CHAPTER 6

RIZAL AND THE CHINESE CONNECTION

Learning Outcomes:
1. Discuss how the Chinese were able to rise as an important element in Philippine
Society.
2. Evaluate the role of Chinese mestizos in the context of Philippine History.
3. Understand the implication of the ascendancy of Chinese mestizos.

THE ROLE OF THE CHINESE IN THE PHILIPPINES

Chinese immigration to the Philippines has been going on since precolonial period.
In terms of overseas trade, the Chinese were predated by Malay seafarers from Champa
and the Sri Vijaya Empires. As China was a land empire, its attention was focused on the
overland silk route. Compared to the Malays the Chinese were latecomers in terms of
trade and migration to the Philippines. Evidence of this fact came from archaeological
sources. An examination of the Pandanan wreck site in southern Palawan showed what
initially appeared as a Chinese vessel considering the cargo of porcelain plates and jars,
which remained intact. The provenance of the vessel dated back to 700 AD. Most of the
wooden parts of the vessel had rotted away but the bottom or the keel part encased a
seal in the form of an elephant statuette. The seal was written in Kavi, the type of writing
used only in the Malay world. It showed that the Pandanan boat was a Malay boat that
had a royal imprimatur from the kingdom of Champa, then a Malay kingdom. A closer
investigation of the cargo showed that there were not only Chinese wares but also
potteries, which were of Champanese and Annamese origin. There were also items from
Siam and Burma. It showed that the Malays were busily trading with the various ports
facing the South China Seas, which was known as the Sea of Champa.
Chinese trade conducted by Chinese vessels began much later around 900 AD.
By the time of the Ming period during the time of the Emperor Yungle (Yung Lo) the gates
of China were opened to the world and the Chinese ports of Amoy and Swatow were the
origins of the boats trading in Southeast Asia. It was during the period that Emperor
Yungle demanded that the barbarian world recognize the superiority of China and
demanded tribute. A great fleet was prepared in Southern China and sailed as far as East
Africa. Though the fleet did not sail to the Philippines, Yungle did send some emissaries
to collect tribute. Among them was Pun Tao konge found in Jolo, Sulu and another was
Ko Cha-lao whose inscription was also na in Sulu. The Chinese did not occupy any part
of the islands but demanded tribute from the local rulers.
In 1417, the Eastern King of Sulu Paduka Batara led an embassy to Beijing bearing
gifts as tribute. Emperor Yungle reciprocated by granting him gifts worth several times
more that Paduka gave him. On his way back, Paduka was taken ill and died at Dezhou.
His remains are still buried there and his descendants also remained there to take care
of his tomb.
 It was during the Ming when Chinese went to the Philippines. Following the
monsoon winds they would arrive in the islands during the northeast monsoon or amihan
around November to February and return during the southwest monsoon during June to
September. They traded with the natives and lived among them. The Ming Shih or Annals
of the Ming contain descriptions of about the honesty of the natives despite their barbarian
character. The Chinese left various influences among the precolonial natives such as the
use of yellow color to denote royalty; the use of loose-fitting pants and vests and the
manufacture of tools and weapons. The Chinese heavily influenced Filipino cuisine. Many
of the terms of Chinese origin were about family or business such as ate (achi), kuya (ko
a), dikong (dikung), ditse (dixi), lugi, (lui), pancit (fen zi), siyansi (shenshi), etc.
At the time of the Spanish contact there were some Chinese encountered by Martin
de Goiti in Manila. With the start of Spanish rule the Chinese were allowed to live within
what is now Intramuros. This was the original Parian or the Chinese community in Manila.
