Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association

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Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (中華會館) headquarters
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Sam Yup (三邑)
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Yeong Wo (陽和)
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Kong Chow (岡州)
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Ning Yung (寧陽)
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Hop Wo (合和)
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Yan Wo (人和)
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Sue Hing (肇慶)

Upon their arrival during the California gold rush, Chinese immigrants felt the government in Gold Mountain did not protect their interests. To protect and support one another, these Chinese pioneers from the Pearl River Delta formed the Sze Yup and Sam Yap associations in San Francisco's Chinatown. With more Chinese immigrants from other districts, who spoke different dialects, two more associations formed in 1852, followed by two more splitting off Sze Yup. [3] These organizations became the six most important Chinese district associations in California. [8] The associations had some mutual coordination [9] before the CCBA was established, in 1882. [3] [10]

These immigrant organizations were rooted in the Chinese tradition of huiguan (traditional Chinese :會館; simplified Chinese :会馆; pinyin :huìguǎn; Jyutping :wui6gun2), [11] viz., support groups for merchants and workers originating from a given area. The vast majority of Chinese in California were from various districts on the west side of the Pearl River Delta, in Guangdong province. Thus, the first huiguan, or ui-kun, as it was locally known [12] in Cantonese San Francisco, the Sam Yap (Chinese :三邑; pinyin :sānyì; Jyutping :sam1 jap1; lit.'Three counties') Company, emerged in 1851. It was associated with the Nanhai, Panyu, Shunde, Sanshui, and Xingyun districts. [13] Towards the end of 1851, the Sze Yap (Chinese :四邑; pinyin :Sìyì; Jyutping :sei3 jap1; lit.'Four Counties') company of Xinhui, Kaiping, Xinning, and Enping districts was created. [13] This was followed by the Yeong Wo (Chinese :陽 和) company of Heung-shan, Tung-kun, and Tsang-shing districts, in 1852; [14] and the Hip Kat company, formed by Hakka immigrants from Bow On, Chak Tai, Tung Gwoon, and Chu Mui districts, in 1852. [13] In this manner, "Chinese in California had become organized into four regional dialect groupings" [3] : 17  or, as locally known, "four Ooe-Koons, or great Chinese houses of San Francisco". [15]

Owing to internal disputes in the large Sze Yup company, the Ning Yung (Chinese :寧 陽) company emerged in 1853, and the Hop Wo (Chinese :合 和) company split off in 1862. [3] In 1867, the twice-reduced Sze Yup was reorganized as the Kong Chow (Chinese :岡 州) company. [16] [17] Friction within the Hop Wo company led to the formation of the Sue Hing (Chinese :肇 慶) company in 1878. [3] : 18 

The Six Companies served as ambassadors of the Qing government, which did not have a consulate in Chinatown until the end of the 1870s, and provided services for arriving Chinese immigrants and workers in San Francisco. [18] : 42  Their early efforts included deterring prostitution in the Chinese community, encouraging Chinese immigrants to lead moral lives, and discouraging excessive Chinese immigration, which was causing hostility towards them. [19] The Six Companies also created a safety net for sick Chinese workers, by lending them money. They opened a Chinese-language school, settled disputes among members, maintained a Chinese census, and helped members send remittances to their home villages through district associations. [20] In 1875, they endorsed the position that continued Chinese immigration caused a general lowering of wages for both whites and Chinese in America. [21]

One of the most important roles of the CCBA was that of defender and sometimes litigator of civil rights. For example, they hired police officers to watch over Chinese businesses and properties in San Francisco. They also hired White lawyers to help them fight anti-Chinese legislation on the city, state, and federal levels. [18] The 1898 landmark case of Wong Kim Ark, which established US citizenship for American-born children of Chinese parents, was successfully argued in the US Supreme Court with the assistance of legal representation from the CCBA. [22] : 67 

