tongs and kes (sp?)

[sandra]

tongs are basically associations - usually in chinatown. i know blue_hoodie's family belongs to one. my family belongs to the lee association - 'jick seen tong' in chinese.

apparently, these tongs were created - per my grandfather - because many single men back in the day were unable to pay for burial plots in america. thus, they formed tongs to ensure that they would receive proper burials when they passed. members of the tong would have to pay membership fees - and the fees would be used to pay for these plots.

today, tongs have additional functions. our tongs award annual scholarships to its student members, hold annual fundraising dinners, and are a place for our older members to gather and play mahjong.

a related question - how difficult do you think it would be to motivate these tongs to become more politically involved in the community?

what other first-generation associations are out there?

[SunWuKong]

are the tongs in the US mostly based on regional origin in China? i've read that this is the case in Southeast Asia, and that part of the most prevailing similarities of the members of a tong is having the same dialect.

[sandra]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jun 10 2003, 11:14 PM
are the tongs in the US mostly based on regional origin in China? i've read that this is the case in Southeast Asia, and that part of the most prevailing similarities of the members of a tong is having the same dialect.

very true. the tong that my family belongs to speak primarily 'jung saan' - i have no idea how to translate that into english. i don't know of very many toisan tongs.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by kasia@Jun 11 2003, 03:15 AM
very true. the tong that my family belongs to speak primarily 'jung saan' - i have no idea how to translate that into english. i don't know of very many toisan tongs.

really? but your heung ha is in toi san right? that's interesting that your family belongs to a juhng saan tong. by the way, a friend of mine says that a lot of triad people come out of juhng saan, including cecilia cheung's family.

[sandra]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jun 10 2003, 11:20 PM
really?  but your heung ha is in toi san right?  that's interesting that your family belongs to a juhng saan tong.  by the way, a friend of mine says that a lot of triad people come out of juhng saan, including cecilia cheung's family.

i'm a jahp-jung (mixed). part toisan, part juhng saan :lol:

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by kasia@Jun 11 2003, 03:21 AM
i'm a jahp-jung (mixed). part toisan, part juhng saan :lol:

hahah oh i see. :lol:

by the way, jaap juhng is derogatory. in case you didn't know.

[sandra]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jun 10 2003, 11:23 PM
hahah oh i see.  :lol:

by the way, jaap juhng is derogatory.  in case you didn't know.

i'm okay with making self-depracating statements. :D

i'm a jaap-juhng and a jook sing. *sigh*


how about ke? the korean lottery clubs?

[AliBabaIncorporated]

overwhelmed with cantonese pinyin ... head gonna explode :! :! :!

Korean "gge" (in economics we just call it a Rotating Credit Association) also seems to be popular among Chinese and West Indians ... but the structure tends to be a lot more informal than a tong, from what I see. Basically just get a couple of guys who feel like pooling their savings, and they go at it. Not usually any regional basis. Certainly they don't hold banquets and give out scholarships.

[deez nuts]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Jun 11 2003, 05:44 PM
overwhelmed with cantonese pinyin ... head gonna explode  :!  :!  :!

Korean "gge" (in economics we just call it a Rotating Credit Association) also seems to be popular among Chinese and West Indians ... but the structure tends to be a lot more informal than a tong, from what I see. Basically just get a couple of guys who feel like pooling their savings, and they go at it. Not usually any regional basis. Certainly they don't hold banquets and give out scholarships.

i'm having deja vu

is this the whole biao hui and lai hui convo we had?

and i have no clue what this thread is about.

is this like a cult or something?

what's the mandarin word for it? or is it in mandarin and i can't read the pinyin? is it in cantonese? what's the chinese character? i'm lost.

[nonamerasian]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Jun 11 2003, 06:44 PM
Korean "gge" (in economics we just call it a Rotating Credit Association) also seems to be popular among Chinese and West Indians ... but the structure tends to be a lot more informal than a tong, from what I see. Basically just get a couple of guys who feel like pooling their savings, and they go at it. Not usually any regional basis. Certainly they don't hold banquets and give out scholarships.

West Indians call it "susu."

No mahjong is associated with it.

I'm not sure it can be compared to a tong.

[Emperor_Mike]

a related question - how difficult do you think it would be to motivate these tongs to become more politically involved in the community?

It would be difficult if there are no issues for the Tong to claim as their own. Activism usually germinates from social, commercial and political matters that affect the party or parties in question in a very personal way. So if you want to nurture the seed that is government power and influence in the making, you must give the people something to believe in, to champion, and to seize as a righteous cause they will hold dear to their hearts and minds.

[YuheiCarreau]

About these hui things... How exactly does it work? Does the person recieving the money that month just get the entire month's worth from the other members, or is some of the money left as savings, or what?

[nonamerasian]

Typically for susu, let's say 20 people want to put $100 in a pot weekly.

Every week everyone puts in their hand. Every twenty weeks you'll get all the money.

After that week you put in your $100 again, as will everyone else, and then one of the other 19 people collects the money and the cycle continues.

I don't think there is usually a "savings."

Is it the same for the gges, tongs, huis, whatevers?

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Jun 11 2003, 10:12 PM

i'm having deja vu

is this the whole biao hui and lai hui convo we had?

and i have no clue what this thread is about.

is this like a cult or something?

what's the mandarin word for it? or is it in mandarin and i can't read the pinyin? is it in cantonese? what's the chinese character? i'm lost.

if you're talking about what a "tong" is, it is this word: <img src='http://www.chinalanguage.com/cgi-bin/char.cgi?9ee8.gif[/img]

[tvbdude]

I don't think that's the right tong character. the bottom is suppose to be "to"-earth/land