Guangzhou to Hong Kong:
Geographical and Historical Notes
Him Mark Lai
Geography
This region comprises the lower reaches of the rivers flowing into the Pearl River Delta,
the northern part of the combined delta of the West and North rivers, the entire combined delta of
the Pearl and East rivers, as well as the mountainous area extending south from the East River
delta to the South China Sea. Administratively, it includes the region-level city of Guangzhou 廣
州 (Canton, Kwongchou). In year 2000 the city is divided into ten districts: Yuexiu 越秀, Dongshan
東山, Liwan 荔灣, Haizhu 海珠, Baiyun 白雲, Tianhe 天河, Fangcun 芳村, Huangpu 黃埔
(Whampoa), Huadu 花都, and Panyu 番禺. It also has jurisdiction over the county-level cities of
Zengcheng 增城 (Tsengshing) and Conghua從化 (Tsungfa).
West of Guangzhou is the region-level city of Foshan 佛山, which has jurisdiction over the
county-level districts of Chancheng 禪城, including the cities of Foshan佛山 (Fatshan) and
Shiwan石灣 (Shek’wan), and the districts of Nanhai 南海 (Namhoi), Shunde順德 (Shuntak),
Sanshui 三水 (Samshui), and Gaoming 高明 (Koming). Just west and north beyond the delta are
the county-level cities of Zhaoqing 肇慶 (Shiuhing), Sihui 四會 (Szewui), and the regional level city
of Qingyuan 清遠 (Tsingyuen) on the West 西江, Sui 綏江 and North 北江 rivers, respectively.
East of Guangzhou on the East River Delta is the regional-level city of Dongguan 東莞 (Tungkun),
south of which is the region-level city of Shenzhen 深圳 (Shumchen), which was formerly Baoan
寳安 (Pao’on) County. East of Dongguan and Shenzhen is the regional level city of Huizhou 惠州
(Waichow). Adjoining Shenzhen’s southern border is the Hong Kong 香港 Special Administrative
Region, formerly the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, which primarily consists of Hong Kong
Island 香港島, Lantau Island 大嶼山, Kowloon Peninsula 九龍半島 and the New Territories 新界.
The Shenzhen River 深圳河 forms the boundary between the New Territories and Shenzhen.
South of it is the Kowloon Peninsula. Hong Kong encompasses also 262 islands in the South
China Sea 南海, of which Lantau 大嶼山 is the largest. Hong Kong Island, the second largest
island, has the largest population.
The area and population of the contemporary political subdivisions in this region are listed
in the accompanying table, “Area and Population of Political Subdivisions, Guangzhou-Hong
Kong.”
The region around Guangzhou is historically the earliest parts of the Pearl River Delta to
be developed. Thus, the region had centuries of contact with the maritime trade and had also
been the port of embarkation for travelers and emigrants going abroad. The Cantonese dialect is
spoken throughout this region with the dialect of Guangzhou being considered the standard.
However, the boundary between Cantonese- and Hakka-speaking areas in Guangdong is located
in the northern and eastern periphery of this region. Thus, those particular areas are partly
Cantonese and partly Hakka speaking, with the latter usually in the mountainous area away from
the delta.
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A large part of the region consists of layers of alluvial soil deposited by the river system
over many centuries. There are few points with high elevation. The highest point in the vicinity of
Guangzhou is Maofeng Mountain 帽峰山 at 1,752 feet (898 meters) in the city's northeast suburb.
Near Guangzhou's former airport is the well-known and frequently visited Baiyun Mountain 白雲
山, with its highest elevation at 1,221 feet (372 meters). One of the most frequently visited scenic
spots in the region is Mount Xiqiao (Saichiu) 西樵山, an extinct volcano in Nanhai 南海. It is famed
for its “seventy two peaks, thirty six caves, thirty two springs” and numerous other scenic spots. Its
highest point is Dake Peak 大科峰 at 1,129 feet (344 meters) elevation.
Elevations increase as one moves north and east away from the delta and the coast to the
more mountainous interior. The highest elevation is at Tiantang Ding 天堂頂 at 3,970 feet (1,210
meters) in eastern Conghua. Elevations then decrease as one progresses southward down the
eastern rim of the delta through Dongguan and Shenzhen until one reaches the New Territories
and Kowloon Peninsula of the Hong Kong S.A.R. Tai Mo Shan 大帽山 is the highest point at 3,139
feet (957 meters) in the New Territories. South from the New Territories is the Kowloon Peninsula
and then across Victoria Harbour is Victoria Peak 扯旗山, the well-known tourist spot on Hong
Kong Island, which has an elevation of 1,817 feet (554 meters). However, Lantau Peak 鳳凰山 on
larger Lantau Island to the west of Hong Kong Island reaches 3,064 feet (934 meters) in
elevation.
Early History
According to one account the state of Chu 楚 had established a small walled town named
Chuting 楚庭 on the site of the modern Guangzhou as early as 887 BC. It is said that during the
early history of the walled town, five immortals carrying ears of rice arrived at the site mounted on
rams. They left the grain with the inhabitants and departed. The rams that stayed behind
transformed into stone. From that anecdote was derived the poetic name for Guangzhou, City of
the Five Rams 五羊城, or simply City of the Rams 羊城, and at other times, Sui 穗 (ears of rice).
When the land south of the Wuling Mountains 五嶺, often referenced as Lingnan 嶺南
(“south of the mountain ranges”), which included the present Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern
Vietnam, was conquered by the Qin 秦 Empire in 214 BC, it was divided into three large
prefectures for administrative purposes. One of these, Nanhai 南海郡, encompassed most of the
territory of the northern half of the present Guangdong province. It was further subdivided into four
large counties 縣. The prefectural government was located in Panyu 番禺 (Punyu) County, so
named for Pan and Yu hills 番山, 禺山 that was located in the county. The town is located in the
present city of Guangzhou. Panyu County at that time included an area roughly covering the
entire Pearl River Delta, including the counties of Fuluo (later changed to Bolo 博羅 [Boklo] in 265
AD) in the lower East River basin, Longchuan (Lungchuen)龍川 in the upper East River basin, and
Sihui (Szewui) in the Sui and North river basins.
The Qin Empire lasted barely half a century before it was brought down by revolts led by
peasants and descendants of the nobility of states conquered by Qin. During the ensuing political
turmoil in north China, Zhao Tuo 趙佗, the Chinese magistrate of Longchuan, proclaimed himself
ruler of the Kingdom of Nanyue (Southern Yue) 南越 that included what is now Guangdong,
Guangxi, and northern Vietnam. Its capital was established in the town of Panyu. The kingdom
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was independent for almost a century before it was annexed by the Han 漢 Empire, successor to
the Qin.
As the area near Guangzhou developed from the 2nd century AD on, additional counties
were created to facilitate administration. At that time the rich soil of the river valleys was much
more attractive for agriculture than the undeveloped brackish marshland on the coast. Thus in
111 BC, Gaoyao County 高要縣 was established on the lower West River before the delta and
Zhongsu County 中宿縣 on the middle and lower North River basin. Zhongsu was renamed
Qingyuan County in 590 AD. The next new county in the region, Zengcheng, located east of the
present Guangzhou, was also away from the coast. It was founded in 201 BC as an addition to the
counties already existing in Nanhai Prefecture and therefore named Zengcheng (“added walled
city”).
Archaeological evidence indicated that during this period Panyu was already developing
into a center making bronze ware and pottery. Excavations in 1974 also revealed that there may
have been the beginnings of a shipbuilding industry in the river city. Perhaps as early as the 2nd
century BC, the city began to be a port where traders of the West River basin and other parts of
China met merchants bringing goods from South and Southeast Asia. There was also the
beginnings of a maritime trade.
During this period the Pearl River was much wider than it is today and areas now in the
center of the city of Guangzhou were then near the riverbank. Even as late as the Song dynasty
the river was said to be more than three miles wide at certain points and local people called it Zhu
Hai 珠海, a term which persisted as late as the Qing dynasty.