Immigration in the 1960s

Though the Six Companies discouraged the continuing immigration of Chinese to the US, the phenomenon persisted. In the 1960s, discrimination began to arise within these Chinese communities. Assimilation of Chinese communities increased through the years, causing a cultural clash between new arrivals and those who were American-born and had assimilated to the culture. Many new Chinese immigrants came to America without savings, as most of their money was spent on transportation to the US. Many immigrant children were also affected by these conditions, having to work when they were not in school, and struggling to learn English. This led to many of the children of new immigrants dropping out and joining gangs that engaged in violence in Chinatown. In 1968, during a human rights commission hearing held in San Francisco, the Wah Ching gang asked for a community clubhouse and a two-year program to help them gain vocational skills and earn high school diplomas. The CCBA advised the commission: "They have not shown that they are sorry or that they will change their ways. They have threatened the community. If you give in to this group, you are only going to have another hundred immigrants come in and have a whole new series of threats and demands." [23]

In 2022, the first female CCBA president, head of the Yan Wo company, was installed. [24]

New York City

The CCBA in New York Nycccba.JPG
The CCBA in New York
Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association
Traditional Chinese 中華會館
Simplified Chinese 中华会馆
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnghuá Huìguǎn
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping Zung1wa4 Wui6gun2

In New York City, the CCBA was established in 1883. It acts as an umbrella organization for sixty member organizations representing a cross section of New York's Chinese community. They include professional and trade organizations, civic, religious, cultural, and women's groups, and organizations such as the Lin Sing Association.

The CCBA spearheaded the move to form the Chinese Voters Federation in May 2004 to encourage qualified Chinese American citizens to register and vote in the 2004 presidential election.

Immediately following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the CCBA led an emergency community-wide campaign to raise funds for the victims, a drive that raised more than $500,000 for the American Red Cross Emergency Response Fund. In September 2005, right after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the CCBA and Sing Tao Daily teamed up and raised $170,000 for the victims.

The CCBA also works with many mainstream organizations to provide services to the Chinese American community, such as the Visiting Nurse Service of New York and the American Cancer Society. In December 2006, the CCBA and the American Red Cross of Greater New York signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate programs in Chinatown that will help prepare and train the Chinese community for any kind of emergency.

Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England

The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England, popularly known as CCBA, is a tax-exempt organization established in 1923. Currently with 35 members consisting of family associations and community organizations, the CCBA serves as the umbrella organization for the Chinese communities of New England.

Besides sponsoring activities, the CCBA manages Tai Tung Village and Waterford Place, apartment complexes that provide affordable housing to the Chinese community. Partnering with Chinatown Main Street and other organizations, the CCBA coordinates activities such as the lion dance celebration for the Lunar New Year and the annual August Moon Festival, to attract visitors and to further economic growth in Chinatown; it also hosts dignitary visits to the Chinatown community.

Seattle

Chong Wa Benevolent Association, Seattle, circa 1930 Seattle - Chong Wa Benevolent Association, circa 1930 (50885230611).jpg
Chong Wa Benevolent Association, Seattle, circa 1930

In Seattle, Washington, the Chong Wa Association was established around 1915. [25] [26] Its aim was to help Chinese immigrants with finding jobs, housing, and loans; support with language needs and legal disputes; as well as political advocacy and conflict mediation. [26] [27] In 1929, the association built a center at 522 Seventh Avenue South, which is still in use. [26] Max A. van House designed the building with the help of Wing Sam Chinn, who later became the first Asian-American to graduate from the University of Washington's architecture department and to hold an architect's license in Washington. [27]

