The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-05-23
!" SIX COMPANIES =
History and Purposes of These
n Chinese Associations.
T E FEELING OF KlNsH1P
Very Strong in the Chinese-fhe
Purposes of the Companies
Are for Good.
NJ. V. Hill in Los Angeles Times:

Rig SIX Companies! of San Francisco can
be traced to this regard Tor relationship
and to their love of locality
For years, Americans looked with douot
upon these organ MIA lions; not understand
ING how they came to be formed: or why
md vaguely fea ring them as menace TO
American law and order. BY the more lg-
1orant, they were often supposed 10 Dc
associations Of, criminals banded tosethei
for mutual pref eeti ION and->to Wreakr ven
geance upon offending, countrymeh-a sol.
Of oriental brand = OF Kentucky famliy
feud. Acquaintance with Chinese customs
corrects this impression and shows the
Big Six Companies to be beneht' hoc
only to the Cinnamon but to the Amerl-
can as we'll.
strong. Persons who rove from page 70
place are held in very slight esteem.
Every Chinaman hopes to spend MS llle
and die in the place in which ne was oot Il,
and after death, be buried among ms
many and highly honored ancestors, a.
as nearly as possible to the paternal one
which thew have left. AS this custom is
! centuries old the entire population OF VII
1ages and towns will often be related, anu
the place win bear the family namH,
which, translated into English, Woula
read somewhat this way: ne Ton n1,'@ IS the
the Chang Family or The Town Oh tne
! Wang Family" In some places, the
land is held in common, worked by az
! and for the benefit of all, prohts oeins a.
yided among the families ACCORDING ~
work done, and division OF the propel1s
! Is made only upon the oealh VI 'ho h~
head of the family,
A Chinaman who is forced by poverty 70
; leave his home. always intends to return
I and spend there a peaceful ola age. Aui
! ing his absence, he is an exile ana always
} suffers more or less from homeslckness,
: This is the case not only When ne - IL
foreign countries, but also when his ousl-
ness causes him to live for time IN
another than his own province. for the tie
: il purely a. local one, though natlondl
characteristic A Cantonese isnot happy
to, live in Peking and will stay only SO
long as he must. In every large city OF
China there are III Kuns or societies, or
canized by these 'strangers in strange
! land" one of their chief objects being to
send nome for burial, the bones OF any
who may die in exile.
It was but natural that the Chinese IN
America should follow the universal GUS
tom, and organize here their VI kuns or
guilds The San Francisco societies were
formed by merchants and men of standing
who were drawn together because they
traced their ancestry to common. head,
because they had come from nelghborfng
towns and provinces, and because they
spoke the same dialect. .s...
At hrSt, there were DuL lOur COlIpdAlSS,
but a S the Chinese population increased,
the largest company, the members of
which were from Canton and the nelghbor-
ing provinces. was divided and reorgan-
lied. j.. -: 49, ..-:- .--... ~ =; -
The Sam zap company was organized in
1851. The name shows the people. to be
from three provinces; the city of Canton
and vicinity. -.-- So.
The Kong .Chau was organized in the
same year by Chinese.from three districts
southwest OF Canton.
Young We company was organized in
1852 by people from Macao and three
adjacent districts. :. -
In 1853 7the Ming Yeung was formed by
Teople from west OF. Macao. from the
province extending inland from the sea
coast. ''.~.T: - (. ..-
The members of the Hip Kat company
are known in China as foreigners. They
live in the southeastern: part of the
province Of Canton, having come. there
from the northern part OF China: Their
homes are far apart but all speak one
dialect, which is unlike that of the ma:
tive population of Canton. r-
The Hop Wo company was formed IN
1852 by Chinese from provinces south
west OF Canton. .--.-,.
All the companies are organized upor
very much the, same plan, and have the
same officers-a president, secretary anc
treasurer, linguist, and servant and mes.
senger Beside these officers, there Is
an advisory composed of a half dozen mel
of recognized ability and honesty, VINO
discuss and helo decide all questions o.
Importance which come before the com
pany.
By CT mn.on consent, the management
of the company is left to the few men 90
known integrity whose business inter
ests keep them in this country.
Some Of the purposes of the eompan.
are, to help sick and unfortunate mem
bers who are friendless or whose friends
are unable 70 help, them to decide differ
ences which may arise. between members
to compel the payment of just debts ant
take steps to prevent the flight of aD
sccnders; to arbitrate in disputes between
Americans and members of the company
In the latter case;-if the matter canno
be settled by arbitration and is carrie
to the courts, the company pays the zee
of a lawyer for defending the case.
Membership in the company is purely
matter OF choice, but as he fees are SINAI
in comparison with the. benefits to pc de
rived, there are very few of the San fran
cisco Cinnamon who do not belong to on
of the COM anies. 80,
To the newly arrived, it IS a great az
vantage to have a place to go for any IN
formation he may need; to find friend
ready to help hin-friehds who reeognlz
the claims OF Relationship, though to tn
western nciLd the claims would prooaoi
have ceased to exist for a generation
two-and to have some one to teach MI
the ways OF the strange and barbarov
American. 81, -. Z. e -
JAS. a<rule, the Chinese are exceptional
honest in all business transactions. I :ne
have very few Of the, many papers VIII
out which western de alings cannot !
carried on Often in transactions II
yolving. large sums. Of money, the Chimes
Rave only an oral agreement, and vel
seldom is it broken X And woe 10 tt
debtor who tries to slip off without pay
-