11-24, 2012): 5. Surname 梁 (Liong in Hokkien, Liang in Mandarin) ranks as the 20th biggest surname in China, but only 31st among Chinese in the Philippines. The origin of the surname Liang is quite simple. It was said that an heir of the …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 25, no. 5 (August 14-27, 2012): 5-6. Surname 邱 (Cu, Koo or Khu in Hokkien, Qiu in Mandarin) ranks 30th among Chinese in the Philippines. In China, it ranks only 65th. 邱 was written as 丘 without the 阝 ear character on the right side. In fact, this …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 28, no. 13 (December 8-21, 2015): 5-6. In the course of researching an article of Salvador P. Escoto (1960-2007) on “Expulsion of the Chinese and Readmission to the Philippines: 1764-1779” in Philippine Studies 47.1 (1999), we found another article Escoto co-authored with John N. Schumacher in Philippine Studies …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 25, no. 7 (September 11-24, 2012): 16, 15. It was 1986 and the People Power Revolution had just ended the 20-year rule of Ferdinand E. Marcos. People were euphoric, looking forward to a new re-established democratic order. One of the first moves the new President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, nos. 15-16 (January 17-February 6, 2012): 5. The surname 高 (Ko in Hokkien, Gao in Mandarin) ranks 19th among Chinese surnames in China, and 24th among Chinese in the Philippines. Gao was first used as surname in China by Lü Fu (呂服), the son of the sixth …
First published in Tulay, Fortnightly Chinese-Filipino Digest 28, no. 13 (December 8-21, 2015): 14. Hokkien, on the tongues of Tsinoys, has grown and evolved, taking on a life of its own. Sometimes words simply fail us. With some creativity, Tsinoys have strung together words to form colorful phrases that simply hit the bull’s eye. Here …