When the U.S. entered World War II, anti-Japanese sentiment was high, and the Chinese Exclusion Act was still enforced. Chong Wa created red and white buttons that read "China" for Chinese Americans to wear as a shield against anti-Japanese sentiment, although these buttons and similarly labeled cars were sometimes shared to protect Japanese Americans as well. [28] Chong Wa also sponsored celebrations for Seattle's Chinese American community, like hosting Chinese New Year events in Chinatown-International District, with dragon teams from San Francisco. [29] Ruby Chow started a public relations effort within Chong Wa to combat the city's racism and fear of Chinese Americans by hosting outreach events to raise awareness of Chinese culture. She formed the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team with Chong Wa's sponsorship. [30] The association created a dragon team in 1952, and both teams began performing in Seafair. [31]

Drill team at 2008 Seafair Chinatown Parade 2008 Seattle Chinatown Seafair Parade - drill team stand in review 03.jpg
Drill team at 2008 Seafair Chinatown Parade

In 1957, Chow was elected to the Chong Wa board, becoming the first woman to sit on a board of the CCBA. Wing Luke ran for a Seattle City Council position in 1962 and thus became the first Asian-American to hold a major elected office in the U.S. He asked Chong Wa for support during his campaign, but they demurred for the sake of remaining neutral in city politics. In 1975, Chow was elected president of the Chong Wa board, thus becoming the first woman to hold that position for the CCBA. [30]

Chong Wa Benevolent Association, Seattle Seattle Chong Wa Benevolent Association 02.jpg
Chong Wa Benevolent Association, Seattle

The association has hosted language classes, Seattle Chinese Opera and Luck Ngi Music Club performances, and Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team practices. [27] [31] The Chong Wa Education Society originally offered Cantonese classes, and it also offers Mandarin classes to children and adults. [31] In 2018, the organization erected a statue of Sun Yat-sen outside its building. He had visited Seattle in 1911. [32]

The association remains politically engaged and has recently spoken out against Sound Transit's proposal to build a Link light rail station on 5th Avenue in Chinatown-International District, pushing for a 4th Avenue alternative placement to decrease impacts on the community. [33]

Vancouver

Branches

CCBA, San Diego 428 Third Avenue, San Diego.jpg
CCBA, San Diego
CCBA, Chicago Chicagoccba.JPG
CCBA, Chicago
CCBA, Washington, D.C. Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Washington, D.C. - 1.jpg
CCBA, Washington, D.C.

