CHAPTER 3: HISTORY OF BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATIONS
Dawson (1991) describes four types of traditional Chinese institutions that appear in Canada. They were the fong (headquarters); the clan associations referred to by their surname of family association; the hui kuan (mutual aid society); and the secret society.
A fong was a room or headquarters for people who came from the same village or district that served as a meeting place, sleeping quarters, cooking facilities and a mailing address. For newcomers and out of town Chinese seeking employment, the fong provided affordable accommodation at a reasonable cost. In Alberta, the majority of Chinese came from the County of Toisan in Guangdong Province.
The Chinese kinship system is most apparent in the clan association where the adult males with the same surname claim a common ancestor.
The hui kuan were mutual aid societies that provided credit and loans for its members. Moreover, the hui kuan would arbitrate disputes between members of different hui kuans. The first hui kuan to appear in Calgary was the Shon Yee Benevolent Association in 1922.
The secret society was formed to overthrow the reigning Manchu Dynasty (1644-1912). The resistance by the Han people from whom many of the Lees originate went underground to form “brotherhoods” throughout China. These brotherhoods were the precursors to the modern day Chinese Freemasons. The secret society was the Cheekkungtong (CKT).
Following the Opium War in the latter half of the 19th Century the European countries such as England, Germany and France and in North America, the United States had through gun-boat diplomacy had humiliated the Chinese and significantly destroyed the economy. Many Chinese migrated to North America to escape poverty in their homeland. Three thousand Chinese immigrants were attracted to Barkerville, British Columbia, at the height of the gold rush and settled there. Most of these Chinese were Freemasons.
In 1876, the first headquarters for the Cheekkungtong in Canada was established in Victoria, British Columbia and later local chapters sprang up in centres across Canada. In Alberta, there were Chapters in Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge.
Before the overthrow of the Ching Dynasty in 1911, several revolts led by Dr. Sun Yat- Sen were subsidized by the overseas Cheekkungtong Canadian members. Dr. Sen eventually joined the CKT as a member in 1903.
During the early twentieth century, the secret societies began to refer to their societies as branches of the Chinese Masonic Order and became known as the Chinese Freemasons.
Dawson (1991) describes four types of traditional Chinese institutions that appear in Canada. They were the fong (headquarters); the clan associations referred to by their surname of family association; the hui kuan (mutual aid society); and the secret society.
A fong was a room or headquarters for people who came from the same village or district that served as a meeting place, sleeping quarters, cooking facilities and a mailing address. For newcomers and out of town Chinese seeking employment, the fong provided affordable accommodation at a reasonable cost. In Alberta, the majority of Chinese came from the County of Toisan in Guangdong Province.
The Chinese kinship system is most apparent in the clan association where the adult males with the same surname claim a common ancestor.
The hui kuan were mutual aid societies that provided credit and loans for its members. Moreover, the hui kuan would arbitrate disputes between members of different hui kuans. The first hui kuan to appear in Calgary was the Shon Yee Benevolent Association in 1922.
The secret society was formed to overthrow the reigning Manchu Dynasty (1644-1912). The resistance by the Han people from whom many of the Lees originate went underground to form “brotherhoods” throughout China. These brotherhoods were the precursors to the modern day Chinese Freemasons. The secret society was the Cheekkungtong (CKT).
Following the Opium War in the latter half of the 19th Century the European countries such as England, Germany and France and in North America, the United States had through gun-boat diplomacy had humiliated the Chinese and significantly destroyed the economy. Many Chinese migrated to North America to escape poverty in their homeland. Three thousand Chinese immigrants were attracted to Barkerville, British Columbia, at the height of the gold rush and settled there. Most of these Chinese were Freemasons.
In 1876, the first headquarters for the Cheekkungtong in Canada was established in Victoria, British Columbia and later local chapters sprang up in centres across Canada. In Alberta, there were Chapters in Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge.
Before the overthrow of the Ching Dynasty in 1911, several revolts led by Dr. Sun Yat- Sen were subsidized by the overseas Cheekkungtong Canadian members. Dr. Sen eventually joined the CKT as a member in 1903.
During the early twentieth century, the secret societies began to refer to their societies as branches of the Chinese Masonic Order and became known as the Chinese Freemasons.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen
Dr. SUN YAT-SEN
The Kuomintang, a political party formed by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen influenced the Chinese Communities across Canada.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen was born in the village of Tsuiheng, in the Zhongshan District of Guangdong Province in 1866. He was baptized as a Christian while studying medicine in Hong Kong. As a student while studying historical figures such as King Tang of the Shang Dynasty, King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty and George Washington the architect of the American Revolution, he was inspired to develop his own ideas of revolution that would lead to the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and establish the Republic of China.
In 1893, as a full time revolutionary, he secretly plotted rebellions and travelled abroad to raise funds from the overseas Chinese. He organized overseas students into revolutionary cells while observing the political systems of different countries.
In London, kidnapped by the Chinese diplomatic mission Dr. James Cantlie, a former teacher obtained his release. Dr. Sen formalized his political system by combining Western political and economic theories with Confucian teachings and Chinese cultural values in a system known as the “Three People’s Principles” which became the theoretical basis for the establishment of the Republic of China.