Six Dynasties
During the 3rd century AD, China was torn by civil war and split into three kingdoms.
Lingnan became part of the state of Wu 吳, which further developed the region. In 226 AD
Lingnan was divided into two departments and the name Guangzhou was applied to the territory
north of Hepu, which encompassed the present Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. It was
named Guangzhou due to the fact that the government was located in the garrison town of
Guangxin 廣信. This was the first use of the name Guangzhou in Chinese history. The two
departments soon recombined only to separate again, this time permanently, into two
departments in 264 AD. The government administrative center relocated to the present site, then
still named Panyu. The name Guangzhou continued to be used in the new location.
During this period the maritime traffic increased rapidly at Guangzhou and by the 5th
century had eclipsed the ports in southern Guangdong in importance. The port became one
terminus of a maritime silk road to the Near East. It also became a point where travelers from
abroad entered China. In 281 an Indian monk from abroad was said to have introduced Buddhism
to Guangzhou. During the late 4th or early 5th century the Indian monk Dharmayasas 曇摩 耶舍
arrived and founded Guangxiao Monastery 光孝寺, today the oldest Buddhist monastery in
Guangzhou. Bodhidharma 菩提達摩, the founder of the Chan (Zen in Japanese) sect 禪宗 of
Buddhism, stepped ashore at the port during the 6th century.
The trade became an important factor stimulating development of the surrounding
countryside. In 224 Dongguan Prefecture 東莞郡 was carved out of Nanhai Prefecture to
administer the salt-producing area in the East River Delta. Its name came from a species of grass
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(guan 莞) that grew profusely in that region east (dong) of Panyu. The prefecture became part of
Nanhai again in 265 but re-emerged as Dongguan Prefecture 東官郡 in 331. Included in the
prefecture was Baoan County 寶安縣， situated in the present Dongguan 東莞, but the county
name did not become Dongguan until 757.
An area upstream the East River east of Dongguan was also taken from Boluo and
became Xinle County 欣樂縣 around the 3rd century. Subsequently, the name changed to Anhuai
安懷 and then Huai’an 懷安. In 589 the county name became Guishan 歸善 (Kwaisin), part of
Xunzhou Prefecture 循州府. The prefecture government was established on a site within Guishan
County that is today the city of Huizhou 惠州. In 917 Xunzhou Prefecture was changed to
Zhenzhou 禎州府 (Jingjau) Prefecture. Later, in order to avoid violation of the taboo on use of the
Song crown prince’s name Zhen 禎, Zhenzhou became Huizhou 惠州 (Waichow) in 1021. When
the prefecture system was abolished in 1912, Huizhou was combined with Guishan to form
Huiyang (Waiyeung) County 惠陽縣.
In 590 AD territory was taken from Panyu to create Nanhai County 南海縣. At the time this
new county also included the present Shunde 順德. The name Nanhai came from the fact that the
county was in the proximity of the South China Sea or Nanhai. However, since then land-building
activities of the delta has resulted in a modern Nanhai that is many miles from the ocean shore.
Tang and Song
By the Tang dynasty Guangzhou had become a major international port. Islam was
introduced into China at this city around the 7th century, and a large foreign quarter consisting of
Persian and Arab merchants sprang up west of the walled city. Intermarriage with local people
was not uncommon, thus introducing an ethnic strain from abroad into the Cantonese population.
The Huaisheng Si 懷聖寺 (known familiarly as Guang Ta 光塔; “bare pagoda”) and graves of
Moslems in modern Guangzhou dated from this era.
During the 9th century a peasant rebellion led by Huang Chao 黃巢 shook the Tang
Empire and eventually brought it down. As the Tang Empire collapsed, warlord Liu Yin 劉隱,
based in Guangzhou, consolidated his rule in the Guangdong area. After his death his
half-brother established the Kingdom of Dayue 大越, a name that was soon changed to Han 漢
(usually referenced as Nanhan 南漢 or "southern Han" by historians) with its capital at
Guangzhou. The Nanhan kings were not especially exemplary rulers, but sheltered by the Wuling
mountain barrier from the political turmoil in the north, the independent state enjoyed peace for a
half century. The economic prosperity of the region allowed the rulers of Nanhan to live
extravagantly. It was during this period that the Pan and Yu hills 番山, 禺山 for which Panyu was
named, were leveled to create more land for use. The court also established kilns at Guanyao 官
窯 in Nanhai to produce quality ceramics.
Guangdong again became part of the Chinese Empire in the 10th century when the Song
dynasty reunified China. The Song continued the policy of encouraging economic development in
Guangdong. During the 12th century the invasion of north China by the Nüzhen 女真, a people in
the present northeast China, forced the Song court to move to the Yangzi River valley. The flight
of the court was accompanied by a mass southward migration from north China. By now much of
the land in the Yangzi River basin had been developed and many had to migrate further
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southward. Those who entered Guangdong often took the road from Jiangxi across the Wuling
Mountains to Nanxiong 南雄 (Namhung) in northern Guangdong and then down the North River.
The memory of this journey may have been the inspiration for the Zhuji Xiang 珠璣巷 (“pearl lane”)
legend to which many clans in the Pearl River Delta region ascribed their origins. For example,
there is a saying in Jiujiang (Kowkong), Nanhai: "There were originally only the Ding and Song
clans in Jiujiang; the rest were descended from Nanxiong people (九江丁共宋, 有剩南雄種)."
Traditional anecdotes told of rafts bearing the migrants from Zhuji Xiang arriving at a river bend in
Nanhai and running aground on rocks. They then settled on shore. This became the beginning of
the present ceramic center of Shiwan 石灣 (Shek’wan).
The increased number of new settlers in the Pearl River Delta region greatly accelerated
the pace of economic development. Extensive levees were built on the lower course of the West,
North, and East rivers, especially in Nanhai and Dongguan, for flood control and reclamation of
marshlands for agricultural purposes. The town of Foshan 佛山 (Fatshan), so named because
three bronze Buddha statues were excavated there in 628, became a town of growing
importance.
This era ended during the 13th century when another invader from the north, the Mongols,
overran the Song Empire. The dynasty ended in the Pearl River Delta, where the Song emperor
committed suicide when his forces were defeated by the Mongol armed forces.
Yuan and Ming
The Mongol Yuan and the succeeding Chinese Ming dynasties saw continued economic
growth in this region. During the Ming, improvements in technology sped the development of pond
fish and raising silkworm in the delta, particularly in Nanhai and Shunde. Foshan became known
for its iron metallurgy and Shiwan for its ceramics, which were not only consumed domestically
but were also exported.
The increase in population resulted in the creation of additional counties in the region for
more effective administration. In 1448 Huang Xiaoyang 黃蕭養 raised the banner of revolt in the
present Shunde, then part of Nanhai. Peasants and fishermen who had been suffering under the
oppressive rule of corrupt officials and tyrannical landlords flocked to his cause. By the second
year of the rebellion, Huang's forces had allegedly increased to more than 100,000 and 1,000 war
vessels. Huang proclaimed himself Shun Min Tianwang 順民天王 (“Heavenly king following the
will of the people”). However, although his forces occupied large parts of the delta, they were
unable to take Guangzhou. In 1450, the Ming army killed Huang during a battle at Guangzhou and
broke the back of the insurgency. After the rebellion had been crushed, territory was taken from
Nanhai to which was added a small portion from Xinhui to create Shunde (Shuntak) County 順德
縣 in 1452.
This was followed in 1475 by the establishment of Gaoming County 高明縣 across the
West River from Nanhai. The name came from Gaoming Zhai 高明寨 (“Gaoming military camp”),
which was established there in 111 BC.
After the Ming government suppressed a Yao rebellion in the middle and upper Liuxi River
流溪河 basin north of Guangzhou, the region became Conghua (Tsungfa) County 從化縣 in 1489.
