Kaisa Heritage Center

KAISA-Angelo King Heritage Center, Anda cor. Cabildo St.
Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
Tel. 5276083/5276086
E-mail: kaisa@philonline.com

• During the Ice Age, land bridges connected the Philippines with the rest of Asia. Through the land bridges, tribes from South China are known to have reached the Philippines. Evidences of their culture have established this pre-historic fact. Most prominent of them is the method of farming in terraced rice paddies. They also buried their dead in jars. Relations between the Chinese and the Filipinos predate Magellan's arrival by many centuries. According to early records, Chinese-Philippine trade relations covered north to south of the islands by the late 10th century. The mode of exchange was the barter. The Filipinos also visited China as recounted in the story of the Sultan of Sulu Paduka Batara. The Sultan went to Beijing to pay tribute to the Imperial Court of Emperor Yung Lo in 1417.
  

• The Galleon Trade linked the Chinese junk trading system to Acapulco and to the rest of Europe. For 250 years, galleons sailed 9000 nautical miles between Manila and Acapulco. When the Spaniards settled in the country, more Chinese came. They served as the backbone of the Spanish colonial economy. Because of their growing numbers, the Spaniards feared and distrusted them. The mutual suspicions led to persecution and harassment including large-scale massacres. The Spaniards separated the Chinese in quarters called Parian. In 1790, when the last Parian was destroyed, the Chinese were allowed to join the baptized Chinese in Binondo and Santa Cruz. Sangley, the term used by the Spaniards for the Chinese, comes from the word siong-tay, literally "often comes" in Hokkien. The Sangleys came as merchants, laborers, and artisans. Due to massacres or fires, the Spaniards changed the location of the Parian nine times.

• Because of the centuries of relations, the Chinese left their impact and influences on all aspects of Philippine culture. The art of printing is among the most significant contributions of the Chinese. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint, was born in Binondo to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother. He was canonized in October 1987 in Rome. Early religious figurines and icons carved by the Chinese showed unmistakable Chinese influence. Many Chinese in the Philippines practiced religious syncretism, the unique product of Catholic and Buddhist intermarriage.
• The first three books in the Philippines, all of them catechisms, were printed by Keng Yong of Binondo in 1593.
  

• At the end of the 19th century, life became even more difficult because of Spanish harassment and distrust. Hence, the Chinese started to form institutions for self-protection. The Chinese also built their first school, hospital and cemetery. The first business institution, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was also formed, and pioneer businesses like China Bank, Destileria Limtuaco, Yutivo and Ma Mon Luk started to appear.

• At the turn of the century, it was the Chinese mestizos who led the reform and revolutionary movements. These mestizos came from the middle class families who could afford to send their children to schools in Manila and abroad where they absorbed the liberal ideas of the West. Thus, they agitated for reforms and later joined the revolution. Jose Ignacio Paua was a pure blooded Chinese who enlisted with General Emilio Aguinaldo's army. He was among the signatories to the Biak-na-Bato constitution. In the struggle against American colonizers, he raised a large amount of money for the revolutionaries. After the war, he settled in Albay where he served as undefeated municipal mayor of Manito for many years.

• Commonly called bahay na bato, the typical mestizo house synthesizes the historical legacies and cultural influences of the Chinese mestizo's origins. The sari-sari originated from the cabecilla system of the 1850s, usually a large wholesaler of imported goods. What became the sari-sari were the retail agents of the cabecilla in the rural areas. These retailers were the ambulant agents of the earlier centuries.

• Living areas in the bahay na bato were delineated as in European houses. A spacious sala where the family received guests and held tertullas with prominent town officials was visible from the street.
• Kinship in the Filipino family is adopted from Chinese family hierarchy. Terms used to this day reveal their Chinese origin.

• The 18th-century four-poster bed carved and dressed in lace was made by Eduardo Ah Tay, a Binondo Chinese, who was a famous furniture maker. Ah Tay's signature design is the calabasa or squash design. Many kitchen utensils and food processing techniques, then and now, are called by their Chinese names.

• Only their names, and sometimes only their ancestry, are clues to the two worlds and the two cultures which their families had straddled. The contemporary Tsinoys bearing the twin virtues of their heritage continue to enrich history and make a strong impact on all aspects of Philippine life.

• The rare prints and photographs are mostly those of Binondo, the center of commerce during the later part of the Spanish colonial rule up to the American regime. (Photo: Rare prints)

• During the darkest hours of the Japanese occupation, the Chinese formed guerilla units and fought side by side with their Filipino counterparts to gain freedom. From their ranks was a harvest of heroes.

• An outstanding quantity of Chinese ceramics dating from the 10th to the 17th century have been recovered throughout the Philippine archipelago. These Chinese wares are silent and tangible evidences of the extensive and long history of maritime trade relations between China and the Philippines. All the pieces featured at Bahay Tsinoy were unearthed in the Philippines. ***

Back to Kaisa Home page <A HREF="philmed.mid">Click here for music</A>