First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 24 (May 22-June 12, 2012): 5. Chinese surname 丁 (Ting in Hokkien, Ding in Mandarin) ranks 28th among Chinese in the Philippines and 48th in China. The Chinese character 丁 is quite simple: the capital letter T with a hook at the bottom of the vertical […]
First published in Tulay Monthly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 7 (December 11, 1988): 12, 16. Introduced as a teacher of a graduate course on Contemporary China at the UP Asian Center, I was met with a blank stare which ‘seemed to suggest that I might as well go teach in a monastery. After lecturing to […]
First published in Tulay, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 3 (August 1998): 4. So, the ethnic Chinese are moving back into Chinatown (Chronicle, July 20, 1988). This is good news for Chinatown real estate developers and brokers, but bad news for the assimilation effort. Judging from reports, concern over security appears to be the primary motivating […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 22 (April 24-May 7, 2012): 5. Chu in Hokkien, Zhu in Mandarin, 朱ranks 27th among the Chinese in the Philippines. In China, it ranks 13th, mainly because Zhu is the imperial surname during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). China’s emperors had tens or even hundreds of wives […]
“More Filipino than many Filipinos.” — Teodoro F. Agoncillo “Through his unselfishness and heroism, General Paua had earned the gratitude of the Filipino nation to whose freedom and welfare he dedicated his life. He loved the Philippines as his own country …” — Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo “The ferocity with which he contested every inch of […]
First published in Tulay Monthly 1, no. 3 (August 1988): 7 Nagsisimula nang umakyat ang Pilipinas tungo sa tugatog ng pagbabangong pang-ekonomiya. Kailangang magpasya ang pamahalaan. Hahayaan ba nito ang mga Tsino na maging kabalikat ng mga Pilipino sa pag-akyat sa tugatog na ito, o hahayaan na lang silang magmasid sa isang tabi? Itinuturo sa […]
First published in Tulay Monthly 1, no. 3 (August 1988): 7 Did you know that the Filipino word lithaw (plough) and the word puthaw (axe) came from the Chinese words luey-thaw (犁頭) and po-thaw (斧頭) because it was the Chinese who taught the Filipinos the new techniques of farming, fruit growing and vegetable gardening? The […]
First published in Tulay Monthly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 3 (August 1988): 2. “All Chinese are good in business” is a common belief of most Filipinos. However, history tells us that the early Chinese who came to the Philippines were mostly peasants who knew nothing much about business. So, where can we attribute the business, […]
First published in Tulay Monthly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 2 (July 1988): 4, 5. To get only two pan de sal when others get three is bad enough; to be told that is so “kasi babae ka” is a bit too much. My “cause” for this month has nothing to do with my being Chinese; […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 24, no. 20 (March 20-April 9, 2012): 5. Chinese surname 顏 (Yan in Mandarin, Gan in Hokkien) ranks 26th among Chinese in the Philippines. However, in China, it ranks 112th, according to identification cards of the Ministry of Public Security in 2009, probably because 90 percent of Tsinoys […]