![Khoo Kongsi (I)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Khoo_Kongsi_%28I%29.jpg)
Kongsi () is a
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
transcription term meaning "
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
", especially businesses which have been
incorporated. However, the word has other meanings under different historical contexts. ''Kongsi'' were most commonly known as Chinese social organizations or partnerships, but the term was also used for various Chinese institutions.
Amongst
overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese.
Terminology
() or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
, the word ''kongsi'' was applied to reference both clan organizations, whose members shared a common descent, and to district-dialect clubs, for Chinese immigrants originating from the same district speaking the same dialect. In the late 19th century, these district-dialect associations came to be known as ''wui gun'' (''huiguan''; ), especially in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
where many Chinese from eight districts on the west side of the
Pearl River Delta
The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) 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-Mac ...
near the City of
Canton went for the
California gold rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that 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 fro ...
.
Southeast Asia
In Southeast Asia, the
kongsi republics
The kongsi republics (), also known as kongsi democracies () or kongsi federations (), were self-governing political entities in Borneo that formed as federations of Chinese mining communities known as kongsis. By the mid-nineteenth century, the ...
were made up of
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
Chinese mining communities that united into political entities that functioned as self-governing states. By the mid-nineteenth century, the kongsi republics controlled most of western
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
. The three largest kongsi republics were the
Lanfang Republic
The Lanfang Republic (, Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Làn-fông Khiung-fò-koet''), also known as Lanfang Company (), was a Chinese kongsi federation and a tributary state of Qing China in Western Borneo. It was established by a Hakka Chinese named in 1 ...
, the
Heshun Republic (Fosjoen), and the
Santiaogou Federation (Samtiaokioe).
Functions of the Kongsi system
The system of ''kongsi'' was utilized by Cantonese throughout the
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
to overcome economic difficulty, social ostracism, and oppression. In today's
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
communities throughout the world, this approach has been adapted to the modern environment, including political and legal factors. The kongsi is similar to modern business partnerships, but also draws on a deeper spirit of cooperation and consideration of mutual welfare. It is believed by some that the development and thriving of Cantonese communities worldwide are the direct result of the kongsi concept. A vast number of Cantonese-run firms and businesses that were born as ''kongsi'' ended up as multinational conglomerates.
See also
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Chinese ancestral worship
Chinese ancestor veneration, also called Chinese ancestor worship, is an aspect of the Chinese traditional religion which revolves around the ritual celebration of the deified ancestors and tutelary deities of people with the same surname org ...
*
Ancestral shrine
An ancestral shrine, hall or temple ( or , vi, Nhà thờ họ; Chữ Hán: 家祠户), also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition. Ancestra ...
&
ancestral tablets
A spirit tablet, memorial tablet, or ancestral tablet, is a placard used to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor as well as to enclose it. The name of the deity or past ancestor is usually inscribed onto the tablet. With origins in tr ...
*
Zupu
A Chinese kin, lineage or sometimes rendered as clan, is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral home.
Description
Chinese kinship tend to b ...
&
Chinese lineage associations
A Chinese kin, lineage or sometimes rendered as clan, is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral home.
Description
Chinese kinship tend to be ...
*
Penghu Shuixian Temple
Penghu Shuixian Temple ( zh, t=澎湖水仙宮, p=Pēnghú Shuǐxiān Gōng), is a Taoism, Taoist temple in Magong, Magong, Penghu. Built in 1696 by Xue Kui (薛奎), a military officer of Penghu Navy, it mainly serves the Shuixian Zunwang, f ...
(Taixiajiao Kongsi)
*
Eng Chuan Tong Tan Kongsi
Eng Chuan Tong Tan Kongsi () is a Hokkien clan house at Beach Street in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. It was founded in the early 19th century by a Tan family from the Fujian province of Zhangzhou in China. The building is a place of worship de ...
, Malaysia
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Khoo Kongsi
The Khoo Kongsi is a large Chinese clanhouse with elaborate and highly ornamented architecture, a mark of the dominant presence of the Chinese in Penang, Malaysia. The famous Khoo Kongsi is the grandest clan temple in the country. It is also on ...
, Malaysia
*
Ngee Ann Kongsi
The Ngee Ann Kongsi () is a charitable foundation located in Singapore and governed by the Ngee Ann Kongsi Ordinance of 1933. It is one of many Overseas Chinese Kongsi, or clan associations, that were set up by immigrants from China in the late ...
(義安公司), Singapore
*
Kongsi republic
The kongsi republics (), also known as kongsi democracies () or kongsi federations (), were self-governing political entities in Borneo that formed as federations of Chinese mining communities known as kongsis. By the mid-nineteenth century, the ...
(
Lanfang Republic
The Lanfang Republic (, Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Làn-fông Khiung-fò-koet''), also known as Lanfang Company (), was a Chinese kongsi federation and a tributary state of Qing China in Western Borneo. It was established by a Hakka Chinese named in 1 ...
)
*
Tong (organization)
A ''tong'' ()Chin, Ko-lin. "Chinatowns and Tongs". ''In Chinese Subculture and Criminality: Non-Traditional Crime Groups in America''. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990 is a type of organization found among Chinese immigrants predominantly living i ...
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Hui (secret society)
Hui () is a Chinese word, generally meaning 'conference', but which is sometimes used to refer to a secret society. It is often mutually interchangeable with terms like kongsi (), a term generally used to mean 'corporation' or 'company'. For ...
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Ghee Hin Kongsi
The Ghee Hin Kongsi () was a secret society in Singapore and Malaya, formed in 1820. Ghee Hin literally means "the rise of righteousness" in Chinese and was part of the Hongmen overseas network. The Ghee Hin often fought against the Hakka-dominat ...
(義興公司)
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Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor
Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor ({{zh, t= 義 興 公司, p=Yì Xīng Gōngsī; Teochew Pêh-uē-jī: ''Ngĭ Heng Kong-si''; 1844–1916) was a Teochew secret society that founded the earliest Chinese settlement in Johor. However, it did not have a cl ...
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Hai San Secret Society
The Hai San Society (), which had its origins in Southern China,Encyclopædia Britannica was a Penang-based Chinese secret society established around 1820 and in 1825 led by Low, Ah ChongTriad Societies: Western Accounts of the History, Sociology ...
References
External links
The Clan Associations or Kongsis of Penang, Malaysia - via FamilySearchKhoo Kongsi Official Website{{Authority control
Chinese clans
Chinese culture
Chinese diaspora
Chinese secret societies
Family associations
Hokkien-language phrases