This is a list of names of ancient places in the Philippines recorded in Dong Xi Yang Kao, starting from the departure point at Yue Gang (月港) in Zhangzhou (漳州), sailing through coastal areas from north to south. This list identifies for us the places most well-known to early Chinese traders (biggest number is in […]
Like many Filipinos, the country’s next president, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, is multiracial. In his case, though, Duterte is even more Chinese than President Benigno S. Aquino III. “My mother is a half-Maranao and half-Chinese. The lineage of incoming president Duterte would be half Cebuano from his father’s side and 25 percent Maranao and 25 percent […]
I wrote about spirituality for parents in Tulay’s past issue (April 19-May 9, 2016). It has been a struggle for the past month, but even that little time is seeing small results. The key, for me, is putting everything in concrete terms. The spiritual powers that senator Leticia Shahani talked about are all abstract concepts. […]
The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was a period of great maritime explorations in China. Tulay previously featured Zheng He’s seven voyages to the Western Ocean (Nov. 15, 2011 issue). Unlike the great European maritime explorations with imperialistic ambitions, the Ming explorers sailed the South Seas to establish trading networks beyond China’s empire.The Spaniards, the British, the […]
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 […]
The day before I was to leave for Zamboanga City to give a lecture at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU), an Islamic cleric from Saudi Arabia was shot in front of the Western Mindanao State University. Fortunately, the cleric survived, but the assassin was killed. Despite apprehensions and with assurances from AdZU president Karel […]
The Philippines in Selden Map 《東西洋航海圖》(Tulay, April 5-18, 2016 issue) article described the importance of the Philippines as China’s connection to the world in its ancient maritime silk route. The map’s origins – who drew it up and who had commissioned it – is a puzzle that historians are still trying to decipher. We had […]
During the reign of Emperor Han Ai Di (漢哀帝 6-2 B.C.), He Bing (何并) was appointed as governor of Ying Chuan (颖川) prefecture. At the time, Zhong Yuan (鍾元), a native from Ying Chuan, concurrently held the positions of minister and military officer of the imperial court. He wielded great power and influence in the […]
The sun begins to set, coloring the sky with rich hues of crimson and orange, signaling the day’s end. From a window on the second floor of the San Agustin Museum, I catch a glimpse of a 420-year-old Baroque stone church emblazoned in a ray of bronze light. Shifting my eyes to the right, I […]
Here are some of the most entertaining trivia about the human body: The average human body contains enough iron to make a three-inch nail; carbon to make 900 pencils; potassium to fire a toy cannon; fat to make seven bars of soap; phosphorous to make 2,200 match heads; and 37 liters of water. The largest […]