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The name was derived from the phrase yuanmeng guihua 遠氓歸化 ("submission of the common
people at a distance").
In 1526 the region north of Gaoming, where the numerous river channels with dense
growth had been havens for bandits and river pirates, was made into Sanshui County 三水縣. The
name came from the fact that the West, North, and Sui 綏江 rivers join within the county.
During the 16th century the Portuguese arrived off the China coast. In 1519 Simao Peres
de Andrade established a fort in the vicinity of Tunmen 屯門 at the mouth of the Pearl River
without first seeking China’s permission. In 1521 a Chinese naval force attacked the Portuguese
and seized the fort. In order to strengthen the coastal defenses against the Portuguese threat as
well as the pirates that infested the region, the part of Dongguan facing the South China Sea
became Xin’an (“New peace”) County 新安縣 in 1573. (In 1914 the name was changed to Baoan
寶安 in order to avoid confusion with another Xin'an County in Henan Province.) North of Baoan
was Dongguan, the native county of General Yuan Chonghuan 袁崇煥, who from 1622 to 1630
successfully led the defense against Manchu assaults on the northeastern frontiers of China. In a
battle in 1626 his forces mortally wounded Nurhachi 努爾哈赤， the founder of the Qing dynasty.
In 1644 the Manchu finally succeeded in breaking through to north China and they
proceeded to extend Qing dynasty rule over the entire nation. Similar to the Song court a few
centuries earlier, the Ming rulers and their supporters fled southward with the Qing armies in
pursuit. In 1646 two rival Ming factions established themselves in Guangzhou and nearby
Zhaoqing 肇慶, each claiming to be the legitimate emperor. Guangzhou was removed from
contention forty days later when the Qing army captured the city as well as the pretender.
Although Ming loyalists in the area—especially Chen Bangyan 陳邦彥 in Shunde, Chen Zizhuang
陳子壯 in Nanhai, and Zhang Jiayu 張家玉 in Dongguan, arose to resist the invaders, they were
soon defeated. However, their struggle succeeded in delaying the Qing army from pursuing the
Ming emperor in Zhaoqing as he fled up the West River valley.
Qing
After the Qing dynasty had quelled all Ming resistance and extended its rule over the
China mainland, the China coast was still frequently attacked by Ming loyalists under the
leadership of Zheng Chenggong 鄭成功 (also known as Koxinga 國姓爺 after the Ming emperor
bestowed the royal surname Zhu 朱 on him) operating from Taiwan. In order to provide a buffer
zone against these attacks and to prevent communication between sympathizers on the mainland
and the offshore Ming loyalists, the emperor issued orders in 1682 and in 1684 for evacuation of
the region along the entire China coast for fifty li 里 (approximately sixteen miles). These orders
directly affected parts of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong region. Then to facilitate control of unrest
and banditry in the mountains north of Guangzhou, the Qing government established another
county in this region. Hua Xian (Fa Yuen) 花縣 came into being in 1685 taking parts of Panyu and
Nanhai. The name was derived from Hua Shan 花山 (Fa Shan; "flower mountain") in the northern
part of the county.
The Guangzhou region resumed its economic development after Ming resistance had
been crushed. By this time Western merchants who had first reached China for trade during the
16th century was aggressively seeking expansion of their lucrative trade with China. The Qing
emperor, however, decreed in 1757 that Whampoa 黃埔 in the Guangzhou suburbs shall be the
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only Chinese port open to Western merchant vessels for trade. The trade could only be conducted
through Chinese hong merchants 行商 located in Guangzhou. There were thirteen of these
companies, a historical fact that is commemorated by the Street of the 13 Hongs 十三行街 near
the river close to Shamian 沙面 (Cantonese Shameen) in one of the busiest parts of Guangzhou.
This trade monopoly enjoyed by the hong merchants became another factor helping to stimulate
economic growth in the region.
By the middle of the Qing dynasty the four leading market towns in Guangdong were all
located in this region. They were Guangzhou (known simply as Shengcheng 省城, "provincial
capital"), Foshan 佛山 in Nanhai, Chencun 陳村 in Shunde, and Shilong 石龍 in Dongguan.
Specialized agriculture and handicraft industries producing for the market developed in the
countryside. For example, in Nanhai, Foshan specialized in manufacturing wrought iron cleavers
and woks as well as the papier-mâché heads used for the lion and dragon dances. Shiwan made
ceramics both for everyday use and for decorative purposes. Some excellent examples of the
ceramic decorative art can still be seen in Guangzhou's Chen Clan Ancestral Hall 陳家祠 and
Foshan's Ancestral Temple 祖廟. Other areas such as Xiqiao (Saichiu) 西樵 was famed for silks,
Luohang 籮行 for woven bamboo baskets, Baisha 白沙 for rattan ware, Dali 大瀝 for firecrackers,
and Yanbu 鹽步 and Xiushui 秀水 for gambier silk.
The closing of the silk market in other parts of China to foreigners stimulated the further
expansion of the existing silk industry in parts of Nanhai and almost all of Shunde. Mulberry
bushes for feeding silkworms and ponds with fish fed with the waste from silkworm production
became a familiar part of the landscape. Widespread availability of work for women in the
silk-producing region also enabled the development of two unusual customs. One was the
practice of delayed transfer marriages or buluojia 不落家, where a woman delays for several
years after the marriage ceremony before allowing the marriage to be consummated or to take up
residence in her husband's house. The other was the custom of some girls who chose to be sworn
spinsters. These zishunü 自梳女, instead of combing their hair in braids, combed it into a bun
(shuqi 梳起) as was customary for married women. Feminists have sought to interpret this as an
early form of women's liberation; however, there is also evidence that this may have been the
remnants of a custom, which was widely practiced by non-Han-Chinese groups in South China.
The economic growth during the Ming and Qing strengthened this region's position as a
cultural and literary center. Over the centuries there were only nine candidates from Guangdong
who ever received top honors as zhuangyuan 狀元 in the nationwide imperial examinations. Of
these, six were from this region and three from Nanhai, two from Shunde, and one from Panyu.
Five of these six occasions occurred during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The Opium Wars and Afterward
The direction of economic development in this region was greatly affected by the First and
Second Opium Wars. In 1839 the Qing Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu 林則徐 confiscated
opium cargoes of Western merchants in the Pearl River Delta and destroyed them at Humen in
Dongguan. Britain used that as a pretext to declare war on China. When the British were thwarted
by the defenses Lin had ordered set up at the delta, the navy went north to attack the central
China coast and then proceeded to drop anchor near Tianjin, threatening an attack on Beijing.
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This show of force so intimidated the Qing court that it replaced Lin Zexu with Qishan 琦善, who
advocated making peace with the aggressors. The British show of military force in the Pearl River
Delta and along the central China coast forced the Chinese authorities to sign the Treaty of
Nanjing 南京條約 of 1842. In the treaty China agreed to pay reparations to the British, a financial
burden that was laid upon the shoulders of the people of Guangzhou and the surrounding areas.
Guangzhou also became one of five treaty ports opened to the British. Western missionaries were
allowed to step up their activities in the city. Hong Kong Island off the tip of Xin’an County on the
eastern side of the Pearl River estuary was ceded to the British, who developed it into an
international port overshadowing Macau on the other side of the estuary in importance.
The forced opening of China, led by Britain, facilitated the entry of not only merchants and
goods, but also Western missionaries and ideas. In 1844 American missionary Issachar J.
