Bu Shi (卜式), a shepherd, accumulated great wealth during the reign of Han Wu Di (漢武帝, 140-88 BC). At that time, the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) was battling the Xiongnu (Huns), an ancient nationality in northern China. The war had drained the empire’s coffers. When Bu Shi learned about it, he submitted a statement […]
The ninth most populous surname in China is 周 (Zhou in Mandarin, Chiu in Hokkien). Yet, there is no 周 family association in the Philippines simply because there are not enough of the clan members living here. Nevertheless, there are Chius in the Philippines. Among the prominent Chiu family in Cebu is Francisco L. Benedicto […]
Tsinoys who carry the surname 趙 (Zhao in Mandarin, Tio in Hokkien, Tiu in Canton) is a minority among the Philippine Chinese. Yet in China, 25 million Chinese people have this surname… Making 趙 the 8th most populous there. The origin of 趙 is dual: it is based on a place in China, as well […]
There are more than 27 million Chinese who carry the 黃 surname, making it the seventh most populous in China. There are several stories about how the surname came to be, and all point to the state named 黃. In other words, the Huangs adopted the name of the state as their own. One story […]
The 楊 (Yu in Hokkien, Yang in Mandarin) clan is the eighth most populous in China. The first 楊 in China was the youngest son of Emperor Zhou Xuan Wang (周宣王) of late Western Zhou (西周) Dynasty (11th century -771 BC) named Shang Fu (尚父). He was conferred the title and territory at 楊, a […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 29, no. 7 (September 6-19, 2016): 5. With all the sham and drudgery, it’s still a beautiful world. This struck me as I attended the Ramon Magsaysay awards, an event I rarely miss. With the many uncertainties and problems in society we face, the speeches of the awardees […]
One in every 10 Tsinoys is a Tan (陳 Chen in Mandarin). It is the most populous surname in the Chinese-Filipino community, with almost 10 percent of Tsinoys carrying the family name. In China, more than 54 million Chinese bear this surname, making it the fifth most populous there. In the Philippines, during the late […]
With more than 65 million Chinese carrying this surname, 劉 (Lao in Hokkien, Liu in Mandarin) is certainly the fourth more populous family name in China. The origin of this surname has close links with the dragon. The earliest ancestor of the Laos was Liu Lei (劉累). He took care of the emperor’s dragons. Little […]
More than 90 million Chinese carry the surname 張 (Tiu in Hokkien, Zhang in Mandarin). Together, they represent the third largest group in China with the same family name. The name carries with it more than 5,000 years of history, with intimate ties to both royalty and warfare. Its origin has to do with the […]
Most people, including historians, think that there were no female Chinese immigrants in early Philippine history. Data from 1870 show there were only 193 female and 22,807 male Chinese in the Philippines. Early Chinese immigrants in the Philippines seem, logically, to be generally made up of Chinese males who went overseas to seek better livelihood […]