The Lung Kong Tin Yee Association, also known as the Four Families (四姓), is a worldwide ethnic

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

, primarily a four-surname clan association for

overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...

. The ''Lung Kong Ancient Temple'' was founded 1662 in

Kaiping Kaiping (), postal map romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized in Cantonese as Hoiping, in local dialect as Hoihen, is a county-level city in Guangdong provinces of China, Province, China. It is located in the western secti ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, China. In 1870s, the first overseas Lung Kong associations were established in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Since then, the Lung Kong associations have grown and spread over the world, fueled by the Chinese diaspora, with total membership in the millions.

History

The ''Lung Kong Ancient Temple'' was founded 1662 by members of the four clans -- Liu (劉), Guan (關), Zhang (張), Zhao (趙) -- in the village of Lung Kong (Longgang), Shuikou district in

(開平),

(廣東), to foster the moral community and unity of the Four Families (四姓一家). The solidarity of the four clans can be traced all the way back to the sworn brotherhood in the late

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

of the Four Brothers:

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...

劉備 (161–223),

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

關羽 (160–220),

Zhang Fei Zhang Fei () (; died July or August 221 AD), courtesy name Yide (益德), was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period ...

張飛 (?–221), and

Zhao Yun Zhao Yun ( ) (died 229), courtesy name Zilong (), was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came ...

趙雲 (?–229). In 184, Lui Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, took the following legendary oath of brotherhood at the Peach Garden; in 200, Zhao Yun joined them to form the Four Brothers.

Lung Kong in the United States

California

The

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

and construction of the

transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...

in the mid-1800s led many men, mainly Cantonese from the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, ...

Province, to immigrate to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Due to social hostilities and discrimination, most immigrants were forced to stay in the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

area. Many different family groups started to form clan associations. In 1876, the four families of (in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

) Lew (劉), Quan (關), Jung (張), and Chew (趙) built a "Lung Kong Ancient Temple" in the heart of San Francisco Chinatown, a replica of the same Temple in Shui Kou district (水口镇) of

Hoiping Kaiping (), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Hoiping, in local dialect as Hoihen, is a county-level city in Guangdong Province, China. It is located in the western section of the Pearl River Delta and administered as part of the prefectur ...

(開平) built in 1662 as a place of worship and meetings. As years passed, more four-family members arrived in San Francisco. Around 1895, two four-family associations had organized: the San Francisco Lung Kong Association and the San Francisco Mu Tin Association (later changing its name to Ming Yee Association). The former engaged in fraternal activities such as providing a place for meetings, promoting social activities for members, and aiding newly arrived members from Guangdong Province, China. The latter was formed for the protection of its members from unfair hostilities. The

San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensit ...

of 1906 completely destroyed the Temple and all historical records. In 1910, the four-family forefathers built a new "Lung Kong Building" at 1034

Stockton Street Stockton Street is a north-south street in San Francisco. It begins at Market Street passing Union Square, a major shopping district in the city. It then runs underground for about two and a half blocks in Stockton Street Tunnel (lending its ...

which became the home of the San Francisco Lung Kong Association. In 1924, another building was acquired at 924 Grant Avenue, named the "Ming Yee Building", in which the San Francisco Lung Kong Association has resided ever since. As economic opportunities began to open across the country, four-family members traveled to different parts of the country to work, settle, and form additional four-family associations with names such as Lung Kong (龍岡), Mu Tin (睦親), Ming Yee (名義), and Four Brothers (四兄弟).

References

External links

Pan American Lung Kong Tin Yee Association
{{Authority control Chinese clans Chinese culture Chinese diaspora Family associations Tongs (organizations) Chinese-American organizations Buildings and structures destroyed by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake Chinatown, San Francisco