Roberts 羅孝全 established the first Protestant chapel in Guangzhou to preach the gospel. In
1847 Hong Xiuquan 洪秀全, a Hakka from Hua Xian north of Guangzhou who had failed in the
imperial examinations, learned the basic concepts of Christianity from Roberts, and after
modifying the teachings, he founded the Bai Shangdi Jiao 拜上帝教 ("Worship God sect"). Hong
moved to Guangxi, where he attracted many followers. In 1851 the sect under Hong's leadership
began the Taiping Rebellion in Guangxi, which spread quickly and almost toppled the Qing
Empire. In Guangdong the Triad secret society took advantage of the political instability caused
by the Taiping victories to stage uprisings to restore Ming rule. Beginning in 1854, a number of
Triad-led insurrections broke out in Dongguan, Hua Xian, and other parts of the delta region. In
Nanhai the Red Turbans 紅巾, as the insurgents were familiarly known, occupied and then set fire
to Foshan, which burned for three days. The insurgents were unable to capture Guangzhou, but
the fighting and destruction covered a wide area in the surrounding countryside and there was a
great deal of pillaging, plundering, and destruction by both government and rebel forces.
After the Qing forces had gained the upper hand against the Red Turbans, the Second
Opium War broke out. Previously, the people of Guangzhou had refused to implement provisions
of the Treaty of Nanjing, permitting Westerners to enter Guangzhou's walled city. England
together with France soon found pretexts to declare war on China. A British and French
expeditionary force attacked Guangzhou in 1857 and occupied the city for more than three years.
There was more pillaging and plundering and the people of the surrounding region suffered
heavily. The treaty ending the Second Opium War ceded the Kowloon peninsula 九龍半島 in the
southern part of Xin’an County to become a part of the British colony of Hong Kong. More territory
from Xin’an as well as several offshore islands was added to the colony in 1898 when Britain
forced China to lease her the New Territories 新界 for 99 years.
During this period the development of Hong Kong and Shanghai took away much of the
maritime trade from the port of Guangzhou. Nevertheless, the city still remained the political,
economic, and cultural center of south China. It was still on the frontline of China’s maritime
frontier and the forced opening of China, led by Britain, facilitated the entry of not only merchants
and goods, but also western missionaries and ideas that greatly affected the development of the
region and China.
Catholic missionary efforts in this region had begun with the arrival of Matteo Ricci in
Guangzhou in 1580, but he was only allowed to build a church in Zhaoqing. The arrival of
Protestant missionaries came much later with the arrival of Robert Morrison in Guangzhou in
1807. But up to the 1840s, Chinese government greatly limited missionary proselytizing efforts.
The Treaties ending the Opium Wars forced open access to China, with Protestant missionaries
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playing leading roles. As part of the effort to proselytize local converts, missionaries operated
charitable institutions and social service institutions. In 1835 Congregational missionary Peter
Parker founded an eye clinic in Guangzhou, using Western medical practices as another path to
reach the population. In1855 Presbyterian missionary John G. Kerr upgraded the facility to
become the Canton Hospital 博濟醫院, the first hospital in China to practice Western medicine.
Today the hospital is part of the Zhongshan Medical College 中山醫學院. Toward the declining
years of the 19th and early decades of the 20th century, foreign missionaries as well as Chinese
Christians also established educational institutions that introduced Western ideology, some of
which contributed materially to modernizing the ancient nation. The earliest
missionary-established middle school was True Light Seminary 真光女子中學, founded by
Presbyterian missionary Harriet Noyes 那夏理 in 1872. This was the first middle school in China
established for female students. In 1879 missionary Henry V. Noyes 那夏禮 founded Pui Ying
Middle School 培英中學, while in 1889 Chinese Baptists Li Jiliang 李濟良, Feng Jingqian 馮景謙,
and Liao Deshan 廖德山 founded Pui Ching Middle School 培正中學. In 1888 Presbyterian
missionaries led the founding of the first modern institution of higher learning in Guangzhou, the
Christian College 格致書院. In 1904 the institution moved to the south bank of the Pearl River and
its name became Canton Christian College 嶺南學堂. In 1917 it became Lingnan University 嶺南
大學. During the first half of the 20th century, the children of many Chinese from abroad,
especially from North America, pursued Chinese education in one or more of these schools.
Ideas from abroad also continued to play a role in influencing the political thinking of
personages who played important roles in Chinese history. Besides Hong Xiuquan mentioned
earlier, another prominent political figure from this region was Kang Youwei 康有為 of Nanhai,
who was the leader of a reform movement to modernize China in 1898. After his movement failed,
he fled to North America and organized the Chinese Empire Reform Association 帝國維新會 (later
changed to Chinese Constitutionalist Party 中國憲政黨) to push for a constitutional government
and reform in China.
As a political, economic, and cultural center of South China with ties to Chinese abroad,
it was also not surprising that many Qing government officials sent to the United States came from
this region. Zhang Yinhuan 張蔭桓 from Nanhai was China's envoy to the US from 1885 to 1888,
when there were many anti-Chinese riots in the United States. He was instrumental in
encouraging the Chinese in San Francisco to establish the Great Qing Academy 大清書院, the
first community-operated, traditional style Chinese school in the United States. Panyu's Liang
Cheng 梁誠 was the envoy to the United States from 1902 to 1907. He negotiated the partial
return of the Boxer Indemnity to fund Tsinghua University 清華大學 in Beijing and for students to
come to the US to study. In the early 1900s Liang Qinggui 梁慶桂 from Panyu was sent by the
imperial government to North American communities to encourage local Chinese to establish
Chinese language schools with modern curricula.
Hong Kong as an Entrepôt
During this period Hong Kong became an important base for Britain’s China trade. A
number of important British firms established offices in the colony, the largest of which was
Jardine, Matheson & Co. 怡和洋行, which also was the largest in the opium trade. In 1864 the
Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation 滙豐銀行 came into being. In the 1870s,
9
Butterfield and Swire Co. 太古洋行 also established itself in Hong Kong. These became three of
the major commercial and financial institutions to advance British interests in China.
Associated with these firms were Chinese compradors 買辦 who acted as middlemen
between the Western and Chinese firms. Due to geographical proximity facilitating contacts with
Westerners and learning English, a number of the early compradors came from Baoan, Zhuhai,
and Zhongshan. By virtue of their position these compradors and associated Chinese also
became wealthy and influential. For example, Robert Ho Tung 何東, son of an English father and
a Chinese mother from Baoan, was comprador for Jardine, Matheson & Co. Later, his brother Ho
Fook 何福 succeeded him in that position. The grandson of Ho Fook, Stanley Ho 何鴻燊, is one of
the wealthiest men in Macau and the owner of large gaming establishments. Another early
comprador was Mo Shiyang (Mok Shi Yeung) 莫仕揚 from Zhuhai. He served as comprador for
Butterfield & Swire and then was succeeded by his son and grandson in that capacity.
During this period, Chinese played key roles in making Hong Kong an entrepôt facilitating
the movement of goods and emigrants between China and Chinese communities abroad. These
firms can broadly be categorized as one of the following types: 1) Nan-Bei Hang 南北行 (Nam Pak
Hong; “South-North Trading House"), and 2) Jinshan Zhuang 金山莊 (Gam Shan Jong; “Gold
Mountain firm”).
Nam Pak Hong type firms began more than a century before the founding of Hong Kong.
These firms facilated the flow of goods generally in a north-south direction between north and
central China and Nanyang or Southeast Asia. During the early 1850s the unstable political
situation in south China caused by the Taiping Rebellion led a number of these merchants to seek
a friendlier business environment in Hong Kong. In time these firms established a near monopoly
in Hong Kong on the handling of such commodities as Chinese herbs, rice, sugar, and specialty
products of Southeast Asia. Many of the merchants were from the Chaozhou-Shantou area in
eastern Guangdong. In 1868 these firms were the earliest to establish an asociation to defend
their interests.
During this same period Chinese immigration to North America and to Australia increased.
This led to the emergence of the Jinshan Zhuang (Gam Shan Jong) firms to handle goods
between China and the Chinese overseas communities. They also formed a network providing
mail and remittance services between Chinese abroad and their native villages. Some also gave
assistance to immigrants going abroad and returning for visits. These merchants were usually
Cantonese. Similar firms handled commerce and immigrants between China and the countries of
Southeast Asia.
