Manila Chinese Cemetery
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The Manila Chinese Cemetery (; es, Cementerío para chinos) is the second oldest cemetery in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
after
La Loma Cemetery The La Loma Catholic Cemetery (Spanish: ''Campo Santo de La Loma'') was opened in 1884 and is largely located in Caloocan, Metro Manila. A portion of the southern part of the cemetery is located in Manila. The La Loma Cemetery is the oldest ceme ...
. The cemetery includes Christian, Buddhist and Taoist burials. The present-day cemetery is a vaguely trapezoidal area of about with an irregular network of roads its old pre-war part along Rizal Avenue Extension, reflecting its gradual evolution and expansion. Meanwhile, the post-war portion has three major roads bisected by minor roads, aligned NW to SE. Matandang Sora, coming from the main entrance in Felix Huertas going towards Chong Hock Temple, is the main road today. Before the Pacific War the main entrances faced Avenida Rizal. This northwestern is the oldest and most historically significant part of the cemetery. The cemetery was witness to many executions during World War II. Among them were Girl Scouts organizer Josefa Llanes Escoda, Filipino Brigadier General and hero during World War II and Boy Scouts of the Philippines charter member
Vicente Lim Vicente Podico Lim (February 24, 1888 – December 31, 1944) was a Filipino brigadier general and World War II hero. Lim was the first Filipino graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point (Class of 1914). Prior to the establish ...
, literary geniuses Rafael Roces and
Manuel Arguilla Manuel Estabilla Arguilla ( Nagrebcan, Bauang, June 17, 1911 – beheaded, Manila Chinese Cemetery, August 30, 1944) was an Ilokano writer in English, patriot, and martyr. He is known for his widely anthologized short story "How My Brother Le ...
, star athlete-turned-guerrilla spy
Virgilio Lobregat Virgilio Lobregat (23 May 1901 – 30 August 1944) was a Filipino sportsman best known as a football player. He competed for the Philippines national football team at the Far Eastern Games. During World War II, he fought the Japanese as a guerri ...
, and Chinese Consul General Yang Guangsheng.
Apolinario Mabini Apolinario Mabini y Maranan (, July 23, 1864 – May 13, 1903) was a Filipino revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer, and statesman who served first as a legal and constitutional adviser to the Revolutionary Government, and then as the firs ...
was also buried in the cemetery before his remains were transferred to
Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...
on July 23, 1956.


History

Prior to the establishment of the Manila Chinese Cemetery, Chinese who observed
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
had their burial grounds on a hill slope in Bangkusay, Tondo, near
San Lazaro Hospital The San Lazaro Hospital (SLH) is a tertiary health facility in Manila, Philippines. It is a referral facility for communicable diseases and is one of the retained special tertiary hospital of the Department of Health and is funded by subsidy fr ...
. In 1843, the Governor-General authorized the Chinese to establish a cemetery in La Loma. It was founded by Lim Ong and Tan Quien Sien (Carlos Palanca) in the 1850s. It was also enlarged on its present site in 1863 when Ong, the ''gobernadorcillo'' (mayor) of the Chinese community in Binondo, purchased land in La Loma to provide a decent burial ground for Catholic and non-Catholic Chinese. It would also cater outcasts of society (like those that died from contagious diseases and people who are political enemies of the Spanish Crown) excluded from the nearby
La Loma Cemetery The La Loma Catholic Cemetery (Spanish: ''Campo Santo de La Loma'') was opened in 1884 and is largely located in Caloocan, Metro Manila. A portion of the southern part of the cemetery is located in Manila. The La Loma Cemetery is the oldest ceme ...
's consecrated grounds. It was also later expanded in 1878 by Don Mariano Fernando Yu Chingco, a subsequent ''gobernadorcillo'', when he bought land worth to expand the cemetery from the Dominican Provincial which used to own the Hacienda de La Loma from which the cemetery was built. This cemetery catered the poor Chinese who could not afford to return to China to bury or send their dead.