The CCBA has several branches in the United States and Canada, including: [34]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Yuwu Song, ed., Encyclopedia of Chinese-American Relations (McFarland, 2009) pp66–67.
  2. ↑ "The Chinese Six Companies at 843 Stockton St. Known by the Chinese as the 'Chung Wa Woey Koon' [Cantonese]". cuny.edu. American Social History Project, CUNY. 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021. The [Chinese] Six Companies, organized in the 1850s and formally established in 1882, were an amalgamation of the six most important Chinese organizations, or "district associations," in California at the time: the Sam Yup, Yeung Wo, Kong Chow, Ning Yung, Hop Wo, and Yan Wo.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lai, Him Mark. "Historical Development of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association/Huiguan System" (PDF). The Him Mark Lai Digital Archive. Chinese Historical Society of America . Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Six Companies – FoundSF". foundsf.org. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 "San Francisco Chinatown: Chinese in California". bancroft.berkeley.edu. Archived from the original on August 27, 2003. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Chinese Six Companies". Immigration to the United States. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association". www.ccbanyc.org. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  8. ↑ [Yung et al. 2006] p. 23.
  9. ↑ "A Memorial...", p. 18–23 in [Yung et al. 2006], is an example of a document jointly issued by the Six Companies as early as 1876.
  10. ↑ "The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association/Huiguan System", p. 62 in Him Mark Lai, Becoming Chinese American, Rowman Altamira (2004). ISBN   0-7591-0458-1.
  11. ↑ "Huiguan" . Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  12. ↑ Loomis, Rev. A. W. (September 1868). "The six Chinese Companies". Overland Monthly. 1 (3): 221–227.
  13. 1 2 3 Qin, Yucheng. The Diplomacy of Nationalism: the Six Companies and China's Policy toward Exclusion. University of Hawaii Press, 2009
  14. ↑ Speer, Rev. William (1870). The Oldest and the Newest Empire. Chapter 19: The Chinese Companies in California. National Publishing. pp. 554–571. New Rules of the Yeung-Wo Ui-Kun (1854)
  15. ↑ "Chinese Liberality". cdnc.ucr.edu. Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 6, Number 830, November 21, 1853. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  16. ↑ "The Kong Chow Beneficial Society, a reorganization of the old See Yup Asylum Association, incorporated to-day". cdnc.ucr.edu. Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 34, Number 5146, September 25, 1867. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Chinese Benevolent Society". cdnc.ucr.edu. Daily Alta California, Volume 19, Number 6402, September 25, 1867. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  18. 1 2 Hansen, Lawrence Douglas Taylor (Spring 2006). "The Chinese Six Companies of San Francisco and the Smuggling of Chinese Immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1882–1930". Journal of the Southwest. 48 (1): 37–61. JSTOR   40170313 . Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  19. ↑ [Yung et al. 2006] p. 20 et. seq.
  20. ↑ Chang, Iris (2003). The Chinese in America: a narrative history. New York: Viking.
  21. ↑ [Yung et al. 2006] p. 25.
  22. ↑ Salyer, Lucy E. (2005). "Wong Kim Ark: The Contest Over Birthright Citizenship". In Martin, David; Schuck, Peter (eds.). Immigration Stories. New York: Foundation Press. ISBN   1-58778-873-X.
  23. ↑ Chang, Iris (2004). The Chinese in America. United States of America: Penguin Books. pp. 261–70. ISBN   9780142004173.
  24. ↑ Li, Han (November 2022). "SF Chinatown's Historic 'City Hall' Welcomes First Female President". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  25. ↑ Chong Wa Association (Seattle) on vrseattle.com
  26. 1 2 3 "Group posing in front of Chong Wa Benevolent Association building, Seattle, c. 1930". University Libraries: University of Washington. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  27. 1 2 3 "Chong Wa Benevolent Association". HistoryLink.tours. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  28. ↑ Lim, Elana (February 25, 2025). "Stories in Place: East Kong Yick". Front Porch: Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  29. ↑ Henkin, Aaron (March 26, 2018). "Chinatown ID, Seattle, part 2". WYPR. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  30. 1 2 Chesley, Frank (January 18, 2007). "Chow, Ruby (1920-2008)". HistoryLink . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  31. 1 2 3 "Chong Wa Benevolent Association and Education Society brochure, Seattle, circa 2015". MOHAI.
  32. ↑ "Chong Wa Benevolent Association (#09)". Revisiting Washington. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  33. ↑ Oron, Guy (May 4, 2022). "CID residents criticize proposed light rail expansion". Real Change . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  34. ↑ The C.C.B.A. in North America

Further reading

  • Delehanty, Randolph. Chinatown Introduction: a Tale of Four Cities, Chronicle Books, sfgate.com. Undated, accessed online October 17, 2007.
  • Lai, David Chuen-Yan. "The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in Victoria: Its Origins and Functions". BC Studies: The British Columbian Quarterly 15 (1972): 53–67. Online
  • Lai, Him Mark. "Historical development of the Chinese consolidated benevolent association/huiguan system". Chinese America: History and Perspectives 1 (1987): 13–51.
  • Liu, Ying, and Tina Bebbington. "The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association and China: 1884–1922 – A Selective Guide of Primary Sources". (2012) online.
  • Qin, Yucheng (2009). The Diplomacy of Nationalism: The Six Companies and China's Policy toward Exclusion. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN   9780824832742.
  • "Documents of the Chinese Six Companies Pertaining to Immigration", p. 17–25 (especially "A Memorial from Representative Chinamen in America", p. 18–23) in Judy Yung, Gordon H. Chang, and Him Mark Lai (compilers and editors), Chinese American Voices, University of California Press (2006). ISBN   0-520-24310-2.
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