British rule was autocratic and the Chinese had no political rights, although they were
allowed to develop their institutions, the most important of which was the Tung Wah Hospital 東
華醫院, after which San Francisco’s Chinese Hospital 三藩市僑立東華醫院 was named. The
Hong Kong institution was established in 1870. It provided medical services, ran Chinese schools,
and offered social services to Hong Kong Chinese. It also established the Tung Wah Coffin Home
東華義莊 as a temporary stop for bodies or exhumed bones of Chinese overseas being returned
to the ancestral village for permanent burial. Before the founding of the PRC this coffin home
acted as the hub of a complex network linking Chinese native–place associations abroad with
their ancestral villages and ensuring proper burials for the deceased. It was estimated that the
Coffin Home handled over 100,000 coffins and containers over the years.
10
Hong Kong became a base for introducing Western culture and technology to the Chinese,
and a convenient port of departure for Chinese from the region going abroad. British rule also
made it a convenient refuge for Chinese dissidents as well as refugees from wars on the China
mainland.
During this period at the turn of the century, Hong Kong played an important role as a site
where there were many ideas for saving and making China a strong nation. Sun Yat-sen had his
medical education here. When he became a leader of the revolutionary movement advocating
overthrow of China’s imperial system, Hong Kong became a locality where his followers could be
active and yet safely out of the reach of the Chinese authorities. Similarly, the reformer followers
of Kang Yu-wei also were active in the colony after the failure of the 100-Day Reforms in 1898.
There they found sympathy and support among the Chinese intellectuals and merchants, many of
whom were influenced by political philosophies of the West.
Large scale Chinese investment in Hong Kong, some of which came from Chinese abroad,
also began. In 1900 an Australian Chinese Ma Yingbiao founded Sincere Company, the first
modern department store in Hong Kong. This was followed by the Wing On Company in 1907 and
The Sun Company in 1912. Sincere established a store in Guangzhou in 1914, while The Sun
established stores in two areas of Guangzhou in 1918.
The Republic
The Republic of China came into being in 1912, but the country soon lapsed into civil war.
Sun Yat-sen allied the Kuomintang with southern warlords to establish a military government with
headquarters in Guangzhou in preparation for a northern expedition to reunify China. Although
the provincial government had long been located in Guangzhou, it was not a separate
administrative entity. People referred to it as the provincial city 省城 with Nanhai County
administering the city’s western half and Panyu in charge of the eastern half. It was the military
government that took the first steps to establish a Guangzhou municipal government. In 1918 a
separate group was charged with the responsibility for demolition of the city walls and to begin city
planning. A Guangzhou municipal government was established in 1921.
In 1923 Sun Yat-sen reorganized the Kuomintang, admitted Chinese Communist Party
members into the Kuomintang, and forged an alliance with the USSR. The focus of the revolution
was shifted toward support for the workers and peasants as the party became more militant. The
May 30, 1925 incident in Shanghai led to tension between the militants and the foreign powers.1
In Guangzhou the Communist Party called a general strike in Hong Kong and Guangzhou to show
support for the Shanghai workers. The strike lasted one year and four months involving some
250,000 workers. During the strike on June 23, 1925, French and British police opened fire on
100,000 supporters of the Shanghai strikers who were demonstrating at Shaji (Cantonese
Shakee) 沙基 in front of the foreign concession on Shamian (Cantonese Shameen) 沙面, killing
52 and wounding some 170. The event was commemorated by naming the road on Shakee “June
23 Road” 六二三路.
On July 9, 1926, a year after Sun passed away, General Chiang Kai-shek launched the
Northern Expedition from Guangzhou. After reaching the lower Yangzi River basin, Chiang
Kai-shek turned on the Communists and on April 12, 1927 began a bloody purge of Communists
and their sympathizers in Shanghai. He then established a national government in Nanjing.
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The changed situation led Zhang Tailei 張太雷, Communist leader in Guangdong, to lead
5,000 troops on December 11, 1927 in an abortive uprising in Guangzhou. By December 13, the
uprising had been suppressed by Kuomintang troops. The Guangzhou uprising is commemorated
in the city of Guangzhou with Guangzhou Qiyi Lu 廣州起義路 (Guangzhou Uprising Road) that
runs in a northerly-southerly direction to Haizhu Square 海珠廣場 and connecting with Haizhu
Bridge 海珠橋.
After the insurrection General Chen Jitang 陳濟棠 gained uncontested control of
Guangdong. He further consolidated his position by strengthening his military forces and allying
himself with Chiang's political foes, who had established a rival Kuomintang group in Guangzhou
in 1931 challenging the Nanjing government. Chen became the dominant figure in the group and
was known by the nickname Nantian Wang 南天王 (King of the southern heavens). Under Chen's
rule a number of main roadways in Guangzhou were widened and improved. The city also
improved its bus and ferry systems and facilities. In 1933 the Guangdong and Guangxi
governments collaborated to found the Southwest Aviation Corporation 西南航空公司
headquartered in Guangzhou. This was the first government-owned aviation company in China.
Many landmarks in Guangzhou today that date from the pre-World War II era were also built
during this period. In 1933 the Pearl River was spanned for the first time with the completion of the
Haizhu Bridge 海珠橋. There were also improvements in cultural and educational facilities. In
1931 the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 中山紀念堂 was completed and dedicated. The year 1933
saw completion of the Zhongshan Library 中山圖書館, the first major library in Guangzhou, and a
new campus for Sun Yat-sen University 中山大學 at Shipai 石牌, as well as the opening of
Xiangqin University 勷勤大學 in memory of Chen’s mentor, Gu Yingfen 古應芬 (also known as Gu
Xiangqin 古勷勤). In 1935 offices of the Guangzhou Municipal Government moved into a newly
constructed civic center.
Chen expanded his military forces to 150,000. He also had under his command the
Guangdong Air Force, the strength of which rivaled that of the Nanjing government. Chen also
sought to develop the economy as a firm foundation for his power. He encouraged the building of
modern industrial plants for production of cement, sulfuric acid, fertilizer, textiles, beer and soft
drinks, sugar, munitions, and other products, as well as construction of a power generating station
and potable water works. Many of these projects were helped by contributions and investments
from Guangdong emigrants abroad. A number of Chinese from North America also saw service in
the Guangdong Air force.
In 1936 Chen allied himself with military men in Guangxi to demand that the Nanjing
government take action to resist Japanese aggression in China. However, the challenge
collapsed when Chiang Kai-shek bribed the Guangdong Air Force to defect en masse to Nanjing
and Chen had to flee to Hong Kong. One year afterward the Sino-Japanese War began, but not
before the completion of the 15-floor Aiqun Building 愛群大廈, the first steel framed reinforced
concrete high rise in Guangzhou and owned by Aiqun Insurance Company 愛群人壽保險公司 of
Hong Kong. Much of the capital came from the Chinese abroad, with one of the big investors
being Chen Boxing (Chin Bak Hing 陳伯興) or Chen Pijing 陳披荊, who was at various times
owner of a cannery in Oakland, California, financial backer of the anti-Chiang Chinese Nationalist
Daily of America 美洲國民日報 in San Francisco, and operator of a gambling hall in San Mateo
County.
12
During this period from the turn of the twentieth century to World War II, returned overseas
Chinese played important roles in developing the Dongshan District, then still an undeveloped
suburban area, in Guangzhou. In 1907, the Pui Ching Academy raised funds from Chinese
Christians in China and abroad to build a campus in Dongshan. The presence of this major
education facility was a factor attracting returned overseas Chinese to settle in the area. In 1909,
a family member of an overseas Chinese, using the money that his father brought back from the
U.S., partnered with fellow villagers from Heshan as well as Chinese returned from the U.S., to
become the first group to purchase land in the area for development. However, it was only after
1915, when the church-connected educational facilities and charitable institutions had been firmly
established, that a great influx occurred. Most of the settlers were from North America who were
attracted by the pleasant living environment, the relatively good law and order in the area, and the
availability of high quality educational facilities. In particular, the area attracted many of Sze Yap
ancestry, especially those of Taishan origin who had returned from the United States.