Temples and memorials


Chong Hock Tong Temple

Built in 1878, the Chong Hock Tong Temple (), prior to its demolition in 2015, was the oldest pre-War Chinese memorial temple in Manila. Its architecture was reminiscent of (but not as elaborate as) southern Fujian temples, as well as those in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, & Taiwan, with their colorful friezes and uniquely upturned eaves; a unique feature were its lateral belfries appended at each end, an obvious Christian influence. Its demolition on 15 March 2015 by the cemetery's management body Philippine Chinese Charitable Association (PCCA), supposedly due to termite damage, was denounced by heritage conservationists as a violation of R.A. 10066 ( National Heritage Act of 2009), despite not being declared by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) as a historical landmark. The PCCA countered, claiming that the temple was on private property. Supposedly the temple was to be rebuilt in a similar manner by a team of Taiwanese craftsmen & artisans, but was actually reconstructed as an all-stone edifice by mainland Chinese builders, which was then unveiled in a ceremony on 14 June 2017. It is the only Chinese memorial temple to simultaneously host
Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...
,
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, & Christian services, the three major religious beliefs of the Filipino Chinese community. A unique feature that reflects this religious syncretism is the main altar laden with figures of the crucified Christ,
the Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...
, Catholic saints,
Taoist Deities Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
,
Lord Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
, Amitabha & prominent Buddhist
Bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...
(such as
Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...
, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, & Kṣitigarbha).


Liat See Tong Hall

Liat See Tong Temple () was built in the early 1950s in honor of the 10 Chinese community leaders who were executed by the Japanese during World War II. Due to heightened anti-Japanese sentiment among the Chinese stemming from the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
(preceded in 1931 by the Mukden Incident & the immediate
Japanese invasion of Manchuria The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden Incident. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Their occupation lasted until the ...
), the Japanese were wary of the potential trouble the Chinese might cause; as soon as Japan invaded the Philippines, one of their first activities after occupation was the rounding up & subsequent execution of prominent Chinese community leaders. Above the entrance beam is the dedicatory quote, May their noble spirits ever endure ().


Kong Tek Tong Hall

Kong Tek Tong Hall () serves as a columbarium for less-affluent burials. Their services extend to the cemetery's perimeter wall niches, where usage is free of charge.


Carlos Palanca Memorial

Located in front of Chong Hock Tong Temple, to which he is credited for financing its construction, the Carlos Palanca Memorial honors ''Don'' Carlos Palanca (Tan Quien Sien) (), illustrious 19th-century Chinese community leader and businessman. It was through his efforts as ''gobernadorcillo'' that the cemetery & Chong Hock Tong Temple were built; as only baptized Catholics were permitted burial in the city cemeteries (like the nearby
La Loma Cemetery The La Loma Catholic Cemetery (Spanish: ''Campo Santo de La Loma'') was opened in 1884 and is largely located in Caloocan, Metro Manila. A portion of the southern part of the cemetery is located in Manila. The La Loma Cemetery is the oldest ceme ...
), the need arose for the non-Christian Chinese (termed by the Spanish authorities as ''Chino infieles'', "infidel Chinese") to have their own cemetery.


Cemetery Renovation Memorial

The Manila Chinese Cemetery Renovation Memorial () is located adjacent to the front of Liat See Tong Hall.


Apolinario Mabini Pyramid

Located along a street named in his honor (馬美爾路),
Apolinario Mabini Apolinario Mabini y Maranan (, July 23, 1864 – May 13, 1903) was a Filipino revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer, and statesman who served first as a legal and constitutional adviser to the Revolutionary Government, and then as the firs ...
's former burial site is marked by a
triangular pyramid In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all the ...
on a raised pedestal, symbolic of his Masonic beliefs (hence his original interment at the cemetery in 1903); and a historical marker by the NHCP (then the "Philippine Historical Committee") affixed in 1963, 7 years after his remains were exhumed & reburied in his hometown at
Tanauan, Batangas Tanauan, officially the City of Tanauan ( fil, Lungsod ng Tanauan), is a 2nd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 cens ...
.


Dr. Clarence Kuangson Young Memorial

Built in 1948 by the Filipino Chinese community, the Dr. Clarence Kuangson Young Memorial () pays tribute to the martyrdom of Dr. Clarence Kuangson Young (楊光泩; 8 August 1900 – 17 April 1942), former Consul General (1939-1942) of the Republic of China to the
Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, and his 7 consular staff members, who refused
General MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
's offers of evacuation as it was their diplomatic duty to protect the overseas (Chinese) community, and that they will not leave their posts without any authorization. The 8 diplomats were among the first of the Chinese community to be rounded up by the Japanese authorities, and after 3 months of incarceration, continuous threats, suppression, & torture, were eventually massacred and buried within the cemetery grounds. At the memorial base is a plaque bearing Dr. Clarence Kuangson Young's name, title, & calligraphy by Chiang Kai-shek bearing the elegiac couplet, Allegiance towards lofty ideals ().


