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. 横横梗梗 huin huin kè […]
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Saga Part 4: The path to Pambujan
Ed’s note: This is a continuation of Relative Finder’s “Saga after the storm.” Aunty Marites finally arrived in Eni and met her long lost uncles. Upon her return she gave me colored photos from Chan Bon Kheng with notes at the back describing his return home to meet his long lost family in Iligan City, […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 29, nos. 14-15 (January 17-February 6, 2017): 24,26. Since the 1970s, Seoul has seen different stages of urban expansion. Today, Seoul has three major business districts in the city: the historical city center, the island of Yeoui and Gangnam. A fourth area is in gestation around the Digital […]
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Incheon: A government-built pseudo Chinatown
In an earlier Tulay column (Oct. 8-21, 2013 issue), I’ve written that a true Chinatown is one that is lived and experienced and not built for tourism or business purposes. Dragons, arches and temples do not a Chinatown make. It is the lives lived, the culture experienced, and the history shared by a group of […]
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Home of the Phoenix
The legend goes that the phoenix – feng huang (鳯凰) – lived in the mountains of Hunan province in western China. As the mythical bird – symbol of the empress (the dragon is the symbol of the emperor), it represents longevity since it re- emerges from the flames each time it is consumed by fire […]