The War of Resistance against Japan
During the Sino-Japanese War, Guangzhou and the surrounding regions were occupied
by the Japanese in 1938. Hong Kong became a refuge for activities supporting the war of
resistance against Japan. Both the Kuomintang and the Communist established liaison offices in
the colony. This situation ended when the colony surrendered to the Japanese on December 25,
1941.
During the Japanese occupation, Hong Kong's population declined from 1.6 million before
the invasion to about 600,000 in 1945, when the United Kingdom resumed control of the colony.
The population swelled again when civil war broke out between the Nationalist government and
the Communists. Again, many Chinese took refuge in Hong Kong, including many critics of the
Nationalist government who were being persecuted by the Kuomintang.
The Nationalists retreated to Guangzhou in spring 1949, but by mid-October, the
Communist armies were in firm control of Guangzhou and the surrounding countryside. Under the
PRC, Guangzhou remained the seat of the provincial government, but the jurisdiction of municipal
government was greatly expanded. Territory was taken from neighboring counties, particularly
Nanhai and Panyu, to become part of Guangzhou’s suburbs. Particularly affected was Panyu.
Territory formerly under its jurisdiction north of the Pearl River became part of Guangzhou’s
Baiyun (White clouds) District 白雲區.
With the founding of the PRC, many critics of the Kuomintang left their refuge in Hong
Kong to return to China, but they were replaced by others who fled to Hong Kong from China. A
number of Shanghai and Guangzhou corporations also shifted their operations to Hong Kong.
The population grew and by July 2007 it had reached 6,980,412.
For three decades Hong Kong became the sole point of contact between Mainland China
and the Western world, as China became isolated from outside influence. Trade with the
mainland was interrupted during the Korean War, when the United Nations ordered a trade
embargo against the Communist government. Hong Kong business people such as Henry Fok 霍
英東, however, found ways to continue trading with China and became wealthy. The embargo on
trade with China during the Korean War, the investigation of immigration fraud among Chinese in
the U.S., coupled with restrictions imposed by a PRC government that favored a state-operated
economy, became major factors causing the decline of the Nam Pak Hong and Gam Shan Jong
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firms. However, during this same period the textile and manufacturing industries grew with the
help of population growth and the low cost of labor. As Hong Kong rapidly industrialized, its
economy became driven by exports to international markets.
When the PRC initiated a set of economic reforms in 1978, Hong Kong became the main
source of foreign investments to the mainland. The first special economic zone (S.E.Z.) was
created in 1979 at Shenzhen 深圳 at the border area of Baoan immediately north of Hong Kong.
In a quarter of a century the area mushroomed from a country town into a modern city with a
bustling seaport, an airport, and in 2004 a subway system.
Other changes occurred in the entire region. Dongguan became a regional-level
municipality and an area with many investments from abroad including from Taiwan. Its products
are shipped to all parts of the world.
There have been rapid economic development in other localities as well. Counties in the
Guangzhou region were elevated one after another to county-level cities. In 1992 the
municipalities of Shunde, Panyu, and Nanhai came into being. In 1993 there were the newly
established county-level cities of Sanshui, Gaoyao, Sihui, Zengcheng, as well as Hua Xian, which
had to change its name to Huadu 花都 to avoid having the confusing name Hua Xian Shi (Hua
County City). This was followed by the elevation of Conghua, Gaoming, and Huiyang to
county-level city status in 1994. As the economy continued to grow, Huadu and Panyu became
integrated as districts of the City of Guangzhou in 2000. Shortly afterward, Foshan City became
Chancheng District 禪城區, which together with Nanhai 南海區, Shunde 順德區, Sanshui 三水區,
and Gaoming 高明區, became districts of the regional-level city of Foshan.
The net effect of this economic development was prosperity and modernization of the
region. The demand for factory labor led to the hiring of numerous workers who seasonally
migrated from other parts of China. In some localities they number as much as a third to a half of
the inhabitants; however, they do not show up in the population of permanent residents who are
enumerated in the census. These factories also took away manufacturing jobs from Hong Kong,
which had prospered and grown to be a metropolis, a financial and manufacturing center, and
entrepôt when China was isolated from the world economy. Now it is faced with a challenging
readjustment of its role. The financial and banking sectors have become increasingly dominant,
with services gradually displacing textiles and manufacturing.
With the lease of the New Territories due to expire in 1997, the governments of the United
Kingdom and the PRC discussed the issue of Hong Kong's sovereignty. In 1984 the two countries
signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing to transfer the sovereignty of Hong Kong to the
PRC in 1997. The declaration stipulated that Hong Kong would be governed as a special
administrative region, retaining its laws and high degree of autonomy for at least fifty years after
the transfer. In 1985 members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council was for the first time in more
than a century and a half of British rule elected by Hong Kong voters.
Cantonese Sub-Culture
The great distance of Guangdong from the Chinese center of power in the Yellow River
basin and the fact that large scale access into Guangdong was hampered by the mountain barrier
and occurred only sporadically over more than a millennium, enabled the native Yue culture to
continue to coexist with Han Chinese culture for more than a millennium before eventually
14
assimilating and becoming e part of Han Chinese culture. The Guangzhou region as the political
and economic center played a leading role in defining the shape and form of this regional
Cantonese or Guangfu culture 廣府文化 that was formed. Many aspects of this culture, however,
did not attain full flowering until economic and social developments produced conditions favorable
for the growth, development, and maturation of such cultural elements.
Increased migration into Guangdong during the late Tang and then Song period enabled
the formation of the Yue or Cantonese dialect 粵方言, commonly known as baihua (白話;
Cantonese baak-waa). The rapid economic growth of the Pearl River Delta region during the
subsequent Ming and Qing provided the stimulus for developments in Cantonese culture. During
the mid-19th century, the emergence of a large Cantonese-speaking metropolitan region-Sheng-Gang-Ao (省港澳; “Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Macau”)--provided additional favorable
conditions for the further development of the culture. The evolution in recent centuries of the
opera and music, the cuisine, and the art of painting are some examples.
The Cantonese opera 粵劇 or 廣東大戲 is an opera form popular in Guangdong and
Guangxi provinces. By the mid-Ming period in the last half of the 15th century, the local
Cantonese were learning performance techniques from opera troupes of other provinces 外江班
that entered Guangdong to perform. By modifying the performance style to include the Cantonese
dialect, local troupes 本地班 developed a Cantonese style 廣腔 of singing around the 1730s. The
center for this was at Foshan, where local performers and musicians of the developing Cantonese
opera founded a guild, the Qionghua Huiguan 瓊花會館 during the 18th century. When
Cantonese opera performer Li Wenmou 李文茂 joined a Triad uprising near Guangzhou during
the 1850s, the Qing government banned local troupe performances. The ban wasn’t lifted until
the 1860s. In the meantime Cantonese opera performers had to join troupes from other provinces
or masquerade as out-of-province troupes. After the ban was lifted Cantonese opera performers
continued to learn from out-of–province opera troupes, adapting their practices and techniques to
Guangdong conditions. It became increasingly popular among the populace. In 1889 the
Cantonese opera performers and musicians established a guild, the Bahe Huiguan 八和會館.
During the early 20th century when Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, and other cities built
theaters, the opera moved from the countryside into the big cities, where they modified the
performances to attract an urban audience. In the 1920s through the leadership of performers like
Xue Juexian (薛覺先; Cantonese Sit Gok Sin) and Ma Shizeng (馬師; Cantonese Ma See Jung),
changes were introduced, such as producing librettos with non-traditional themes, adding musical
instruments like the Western violin and saxophone into the orchestra, and introducing folk and
popular tunes into the music, etc.