Philippine Chinese Anti-Japanese War Memorial Complex

Located at the corner of Consul General Young (光泩跆) & Matandang Sora Roads, the complex consists of the Philippine Chinese Anti-Japanese War Memorial () stele built in 1979, & behind it the much larger Philippine Chinese Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall (). These structures commemorate the combined resistance efforts of the Filipino & Chinese communities during World War II. Two historical markers from the NHCP commemorating the Wha-Chi guerilla forces (1994 & 2005) are affixed on each side of the entrance of the Memorial Hall.


Sun Yat-sen's Motto

Along Consul General Young Road is Sun Yat-sen's personal motto, What is under heaven is for all () inscribed on the street-facing rear wall of a private plot.


Ruby Tower Memorial

Built in 1974 and located behind Liat See Tong Temple, the August 2, 1968 Ruby Tower Memorial () is dedicated to the 260 mostly
Filipino Chinese Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mostly of southern Fujianese ancestry, where the majority are born ...
victims who perished in the collapse of the
Ruby Tower The Ruby Tower was a six-story building in Manila, Philippines, completed that collapsed on August 2, 1968, during the Casiguran earthquake killing over 250 people. Background The building, constructed at a cost of $250,000, was located on the ...
building in
Santa Cruz, Manila Santa Cruz is a district in the northern part of the City of Manila, Philippines, located on the right bank of the Pasig River near its mouth, bordered by the districts of Tondo, Binondo, Quiapo, and Sampaloc, as well as the areas of Grace ...
during the
1968 Casiguran earthquake The 1968 Casiguran earthquake occurred on with a moment magnitude of 7.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The thrust earthquake's epicenter was in Casiguran, Quezon (now part of Aurora province). A small non-destructive t ...
. Save for a portion of the first & second floors at its northern end (presently preserved as a separate memorial hall to the victims), the entire six-story building collapsed, triggering allegations of poor design & construction, as well as use of low-quality building materials.


Ancestry

According to a study of around 30,000 gravestones in the Manila Chinese Cemetery with marked birthplaces or ancestral cities of the interred, 89.26% were from within the Minnan region in Southern
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
province, while 9.86% were from
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 ar ...
regions in
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. More specifically on those of the Minnan region, 65.01% hailed from Jinjiang, 17.25% from Nan’an, 7.94% from
Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an ...
(city proper), 2.90% from Hui’an (Quanzhou), 1.52% from Longxi, 1.21% from Siming, 1.14% from Quanzhou (city proper), 1.10% from Tong’an, 0.83% from Shishi, 0.57% from Yongchun, and 0.53% from Anxi.


Notable burials

* Dee C. Chuan (1888–1940), founder of the first Chinese bank in the Philippines (
Chinabank China Banking Corporation (; ), commonly known as China Bank, is a Filipino bank established in 1920. It was the first privately owned local commercial bank in the Philippines initially catering to the banking needs of Chinese Filipino businesspe ...
), the Philippines' oldest existing Chinese-language newspaper
Chinese Commercial News The ''Chinese Commercial News'' (, lit. "Philippine Commercial News"), colloquially called the ''Commercial News'' or ''Siong Po'' (, ''Commercial News'' in Hokkien), is a daily broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines written in the Chinese langua ...
; as well as the war-time resistance group "Philippine Chinese Resist-the-Enemy Association"菲律宾华侨援助抗敌委员会
/ref> (), known simply by its shortened name "Khong Tiak Hue" () that campaigned for a Japanese trade boycott in the Philippines *
Ma Mon Luk Ma Wen-lu (), known in the Philippines as Ma Mon Luk (), was a Chinese immigrant best known in the Philippines for his eponymous restaurant, and for being the alleged creator of mami (a noodle soup) and popularizer of siopao (a steamed bun base ...
(1896–1961), Chinese cuisine restaurateur known for
Mami soup Mami (pronounced: ) is a popular Filipino noodle soup made with wheat flour noodles, broth and the addition of meat (chicken, beef, pork) or wonton dumplings. It is related to the ''pancit'' class of noodle dishes, and the noodles themselves ar ...
; along with his 2 wives *
Vicente Lim Vicente Podico Lim (February 24, 1888 – December 31, 1944) was a Filipino brigadier general and World War II hero. Lim was the first Filipino graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point (Class of 1914). Prior to the establish ...
(1888–1944), Filipino Brigadier General during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...


Notes


References


External links


Chinese cemetery was a bloody battlegroundArchitecture of Manila Chinese Cemetery
{{Manila landmarks Chinese cemeteries Cemeteries in Metro Manila Landmarks in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Santa Cruz, Manila