In 1895, Sun Yat-Sen planned and carried out ten revolts. In 1911, at Wuchang, the final uprising known as the Double Ten created a provisional government in Nanjing with the collapse of the Qing Dynasty with Dr. Sun Yat-Sen being elected as the President of the Republic of China.
Dr. Sen died of cancer in Beijing at the age of 60 on March 12, 1925. During the month of June in 1929, his embalmed body was transferred from Beijing to Nanjing for a state funeral.
Dr. Sen, the Father of the Republic of China authored important political works such as: “The Three Peoples Principles”, “Outline for National Reconstruction”, and a “Plan for the Industrialization of China” that have influenced the development of modern China.
a. The Calgary Lee Association
In the Calgary Lees Association (formally known as The Lee Association of Calgary) and Lees Association across Canada, the common ancestor is Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism.
The original purpose of the association was to protect members of each family, assist members with the laws and customs of their new country and provide help in times of sickness or poverty. Associations would help members find employment and would even provide loans. Clans would gather to celebrate traditional Chinese festivals.
Between 1910 and 1929 nine associations were established in Calgary: the Lee Association, the Wong Kung Har Tong, the Wong Wu Sun Society, the Gee How Oak Tin Association, the Mah Association, the Lim Shai Hor Association, the Sue Yuen Tong Society, the Leong Chong How Tong Association, and the Yee Fung Toy Tong.
The Calgary Lees Association was founded in 1910 and celebrated its 100th Anniversary on May 23, 2010. The original members came from the Hoy Shan District of Guangdong Province. The early migrants had to pay the $500 head tax. In 1910, in response to discrimination the Tung-Shing-Fon was formed to promote Chinese solidarity and mutual cooperation.
The headquarters was located on First Street at Seventeenth Avenue S.W. in Calgary. The Tung-Shing-Fon relocated to Chinatown’s Second Avenue S.E. and renamed the Lee-Lung-Xi Tong. In 1980, the Lee Association, the Chinese Public School and Chinatown Development Foundation created a non-profit apartment complex called Bowside Manor to assist low income renters.
The Kuomintang, a political party formed by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen influenced the Chinese Communities across Canada.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen was born in the village of Tsuiheng, in the Zhongshan District of Guangdong Province in 1866. He was baptized as a Christian while studying medicine in Hong Kong. As a student while studying historical figures such as King Tang of the Shang Dynasty, King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty and George Washington the architect of the American Revolution, he was inspired to develop his own ideas of revolution that would lead to the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and establish the Republic of China.
In 1893, as a full time revolutionary, he secretly plotted rebellions and travelled abroad to raise funds from the overseas Chinese. He organized overseas students into revolutionary cells while observing the political systems of different countries.
In London, kidnapped by the Chinese diplomatic mission Dr. James Cantlie, a former teacher obtained his release. Dr. Sen formalized his political system by combining Western political and economic theories with Confucian teachings and Chinese cultural values in a system known as the “Three People’s Principles” which became the theoretical basis for the establishment of the Republic of China.
In 1895, Sun Yat-Sen planned and carried out ten revolts. In 1911, at Wuchang, the final uprising known as the Double Ten created a provisional government in Nanjing with the collapse of the Qing Dynasty with Dr. Sun Yat-Sen being elected as the President of the Republic of China.
Dr. Sen died of cancer in Beijing at the age of 60 on March 12, 1925. During the month of June in 1929, his embalmed body was transferred from Beijing to Nanjing for a state funeral.
Dr. Sen, the Father of the Republic of China authored important political works such as: “The Three Peoples Principles”, “Outline for National Reconstruction”, and a “Plan for the Industrialization of China” that have influenced the development of modern China.
a. The Calgary Lee Association
In the Calgary Lees Association (formally known as The Lee Association of Calgary) and Lees Association across Canada, the common ancestor is Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism.
The original purpose of the association was to protect members of each family, assist members with the laws and customs of their new country and provide help in times of sickness or poverty. Associations would help members find employment and would even provide loans. Clans would gather to celebrate traditional Chinese festivals.
Between 1910 and 1929 nine associations were established in Calgary: the Lee Association, the Wong Kung Har Tong, the Wong Wu Sun Society, the Gee How Oak Tin Association, the Mah Association, the Lim Shai Hor Association, the Sue Yuen Tong Society, the Leong Chong How Tong Association, and the Yee Fung Toy Tong.
The Calgary Lees Association was founded in 1910 and celebrated its 100th Anniversary on May 23, 2010. The original members came from the Hoy Shan District of Guangdong Province. The early migrants had to pay the $500 head tax. In 1910, in response to discrimination the Tung-Shing-Fon was formed to promote Chinese solidarity and mutual cooperation.
The headquarters was located on First Street at Seventeenth Avenue S.W. in Calgary. The Tung-Shing-Fon relocated to Chinatown’s Second Avenue S.E. and renamed the Lee-Lung-Xi Tong. In 1980, the Lee Association, the Chinese Public School and Chinatown Development Foundation created a non-profit apartment complex called Bowside Manor to assist low income renters.
b. The Victoria Lee Association
Lee Mong Kow principal and founder of a school
c. The Montreal Lee Association