Not until we read Francisco R. Liongson IV’s 2017 work, Letran: An Untold History, vol.1: 1620-1872, did we know that the first Catholic bishop in China, Gregorio Luo Wenzao (羅文藻, 1616-1691), OP, was a product of the Philippines who came to Manila three times and studied theology at the University of Santo Tomas. Luo was …
During our research on old names of places in the Philippines mentioned in ancient Chinese records, we encountered a pair of names – 沙瑶 (Sayao) and 呐嗶嘽 (Dapitan). 呐嗶嘽 is easy to locate because Dapitan is pronounced almost exactly like Na-pi-tan in Hokkien or Na Bi Dan in Mandarin. This Zamboanga del Norte city is …
Catholicism and the Catholic church in the Philippines have been important factors in effecting the integration of the Chinese in the Philippines into the mainstream society since the early Spanish period in the 16th century. The Spanish friars were eager not only to Christianize the local Chinese but also further evangelize and convert the Chinese …
This saga all started from the name of a special mami and siopao restaurant along C. M. Recto Avenue near Avenida – Pinsec House. Pinsec sounds Chinese. But what does it mean? What is its Chinese origin? Is it related somehow to pansit, the popular Filipino dish? After consulting with a local-born Tsinoy who is …
Discussing the rice traders of 1862 in his great work Feeding Manila, in Peace and War: 1850-1945 (Ateneo Press, 2016), professor emeritus Daniel F. Doeppers narrates: Doña Cornelia Lao Chanco (1819-1900) was one of the Manila consignees in 1862. Born to Chinese mestizos in Binondo, Manila in 1836, she was married to Tomas Ly-Chauco, an …
Who were afraid of the mestizos? Answer: The Spanish colonizers during the 19th century. We are not kidding. Referring again to Alfredo Roces’ Adios Patria Adorada: The Filipino as Ilustrado, the Ilustrado as Filipino, which I cited in the July 4-14, 2017 issue on “The great role of mestizos,” Sinibaldo de Mas in 1842 penned …
In 1984, the late historian Dr. Antonio S. Tan came out with The Chinese Mestizos in the Formation of Filipino Nationality, an excellent monograph that explores for the first time the great role played by the Chinese mestizos in the formation of the Filipino nation. It was first published by the Asian Center of the …
T ulay’s May 24-June 20, 2016 issue featured the first Catholic bishop of China, Luo Wenzao (羅文藻, 1615-1691) or Gregorio Lopez, who visited Manila five times between 1638 and 1684 and had studied theology at the University of Santo Tomas. Luo is the first Chinese Catholic of China trained in the Philippines. But Luo, who …
Since American historian Robert Batchelor discovered in 2008 the Selden Map at the basement of the Bodleian Library in Oxford University, scholars cannot agree whether it was made in the Wanli era (1573-1620), after the Dutch occupied the Moluccas in 1621, or sometime in between. But they basically agree that the map dates from the …
Thanks to Dr. Santiago Albano Pilar’s coffee table book The Life and Art of Isabelo Tampinco (2004), the most “unheralded” Filipino artist in the late 18th century, “the forgotten master” Isabelo Tampinco, has become known to people like us interested in Philippine culture and history. Tampico was the master in the art of sculpting as …
