First published in Tulay, Chinese-Filipino Digest 1, no. 3 (August 1988): 10. The history of Chinese women in Southeast Asia has been a recent one. Most of the early Chinese who came to the Philippines were traders or laborers who left their wives and families in China. Thus, even as late as 1903, there were …
Tradition and change: Chinese women in Manila (1) Read More »
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 …
In 1580, the Mexicans expelled the Chinese to outside the walls – Extramuros – at a spot along the Pasig River, “within sight and cannon shot of Intramuros” and where they would localize the great silk market called Parian. Thus, Parian became the name of Manila’s Chinatown. As Manila was an extension of Mexico in …