Starting around the 1820s the performance of Cantonese songs 粵曲 also began to
develop into a separate branch of the musical arts. By the 1870s, it had matured with a blind
performer Shi’niang 師娘 as the leading performer and become very popular among Chinese
overseas and in Hong Kong and Macao, where conditions for performing operas were not always
readily available. Performers such as Xiao Mingxing 小明星 and Xu Liuxian 徐柳仙 became
familiar names to fans of Cantonese singing. Cantonese music 廣東音樂 was another art form
derived from the opera. It evolved from being used as musical interludes at opera performance to
become a regional musical form. The repertoire was greatly enriched by works of composers such
as He Bozhong 何博眾 (composer of Yu da bajiao 雨打芭蕉 [Rain hitting the banana leaves]), Yan
Laolie 嚴老烈 (composer of Hantian lei 旱天雷 [Thunder in dry weather]), the prolific Lü Wencheng
15
呂文成 (composer of Pinghu qiuyue 平湖秋月 [Autumn moon on a calm lake], and Bubu gao 步步
高 [Higher with every step].
Although the cuisine in Guangdong had always been noted for its variety and
distinctiveness, over the centuries regional varieties had evolved, namely, Cantonese, Chaozhou
and Hakka. Due to the fact that Guangzhou was a city frequently visited by officials, domestic and
foreign merchants, and compradors, the presence of these affluent consumers provided the
stimuli for the full flowering of Cantonese cuisine that used to great advantage the wealth of raw
materials available domestically and imported from abroad. Guangzhou was for many years the
leader in this area, but after the PRC was established, life became more austere, and the
development of the cuisine moved to Hong Kong, whose economy boomed as it became the
contact point between the world market and the PRC. Cantonese cuisine developed further,
adapting practices and materials from Western cuisine. In one aspect of the Cantonese cuisine,
the variety of dim sum (hors d’oeuvres or snacks served with yum cha [drinking tea]) at breakfast
or lunch was greatly expanded from the original steamed buns, dumplings, and puddings to
encompass practically anything edible under the sun.
In art there is the Lingnan school of painting that adopted techniques developed in Japan
depicting more contemporary subject matter with Western realism. The leading exponents of this
school were Gao Jianfu 高劍父, Gao Qifeng 高奇峰, and Chen Shuren 陳樹人.
Emigration
Due to the easy access to the ocean there had long been emigration from this area. During
the early days these were usually merchants and adventurers. For example, during the 15th
century, Liang Daoming 梁道明 from Nanhai led a group of soldiers and adventurers from
Guangdong and Fujian and became a warlord dominating Palembang in Sumatra.
For many years before the Opium War, Guangzhou was the only Chinese port open for
trade from abroad, so it would be the Chinese in this region who could contact Westerners most
easily and sign on to work for them. Thus, the first Chinese of record in the United States--Ashing
亞成, Achun 亞全, and Accun 亞官--were among the seamen signed up to sail the ship Pallas from
Guangzhou to America. They may well have been natives of the Guangzhou region. After the ship
arrived in Baltimore in 1785 they were stranded in the city and their names were left for posterity
on a petition asking for help from the Continental Congress.
After the Opium War, Hong Kong began its development as an international port and
entrepôt while Western powers were developing their colonies and frontier regions, thus creating
employment and business opportunities. These became factors attracting merchants and
peasants from this region who hoped to better their economic lots.
The majority went no further than nearby Hong Kong and Macau, where some became
successful. For example, Sir Ho Kai 何啟, whose ancestry was Nanhai, became an outstanding
Hong Kong barrister-at-law and leader of the Chinese community at the turn of the century. He
also donated the Alice Memorial Hospital to the colony. Dr. Sun Yat-sen was a graduate of the
Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese attached to this hospital.
Many prominent business leaders in modern Hong Kong and Macau also traced their
ancestries to this region. For example, there is Hu Yingxiang (Gordon Wu 胡應湘) of Hong Kong
Hopewell Holdings, one of five major Chinese real estate development groups, who traces his
16
ancestry to Hua Xian. Another Huo Yingdong (Henry Fok 霍英東 ), head of the Hong Kong
Chinese Chamber of Commerce, came from Panyu. In Macau the late He Xian (Ho Yin 何賢),
influential leader in the Portuguese colony and head of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, was
also from Panyu while another leader Ma Wanqi 馬萬祺 was from Nanhai. Donald Tsang 曾蔭權,
the second chief executive of the Hong Kong S.A.R., was of Nanhai ancestry but was born and
raised in Hong Kong. Most of course were workers whose only objective was to make a living. For
example, when the silk industry declined in the 1930s, many female workers from Shunde
migrated to Hong Kong as well as other places to become maidservants and amahs.
A large number from this region migrated to Southeast Asia. Many became merchants,
professionals, and workers. Some even became associated with certain special occupations. For
example, in Singapore during the 20th century there were many peasant women from Sanshui
and Hua Xian who worked in the construction industry. They were easily identified by their use of
red-and blue-colored bandannas.
Others went even further. Some, especially emigrants from Shunde, ventured into the
Indian Ocean and settled in Mauritius, Madagascar, and South Africa. Others from Panyu
emigrated to New Zealand, Canada, and Peru while Hua Xian emigrants went to Panama and
Peru. New Zealand and Australia attracted some immigrants from Zengcheng and Dongguan,
and small pockets of Nanhai people settled in several Central American countries. Gaoming
immigrants were particularly known for their involvement in market gardening near Sydney,
Australia.
Political events in the host countries during the latter half of the 20th century greatly
affected migration patterns of some of the groups. An extreme case is demonstrated by emigrants
from Hua Xian. In 1955 nine-tenths of its emigrants settled in Southeast Asia and only 8.5 percent
went to the Americas. By 1989 events such as persecution of the Chinese in the IndoChina
Peninsula as well as the liberalization of immigration laws in North America had caused the
percentage in Southeast Asia to drop to 30.8 percent, and the population in the Americas to
increase to 52.1 percent.
Chinese from this region or their descendants who were abroad brought back concepts
and technology that helped in the modernization of China. Qiu Xi 邱熺, a Nanhai merchant who
happened to be in Macao when vaccination was introduced in 1805, became the first to introduce
it in China. Chen Qiyuan 陳啟沅, a Chinese returned from Southeast Asia, was first to introduce
machinery for reeling silk in Nanhai in 1872. Two loyal followers of Dr. Sun Yat-sen who found
careers in China were Trinidad-born Eugene Chen 陳友仁 of Shunde ancestry and San
Francisco-born Zhang Aiyun (Jung Oi Won) 張靄蘊 of Panyu ancestry.
Returned overseas Chinese who traced their ancestry to other regions than Guangzhou
also contributed to its development into a modern city as investors in business ventures as well as
generous contributors to schools and libraries. In 1890 returned overseas Chinese Huang
Bingchang (Wong Bing Sheung) of Taishan ancestry raised $400,000 in capital to establish the
Canton Electric Light Company, the first electric power utility company in the city. It operated until
1899. In 1908 Holt Cheng, who after graduation from San Francisco’s College of Physicians and
Surgeons, became the first Chinese to pass the California Medical Board examination in 1904.
He founded the Guang Hua Medical School, the first school of Western medicine to have a
Chinese faculty and the first to admit female students.
17
Emigration from this area to the United States came principally from Nanhai, Panyu, and
Shunde, which constituted the so-called Sam Yup, as well as Hua Xian. However, there are also
sizeable communities of Dongguan and Baoan immigrants in New York City.
Sam Yup merchants were among the earliest Chinese to settle in San Francisco. In time
other smaller concentrations also emerged in California Central Valley towns, Los Angeles, and
New York. The proportion of Sam Yup people among the Chinese population in America rose to
be about a fifth of the Chinese population in America during the 1860s. However, the much faster
increase in immigration from Taishan and Kaiping, plus the diversion of part of the immigration
from Guangzhou and its vicinity to Hong Kong, led to a steep drop to around 7 percent of the
Chinese population by the 1870s. The percentage of Sam Yup people continued to be low during
the exclusion period as there were few arrivals to replace the many Sam Yup workers and
merchants who passed on or retired to China.
