Born during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD), Shi Seng Fu (釋僧富) did not let poverty be a barrier to education. He would read books even at night, using the light from burning firewood. By the age of 20, he could comprehend Chinese classic texts and historical annals. Shi Seng Fu decided to become a […]
A report that appeared in the Aug. 15, 1900 issue of Qing Yi Bao (清議報), a Chinese journal published in Tokyo, lauded Filipino revolutionaries who had refused to give up the fight even after America set up a military government in the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century. The report, “Recent Situation in […]
In this issue, we have two stories of honesty and cleanliness in two high-ranking officials during the Han Dynasty (221 BC-220 AD). Both of them are surnamed Wang (王). The first is Wang Jie (王吉) of first century BC. When he was still young, he lived in Chang’an (長安), the capital then, to study. The […]
Ateneo de Manila University Press recently came out with A Visit to Manila and Its Environs, an English translation of a Dutch book by Jacob Adolf Bruno Wiselius published in 1876. Wiselius, a controller with the Dutch colonial administration in Java, visited Manila and neighboring Laguna province in 1875. He had prepared well for his […]
On June 12, the nation celebrated our 113th year of independence. Between 1946 and 1962, our country celebrated Independence Day on July 4, the day we attained self-governance from American colonial rule. Our nation declared independence twice. The first time was when our country became the first Asian republic, throwing off the yoke of Spanish […]
In April 313 A.D., Liu Cong (劉聰), emperor of Han Zhao of the Sixteen Kingdoms, installed his highest concubine Liu E (劉娥) as queen and decided to build a palace for her. After learning about this, Chen Yuanda (陳元達), military officer of the court, declared that the construction would not only drain the treasury but […]
My previous column on “Balagtas and Binondo” mentioned that Balagtas’ deep immersion in the volatile environment of Binondo reached a crucial stage during the violent October 1820 massacre. The event must have jolted the foundations of his personal convictions and impelled what could have been his political epiphany. But what is the October 1820 massacre? […]
One day in February of 444 A.D., during the Northern Wei (北魏) Dynasty, Minister Gu Bi (古弼) went to pay respects to the emperor and suggest to him that part of the garden park in Shang Gu (上谷) be distributed to the landless peasants. At the time, the emperor was playing weiqi (圍棋) or Go […]
Imagine, even during the time of Dr. Jose Rizal, Chinatown in Binondo had been the underground base of Filipino revolutionaries. This and other fascinating stories about the Philippine Revolution and the Filipino-American War are compiled in The I-Stories: The Philippine Revolution and the Filipino-American War as told by Its Eyewitnesses and Participants by Augusto V. […]
Filial piety is a time-honored tradition in Chinese culture. Chinese history abounds with stories of selfless sacrifice by offspring for their parents. In 399 to 402 A.D., during the Eastern Jin (東晉) Dynasty, Sun En (孫恩) led a rebellion. Pan Zong (韓綜) and his father Pan Piao (潘驃) left their county Wu Xing (吳興) to […]