It gave the Spaniards access to the skills of the Chinese who were skilled bakers, cooks,
stonemasons and shoemakers. However as the Chinese community grew they became
a menace as it was seen that they were just converting to Christianity just to have access
to trade and wealth. Many of the Chinese who migrated to the Philippines were
uneducated and were very rude. During the first Chinese revolt, the Chinese almost
routed the Spaniards if not for the help of Japanese mercenaries and native troops. They
were routed and expelled. However, the expulsion had dire economic consequences for
the young colony as there were no more shoemakers, bakers and even laundrymen to
cater to the Spanish community. Eventually they were allowed back in to the Philippines.
They were allowed to settle outside the city first in what is now the Manila Post Office.
Later they were moved across the Pasig River to the district of Binondo. In all locations
the Chinese community was in the range of Spanish guns at Intramuros.
There were other revolts of the Chinese in the Philippines. The last serious one
was during the British invasion of Manila in 1762. In all revolts, the Chinese were
ruthlessly routed. After the British invasion, the Chinese community made a recovery.
They had not one but three silk markets in Binondo and by the end of the 19th century,
they began to ease out the mestizos. The district became a Chinese one and is called
Chinatown. It was claimed that the Manila Chinatown is the oldest of its kind in the world.
Elsewhere there were smaller Chinatowns in cities like Iloilo and Cebu.
As an ethnic group the Chinese who were called sangleyes by the Spaniards were
the lowest rung of colonial society just above the Moros or Muslims and the infleles or
what the Spaniards considered as the uncivilized peoples of the Philippines which
included the Tingguianes, Igorots and Aetas. In order to be accepted into the colonial
society and to be allowed Islands first, the Chinese had to be baptized. The institution of
baptism also allowed the pagan Chinese to link up with people with influence. Spanish
officials and the religious stood as godparents to the newly baptized Chinese.
The baptized Chinese retained the surnames of their father. Thus, we have
Filipinos having the surnames as Co, Go, Uy, Yap and Ong Others retained the full names
of their fathers creating surnames such as Teehankee. Other Chinese mestizo may elect
to Romanize their father's names creating such surnames like Cojuangco, Yuzon, Dizon,
Sison. Some names end with the word "co" which was a polite suffix meaning elder
brother Examples of these surnames were Yaptingco, Ongsiako, Syjuco, and Siliongco.
In some cases, according to Antonio Tan, a researcher in the special research project of
the National Library of the Philippines, the mestizo elected to use only the surname of his
native mother. One example was Hilario Camacho, the legitimate son of Juan Ten Say
and Marcia Camacho. According to the same research, the newly baptized Chinese
would take the surname of his godfather. In the gremios of the Chinese of Binondo there
exist a record in 1632 for a 36-year old Chinese born in China took the name Don Pedro
Mendiola, after his godfather, Sergeant Major Pedro Mendiola. Another important
example was the merchant Tan Quien-Hsien who adopted the name of his godfather,
Major Carlos Palanca. Tan Quien-Hsien was the model for Quiroga in Rizal's second
novel, El Filibusterismo.
Some Chinese adopted Spanish and Tagalog names and totally dropped their
Chinese names as means of being integrated into the colonial society. In the gremio or
register of the mestizos sangleyes in 1882, the following surnames were listed: Tagle,
Villanueva, Jimenez, Mojica, Monzon, Espiritu, Bustamante, Poblete and Aguinaldo.
Becoming Christians not only allowed the Chinese to stay in the islands but also
to conduct business with the Spaniards. The Spaniards depended on the Chinese as they
were skilled artisans and workers. The first book printed in the Philippines, the Doctrina
Christiana cannot be possible without the help of Chinese printers. The book was printed
not just in Spanish but also in Chinese and in Tagalog using the Chinese method of wood
block printing. Fortifications like the walls of Intramuros were built with Chinese expertise.
So were the galleons on which colonial Philippine depended so much because of the
galleon trade. The Chinese workers were highly paid for their skills.