Nanhai provided the most immigrants to the US among the Sam Yup people. The majority
of immigrants before 1965 were from the Jiujiang 九江 (Kowkong) area on the southwest corner of
Nanhai on the bank of the West River. Others came from villages in the vicinity of Xiqiao Shan
(Saichiu Shan) 西樵山 near the west bank of the North River and from Shishan (Szeshan) 獅山, 獅
子竇, a few miles further upstream on the east bank. Sam Yup people were dominant among 19th
century merchants in Chinatown, especially in the export-import business. During the early 20th
century, many tailors in San Francisco were immigrants from the Xiqiao (Saichiu 西樵) area in
Nanhai, while many Chinese butchers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles were from
Jiujiang (Kowkong) 九江 in Nanhai.
Panyu people were next in number among Sam Yup people in the U.S. due to the
geographical location of Panyu that facilitated easy access to Hong Kong. The earliest Sam Yup
immigrants may have come from Panyu. Many originated from Banghu (Pongwu) 蚌湖, and Yahu
(Ahwu) 鴉湖 villages, now in the northwestern part of Baiyun Qu 白雲區 (White cloud district)
north of Guangzhou City. During the exclusion period a concentration of Panyu people settled in
Hanford, California. Before 1965 Shunde had the smallest number of immigrants in the US. Many
originated from the Lecong (Lokchung) 樂從 area in the northwestern part of Shunde.
The Hua Xian 花縣 community in America was closely associated with the Sam Yup
people, especially those from Panyu. Most early arrivals originated from the Pingshan 坪山 area
in central Hua Xian and they settled mostly in San Francisco and in the San Joaquin Valley. The
community was estimated to number 100 to 150 at the beginning of the 20th century. Soon
afterward, deteriorating conditions at home impelled many to emigrate to improve their lots. The
few who entered America had to circumvent the exclusion laws, with their relatives in America
often borrowing funds using the Chinese rotating credit system hui to finance their passage. The
Hua Xian community in America grew steadily so that by the 1930s it numbered between several
hundred and a thousand, concentrated mostly in San Francisco and the San Joaquin Valley. After
World War II many Hua Xian immigrants who had served in the armed forces visited China to bring
back “war brides.”
After World war II, many more immigrants and refugees tracing their ancestries to Sam
Yup and Hua Xian entered the US. Many came from Hong Kong. A number of Nanhai people
were refugees from Cuba. Other Sam Yup and Hua Xian refugees and immigrants came from
Vietnam. Thus, the populations of the several communities have increased accordingly. Due to
the different pattern of immigration of Chinese to those areas of the world in the past, the
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newcomers do not necessarily originate from the same villages to which the earlier immigrants
traced their origins.
The Communities in America
Before World War II Sam Yup people in America dominated certain occupations. Sam Yup
merchants had a virtual monopoly on the lucrative export-import business, which was broken only
after a long boycott by the Sze Yup people during the late 19th century. During the first half of the
20th century many Jiujiang people opened meat markets in California cities. In San Francisco,
Xiqiao people were in the tailoring trade while most Chinese stores dealing in silks were operated
by Shishan merchants. The few major Chinese overall factories in the San Francisco Bay Area
were run by people of Shunde origin. Early Hua Xian immigrants operated or worked in laundries,
garment factories, and restaurants and truck farms in San Francisco and in rural California. By the
third decade of the 20th century, however, some began opening meat markets in San Joaquin
Valley towns. After World War II many expanded into supermarkets, shopping malls, and other
businesses.
During the 19th century many prominent Chinese in San Francisco were of Sam Yup
origin. One of the best known was Li Po Tai 黎普泰, herbal physician from Shunde who had
prominent Californians such as Governor Leland Stanford among his patients. Another
well-known to the San Francisco business community was Loo Kum Shu 盧金蘇 of Panyu
ancestry who managed the China telephone exchange in San Francisco Chinatown. Going into
the 20th century, Sam Yup merchants continued to play a leading role. They were among the
founders of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce during the 1900s. In the 1920s Rev. Chan Lok
Sang 陳樂生 of Nanhai was head of the fund-raising committee for construction of the Chinese
Hospital 東華醫院 in San Francisco.
By the first quarter of the 20th century, however, there were also major Hua Xian
entrepreneurs who rivaled Sam Yup business leaders in prominence. One of these was D. W.
Low 劉棣華, founder of Shanghai Low restaurant and part owner of New Shanghai Tea Garden,
Grandview Motion Picture Company, and a number of other enterprises.
Due to the fact that a number of Sam Yup merchants and professionals had families in
America, there was a growing American-born population of Sam Yup ancestry by the turn of the
century. Among these were Dick Chun (better known as Chun Dick) 陳德, Gunn Ng (better known as
Ng Gunn) 吳根 of Nanhai, Tai Wing Li (better known as Li Tai Wing) 黎泰榮 of Shunde, and Robert L.
Park 梁貴柏 of Punyu descent, all of whom were among the founders of Native Sons of the Golden State
同源局 in 1895. This was the predecessor to the contemporary civic organization, Chinese American
Citizens Alliance 同源會. The increasing American-born population also led Fook Yum Benevolent
Society 南海福蔭堂, formed by Nanhai people, to found the Nam Kue School 南僑學校 in San
Francisco in 1919. It remains the only major Chinese language school successfully run by a
native-place association.
During this period many of the younger generation led the effort to enter many occupations
in mainstream America. In 1910 Tye Leung 梁亞娣 of Panyu descent became the first Chinese
woman to receive a federal appointment when she became the assistant to the matron in charge of
the Angel Island Immigration Station. In 1912 she was alleged to be the first Chinese female ever to vote
in an American presidential election. In Los Angeles Mamie Louise Leung 譚羅蘭 of Shunde descent
19
became one of the first Chinese to work as a reporter at a mainstream newspaper when the Los
Angeles Record hired her in 1926. In banking Dolly Gee 曾荷珠 of Nanhai became a pioneer when
she became manager of the Chinatown branch of the Bank of America in 1929.
After World War II American-born as well as immigrants continued their advance into the
professions. Choh Hoh Li 李卓皓 of Panyu ancestry was a well-known researcher and professor of
biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and received numerous awards for important
contributions to the field. Kathy Quan 關少蘭 of Nanhai ancestry became one of the few Chinese
playing a leadership role in the labor movement. In 1996 she became the first Asian American to be
elected as international vice president of the Union of Needle Trades, Industrial, and Textile
Employees.
In the performing arts Victor Sen Young 冼耀昌 of Nanhai descent became an actor in
Hollywood films during the mid-1930s, while American-born Bruce Lee 李小龍 of Shunde descent
was remembered by many as having introduced kungfu to American audiences through his roles in
American- and Hong Kong-produced films from the 1950s to the 1970s.
As the Hua Xian community grew, it also produced its prominent individuals. In the political
arena, there were Superior Court Judge Harry Low 王百昌 of San Francisco and California
Secretary of State March Fong Eu 江月桂 of Alameda County. In the field of civil rights there was
Yvonne Lee 李艷紅 of San Francisco. In the business sector there was David K. Lam 林傑屏 of
Silicon Valley, while in the performing arts there was Dennis Dun 江演恆—grandson of a Stockton
meat market owner, who rose to prominence during the mid-1980s.
Him Mark Lai
March 31, 2008
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Notes
In May 1925, guards at a Japanese textile plant in Shanghai killed a Chinese worker who was
part of a delegation demanding better working conditions. This inflamed the public, leading to a
demonstration in Shanghai on May 30 to protest the killing. When British gendarmes opened fire
and killed three while wounding 18 demonstrators, it led to more anti-imperialist protests and
demonstrations all over China.
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