Chun Chik-yu (); June 12, 1859 – October 18, 1936) was a Chinese-Hawaiian businessman who served briefly as Governor of
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
Province from 1922 to 1923. He was born Toney Afong, full name Antone Abram Kekapala Keawemauhili Afong.
Early life
He was born on June 12, 1859, the eldest son and second child of
Chun Afong
Chun Afong (; 1825 – September 25, 1906) was a Chinese businessman and philanthropist who settled in the Hawaiian Kingdom during the 19th century and built a business empire in Hawaii, Macau and Hong Kong. He immigrated to Hawaii from Guangdo ...
and
Julia Fayerweather Afong. Considered the first Chinese millionaire in Hawaii, his father was a wealthy Honolulu merchant originally from
Zhuhai
Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...
,
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
. His mother was a British-Hawaiian woman of ''
aliʻi'' (noble) descent. He had fifteen siblings and at least three half-siblings from his father's first wife Lee Hong in China.
Afong took Toney to China in June 1862. He left his Hawaiian son to live with his Chinese wife and family in Meixi and took his eldest Chinese son
Alung back to Hawaii to raise in each other's respective culture for the next seven years. Toney returned with Afong and his half-brother in 1869. Back in Honolulu, Alung was enrolled at
Punahou School
Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...
(called Oahu College) and Toney at
ʻIolani School (called St. Alban's College). Both brothers were prepared for college at Hartford Public High School in Connecticut. Alung later enrolled in
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
under the tutelage of
Yung Wing
Yung Wing (; November 17, 1828April 21, 1912) was a Chinese-American diplomat and businessman. In 1854, he became the first Chinese student to graduate from an American university, Yale College. He was involved in business transactions between Ch ...
.
Toney was also said to have enrolled in either
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
, Yale or
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, although there are no known records of his attendance in either of these institutions.
Career
Unlike his Hawaiian siblings, Toney later left Hawaii and settled in China with his father. He became a successful businessman in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
with another half-brother Chun Kang-yu. They invested heavily in real estate, shipping, railroads, merchandising, and agriculture. He was influential in the
Chinese General Chamber of Commerce
The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCCHK; ) is a non-profit organization of local Chinese firms and businessmen based in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1900 by Ho Fook and Lau Chu-pak, two prominent leaders of the Chinese community during th ...
in Hong Kong and instrumental in the founding of the
University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大å¸) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...
.
The brothers were early supporters of
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
, the founder of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
who had also been a student at Punahou School in Honolulu. They later allied themselves with Guangdong warlord
Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming, (; 18 January 187822 September 1933), courtesy name Jingcun (ç«žå˜/競å˜), nickname Ayan (阿烟/阿煙), was a Hailufeng Hokkien revolutionary figure in the early period of the Republic of China.
Early life
Chen Jiongming wa ...
who advocated for a federalist model of government based on the United States against Sun's centralized approach based on the Russia. With the backing of Chen, Toney was elected as governor of
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
from 1922 to 1923 before being ousted by supporters of Sun. His son Chun Wing-Sen, who became a general under Chen, was shot and killed in the streets of Hong Kong in 1924, possibly a political assassination. Toney retired to Macau and spent the rest of his life collecting Chinese antiques.
Personal life
He married Julien Chang and had three children: Chun Wing-Sen (), Irene Chun Wing-Luen, Chun Wing-Keu. He also had six concubines but did not have children with them. Irene married T. Y. Lau, the son of
Lew Yuk Lin, the last
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
ambassador to the
Court of St James's
The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...
. His son Chun Wing-Sen (1827–1924) was a member of the Yale College class of 1912 and became a general under Chen Jiongming before his death.
Notes
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chun, Chik-yu
1859 births
1936 deaths
Hawaii people of Chinese descent
People from Honolulu
People from Zhuhai
Businesspeople from Guangdong
Hong Kong businesspeople
Macau businesspeople
ʻIolani School alumni
Governors of Guangdong
Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni