Kongsi

This page is about overseas Chinese organizations (often known as clans) known as kongsi. For a list of commercial enterprises in the Greater China region, see PRC companies, Hong Kong companies, or Taiwanese companies.

Kongsi (Chinese: 公司; pinyin: gōngsī; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kong-si) or "clan halls", are benevolent organizations of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname. This type of social practice arose, it is held, several centuries ago in China. The Chinese word Kongsi is used in modern Chinese to mean a commercial "company"; the modern term for such associations is 會館 (Pinyin hui guan, literally meaning "meeting hall").

The system of kongsi was utilized by Chinese throughout the diaspora to overcome economic difficulty, social ostracism, and oppression. In today's overseas Chinese communities throughout the world, this approach has been adapted to the modern environment, including political and legal factors. The kongsi is similar to modern business partnerships, but also draws on a deeper spirit of cooperation and consideration of mutual welfare.

It has been stated by some that the development and thriving of Chinese communities worldwide are the direct result of the kongsi concept. A vast number of Chinese-run firms and businesses were born as kongsi ended up as multinational conglomerates. In the Chinese spirit, derived in large part from Confucian ideals, these kongsi members or their descendants prefer not to boast so much of their wealth but to take pride in earning worldly and financial success through their work ethic and the combined efforts of many individuals devoted to group welfare.

Among the largest Kongsi was the Lanfang Kongsi, which organised the mostly Hakka Chinese miners who had settled in western Borneo and established a republic, the Lanfang Republic, in what is now the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan.[1]

Contents

Clan associations In Singapore

Hainanese Clans

There are several Hainanese clans, all separated by their surnames. Hainan Tan Clan Association, 12 Seah Road (Opposite Raffles hotel)

Hakka clan Associations

Hokkien clan Associations

Foochow clan Associations

Teochew clan Associations

Surname clan Associations

List of Clan associations In Malaysia

Guangdong clan associations

Guangdong Clan Associations are associations of people from Guangdong province in southern China.

The Kwan Tung Hui Kuan (Guangdong Clan Association) in Taiping, Perak is based in the Temple for the Immortal Woman He, Temple Street. It was founded in 1887 by Chung Keng Quee and others. The temple was renovated in 1948 and 1954. A pair of old stone lions still grace the forecourt. The Ho Hsien-ku Miaou, or temple for Ho, the Immortal Girl, shares the same compound as the association. Ho is one of the Eight Immortals of Chinese legend and is said to have come from Tseng-ch'eng county, Kuang-chou prefecture.

There is also a Shunde Clan Association (Shun-te Hui Kuan) in Taiping. It was probably founded in 1895. It is located at 36 Kota Road.

Hakka clan associations

Tseng Lung clan associations

The Tseng Lung Hui-Kuan is the association for Hakka people from Tseng Ch'eng and Lung-men counties of Kuang-chou prefecture in South China.

Hokkien clan associations

The Hokkien Association is an association for immigrants from Fujian province in South China.

Hainan clan associations

Hainan island was originally part of Guangdong, but it was separated as its own province in 1988.

Surname clan associations

Clan associations In the Philippines

Surname Family clan Associations

Hokkien clan associations

See also

External links

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hakka Lanfang Republic". 2002. http://www.asiawind.com/hakka/lanfang.htm. Retrieved 2006-04-21. 
  2. ^ Binglang Yu Hua ren shi tu lu The Chinese in Penang: A Pictorial History By Kim Hong Tan, 陈剑虹, Published by Areca Books, 2007, ISBN 9834283474, ISBN 9789834283476, Page 67
  3. ^ Persatuan Keturunan The Si Eng Eong Tong @ No.148, Jalan Hutton, 10050 Penang, Malaysia. Tel:+604-228 4304 Fax:+604-228 4304