Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association

The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) (traditional Chinese: 中華會館; simplified Chinese: 中华会馆; pinyin: zhōnghuá huìguǎn; Jyutping: zung1wa4 wui6gun2 in the Western United States, Midwest, and Western Canada; 中華公所 (中华公所) zhōnghuá gōngsuǒ (Jyutping: zung1wa4 gung1so2) in the East) is a historical Chinese association established in various parts of the United States and Canada, with large Chinese communities. It is also known by other names, such as Chinese Six Companies (Chinese: 六大公司) in San Francisco,[1] especially when it began, in the 19th century; Chong Wa Benevolent Association in Seattle, Washington; and United Chinese Society in Honolulu, Hawaii. The association's clientele were Chinese immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who came mainly from eight districts on the west side of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong, southern China, and their descendants. The latter wave of Chinese immigrants, after 1965, who came from a much wider area of China, did not experience the level of hostilities faced by the pioneers and did not join the CCBA, which greatly lessened its influence.[2]

Influence

Since its organization in the 1850s and formal establishment in 1882 in San Francisco's Chinatown, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) has received a diverse range of publicity from American media. Much of the attention often overlooked inherent cultural differences, which ultimately led to misunderstanding by much of the American population.[3] This factor, together with increasing anti-Chinese sentiment, hastened the need for an empowered Chinese organization in the US. Thus, the CCBA was formed out of the need for the Chinese to have organized social, political, and economic structures.[3]

The CCBA was set up to help Chinese people relocate and travel to and from the US, including returning bodies of the deceased to China.[4] With many families fragmented between China and across the US, the association also allowed for communal care of the sick or poor.[4] When the association became more prominent and anti-Chinese sentiment increased, the organization also offered legal and physical protection. Physical abuse was not uncommon in Chinatown from racist Americans. Such incidents led to the rise of groups like the tongs, which were noted to have protected Chinese from abuse by white miners.[4]

The CCBA also exerted political power, becoming authorized to speak on behalf of Chinatown throughout the US.[5] Its board of directors became increasingly powerful, as it consisted of wealthy merchants and business people.[5] The board had many dealings with local and federal governments, exerting influence in a variety of methods. One was the use of a Caucasian attorney, who was also the spokesperson of the organization, which likely helped reduce pushback.[5]

Through the 1800s, a large portion of Chinese immigrants to California came for the promise of work in the gold mines, and their contribution was integral to the economic boom the state experienced as a result of the discovery of gold. When this industry declined, the Chinese found other opportunities, such as fishing, food service, farming, and railroad building.[6] Many in the mid-to-late-19th century argued that the influx of Chinese immigrants decreased job availability for American citizens. However, the job competition theory is disputed due to the strong language barrier that forced many Chinese to create their own jobs.[7]

San Francisco

History
Headquarters of the CCBA (a.k.a. Chinese Six Companies) in San Francisco, on Stockton Street
The KMT maintains offices in some of the Chinatowns of the world, and its United States party headquarters are located in San Francisco's Chinatown, on Stockton Street, directly across from the Chinese Six Companies.
Early officers of San Francisco's Six Companies in traditional Qing dress, with riding jackets over changshan.
🌍
Chinese Six Companies in Chinatown, San Francisco 
  •  Headquarters 
  •  Six Companies 
  •  Later addition 

1
Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association headquarters
2
Sam Yup
3
Yeong Wo
4
Kong Chow
5
Ning Yung
6
Hop Wo
7
Yan Wo
8
Sue Hing

Chinese immigrants felt that the US government did not protect their interests, so to protect them, Chinese businessmen from Guangdong formed the Kong Chow Association. When tensions arose between Cantonese people of different dialects and districts, the association split in two. Four more organizations appeared in the 1850s in prominent neighborhoods of San Francisco.[8] The organizations consisted of the six most important Chinese district associations of California.[9] The associations had some mutual coordination[10] before the CCBA was established.[3][11]

These immigrant organizations were rooted in the Chinese tradition of huiguan (traditional Chinese: 會館; simplified Chinese: 会馆; pinyin: huìguǎn; Jyutping: wui6gun2),[12] 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 in San Francisco, the Kong Chow Company, emerged in 1851.[13] In 1851, the Sam Yap Company formed. It was associated with Nanhai, Panyu, Shunde, Sanshui, and Xingyun districts.[13] Towards the end of 1851, the Sze Yap Company of Xinhui, Kaiping, Xinning, and Enping districts was created.[13] This was followed by the Yeong Wo Company of Heung-shan, Tung-kun, and Tsang-shing districts in 1852,[13] the Hip Kat company, formed by Hakka immigrants from Bow On, Chak Tai, Tung Gwoon, and Chu Mui districts, in 1852,[13] and after the Sze Yap company divided, the Ning Yeung company emerged.[14]

The Six Companies served as ambassadors of the Qing government to Chinatown and provided services for Chinese workers in San Francisco. 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.[15] 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.[8] In 1875, they endorsed the position that continued Chinese immigration caused a general lowering of wages for both whites and Chinese in America.[16]

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."[17]

New York City
Main article: Chinese Community Center
The CCBA in New York

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

In Seattle, Washington, the Chong Wa Association was established around 1915.[18]

Vancouver
Main article: Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver

Branches
CCBA, San Diego
CCBA, Chicago
CCBA, Washington, DC

The CCBA has several branches in the United States and Canada, including:[19]

See also

References
  1. "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 Yuen, Hop Wo, and Yan Wo.
  2. Yuwu Song, ed., Encyclopedia of Chinese-American Relations (McFarland, 2009) pp66-67.
  3. 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. "The Six Companies – FoundSF". www.foundsf.org. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  5. "San Francisco Chinatown: Chinese in California". bancroft.berkeley.edu. 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. Chang, Iris (2004). The Chinese in America: A Narrative History. United States of America: Penguin Books. p. 86. ISBN 0142004170.
  9. [Yung et al. 2006] p. 23.
  10. "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.
  11. "The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association/Huiguan System", p. 62 in Him Mark Lai, Becoming Chinese American, Rowman Altamira (2004). ISBN 0-7591-0458-1.
  12. "Huiguan". Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  13. Qin, Yucheng. The Diplomacy of Nationalism: the Six Companies and China's Policy toward Exclusion. University of Hawaii Press, 2009
  14. Chang, Iris (2003). The Chinese in America: a narrative history. New York: Viking.
  15. [Yung et al. 2006] p. 20 et. seq.
  16. [Yung et al. 2006] p. 25.
  17. Chang, Iris (2004). The Chinese in America. United States of America: Penguin Books. pp. 261–70. ISBN 9780142004173.
  18. Chong Wa Association (Seattle) on vrseattle.com
  19. 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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