In the Parian or the Chinese quarter, the Spaniards had their shoes made or
repaired, bought their bread, had their clothes sewn by Chinese workers. Many religious
images especially that of the Nuestra Señora de la Naval was carved by Chinese
craftsmen who left their mark on the statue with the Chinese-looking almond eyes of the
Virgin and the three lines around her neck which was a Chinese symbol of a person of
high rank and morality. The Spaniards depended on the Chinese so much that following
the Chinese revolt of 1660, they deported what remained of the Chinese community and
prevented the entry of new Chinese immigrants and as a result, they found no one to
bake their bread, repair their shoes or build their ships. Eventually they were allowed back
but with restrictions. The Chinese community of Manila was relocated outside of the city
walls but within the range of the cannons from the Walled City. As the port of Manila was
then located at the mouth of the Pasig River, the district of Binondo became the
convenient first stop of Chinese immigrants. They were ministered by the Dominicans
who held the Church of Binondo. This explains the closeness of the Rizal family to the
Dominicans. The ancestor of the Rizals, Lam-co was baptized as Domingo, after the
founder of the Order and through association with the Dominicans Lam-co was able to
live and work in the Dominican hacienda of Biñan.
As for the Chinese community through hard work and economic savvy the Chinese
were able to gain economic power. They also intermarried with the local population,
creating a new social caste, the mestizo sangley or the Chinese mestizo, which was the
counterpart of the mestizo Espanol or the Spanish mestizo. A new social classification
was created in 1741 for taxation purposes a pure Chinese was taxed 6 pesos; a mestizo
Chinese was taxed at 3 pesos; the indio paid 1.50 peso. Spaniards and Spanish mestizos
were exempted from paying this head tax. The Spaniards also devised a way on
determining who was a mestizo sangley. A child born of both Chinese mestizo parents
retains his status. The same happens to a child whose father is a Chinese mestizo but
with a native or indio mother. However, if a child's parents were an indio father and
mestizo Chinese mother, the child is considered an indio.
As the local community of Chinese and Chinese mestizos becomes more affluent,
they began to manifest their wealth in the way they live. Mestizos were responsible for
innovating clothes using elaborate designs on piña cloth, which resulted in the barong
Filipino, and adorning their headwear and altars in silver. The homes of the rich mestizos
became known as the bahay na bato. Mestizo Chinese also went beyond Chinese
merchants at the Parian in Manila basic education offered by the friars and a number of
them took up higher education. Since religion was then the only field persons like the
mestizos can gain advancement, a number became priests and religious. Perhaps the
greatest religious among the Chinese mestizo community was Mother Ignacia del Espiritu
Santo who founded a religious congregation that was supported by the Spaniards. In
other fields Chinese-Filipinos excelled such as Tomas Pinpin who was hailed as the
prince of Filipino printers.
As a community, the Chinese looked after each other. In Manila they established
a hospital which is now the Chinese General Hospital, one of the leading hospitals in the
city. There are many Chinese schools and there is a cemetery in northern Manila for the
Chinese which was bought by Yu Chingco. To protect their businesses from fire the
Chinese community created various volunteer fire brigades. These fire units served not
only when Chinese establishments were involved but they also put out fires in other
places.
The Chinese community became a major economic lifeblood of the Philippines.
They owned most of the shopping malls, banks, all the airlines and the shipping lines of
the Philippines. They donated to causes such as giving patrol cars for the police. Since
they were affluent, they were targets for corrupt politicians who milk them for campaign
funds as well as kidnap for ransom groups. They were also accused of causing or abetting
corruption through bribery. There were also criminals among their ranks Some were
involved in the illegal drugs trade and smuggling
To think that the Chinese were an affluent group but it should be remembered that
many of them were poor and almost penniless when they came to the Philippines. Many
started out as small businessmen. But because of their business acumen and discipline
they became industry leaders and at least two Mr. Henry Sy and Mr. John Gokongwei are
counted in the Forbes List of Billionaires as the most influential people of the Philippines.
