First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 7 (September 6-19, 2011): 14-15. Ever heard of the three Rs? Most of us learned about “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” in school. For the 24th birthday of Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran, we introduced the four Rs – reduce, reuse, regift, recycle – and launched the first Regift […]
Editors Note: This is the 31st of a series about the 36 Chinese Buddhist temples of the Philippines. Much of the information is from a thesis of Venerable Chuanmiao (Hsuan Chuang University, 2008), a Buddhist monk affiliated with the Thousand Buddha Temple in Quezon City. 31. Lam Hua Temple (南華寺)Sabang District, Tacloban City | Tel. […]
The surname Go is the 10th most populous in China. It is 吳,Wu in Mandarin. Wu clan members are actually related to the Zhou clan. They descended from the same royal ancestor. Their history is a very touching one. In the early 11th century BC, Gu Dan Fu (古亶父), who founded Zhou (周) State in […]
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 are some expressions unique to Hokkien as favored by Tsinoys. Idioms, expressions Hokkien pronunciation […]
Editors Note: This is the 30th of a series about the 36 Chinese Buddhist temples of the Philippines. Much of the information is from a thesis of Venerable Chuanmiao (Hsuan Chuang University, 2008), a Buddhist monk affiliated with the Thousand Buddha Temple in Quezon City. 30. Fa Tzang Temple (法藏寺)C.L. Montelibano, Narra Ext., Bacolod City […]
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 […]
Editors Note: This is the 29th of a series about the 36 Chinese Buddhist temples of the Philippines. Much of the information is from a thesis of Venerable Chuanmiao (Hsuan Chuang University, 2008), a Buddhist monk affiliated with the Thousand Buddha Temple in Quezon City. 29. Buddha Light Temple 佛光寺Benedicto St., North Reclamation Area, Cebu […]
Editors Note: This is the 28th of a series about the 36 Chinese Buddhist temples of the Philippines. Much of the information is from a thesis of Venerable Chuanmiao (Hsuan Chuang University, 2008), a Buddhist monk affiliated with the Thousand Buddha Temple in Quezon City. 28. Palawan Fayu Temple 巴拉灣法雨寺Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa City, PalawanTutuban […]
Whenever Chinatown in Manila is mentioned, what comes to the mind of people nowadays would be Ongpin Street in Binondo, which became the symbol of Chinatown in Manila since 1923. Formerly Sacristia Street, Ongpin Street was named in honor of Roman Ongpin. Before that, was there a Chinatown in Manila? Where was it, if ever? […]
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 […]