As a people, their interest in the Philippines was mainly economic. However, in the
recent years some of the best doctors, lawyers and educators are Chinese. Aside from
having Rizal who had an ethnic Chinese background as a national hero at least two
Presidents, Corazon C. Aquino and his son President Benigno S. Aquino III also have
ethnic Chinese backgrounds. The role and the importance of the Chinese in Philippine
society needs to be studied if one wishes to study their path to prominence.
THE ANCESTRY OF RIZAL: THE CHINESE CONNECTION
Like many Filipinos, Rizal's bloodline came from a line of many ethnicities. His
great great grandfather was a man named Lam Co. He was the son of Siang Co and
Zunio from the village of Sinque in the district of Chin Chew in Fujian, China. In 1690,
Lam Co migrated to the Philippines and settled in Manila. During the early times, China
had already a burgeoning population and events such as a prolonged drought, floods or
war can send large groups of Chinese trying to settle outside their country. Lam Co landed
at the district of Binondo and since the district of Binondo was under Dominican
supervision, he adopted the name Domingo- the name of the founder of the Order. He
was baptized at the age of 35. There was no doubt Lam Co lived in this district after
arriving in the Philippines. Lam Co married a Chinese mestiza named Ines de la Rosa.
Domingo Lamco (his name is now written in this manner) was friendly with the Dominican
friars Francisco Marquez and Juan Caballero who convinced him to settle at Dominican
estate In Biñan, Laguna. There he helped construct the irrigation canals in the hacienda.
Domingo and Ines had many children. One of them was a son named Francisco
who was named after one of Domingo's friar-friends. Francisco who was born in 1731,
assumed the surname Mercado. Mercado in Spanish means "market" Francisco was a
merchant and later he married Bernarda Monica who lived in the nearby hacienda of San
Pedro, which was also managed by the Dominicans. The marriage of Francisco and
Bernarda produced two sons, Clemente and Juan. Juan Mercado was Jose Rizal's
grandfather.
In 1783 Francisco Mercado was elected gobernadorcillo or municipal mayor of
Biñan. His son Juan Mercado was elected capitan del pueblo in 1808. He was re-elected
to this position in 1813 and 1823. juan Mercado was married to a Chinese mestiza named
Cirila Alejandro. The marriage produced 13 children. One of these children was Francisco
Engracio Mercado who was Rizal's father. When he was a young boy, his father Juan
Mercado, died. At the age of eight years, he helped his mother run the family business.
The Dominican hacienda of Biñan produced rice, corn and sugarcane.
In 1848, Governor General Narciso Claveria issued a decree ordering that all
natives adapt new surnames so that they can be taxed properly. This would solve
confusion as there were many people with identical surnames. While it helped facilitate
the collection of taxes the decree had an unintended effect: it helped erase historical
connections between families and made historical research very complicated and difficult.
Under this decree, ordinary indios or natives had to choose a new surname from
a catalogue called the Catalogo Alpabetico de Apellidos. This catalogue did not contain
only Spanish Surnames but also some native words including derogatory and funny ones
such as utut, gago, babui, luga, etc. Exempted from this decree were Filipinos from the
old nobility such as the Lakandulas and Makapagals whose ancestors helped in the
pacification of the islands. Also exempted were the pure Chinese who had a separate tax.
Since the Mercado family already intermarried with mestizos and lived in the islands for
generations, they were now considered as natives. Rizal's father chose the name Ricial
which meant "green fields." But the name change caused confusion in his business and
his clients prompting him to use a modified surname "Rizal Mercado." There were also
many instances that Francisco and Rizal himself used the name Mercado alone without
the Rizal.
Rizal's father married Teodora Alonso Realonda, a native of Manila. Her lineage
was said to be traceable to Lakandula but this cannot be proven. Her lineage begins with
Eugenio Ursua, a man of Japanese ancestry. He was married to a native named Benigna.
Their daughter was named Regina who was Rizal's great grandmother. She was married
to Manuel de Quintos, a mestizo from Biñian. The union bore a daughter named Brigida
Quintos who was Teodora's mother