HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS OF A "BRIDGING" PROCESS
HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS OF A "BRIDGING" PROCESS
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THE Chinese in the Philippines had several experiences of how bridging was applied to them. The advent of the Spaniards to the Philippines in the 16th century would provide the major political, economic, and religious forms of bridging. Some were pleasant while others were unpleasant however, any form of relating with the Chinese who were already in the Philippines doing trade since the 10th century would be considered as attempt of bridging with them. The encounter between the Chinese, the Filipinos, and the Spaniards reshaped the living conditions of the Chinese and the Filipinos who were already cohesively and peacefully having trade before the coming of colonizers. These forms of encounter will constitute the basis for further impetus of "bridging" which would be more religious and missionary in character.
The Chinese in the Philippines had been doing trade peacefully with the local Filipino inhabitants before the coming of the Spaniards. Recalling the building of the Philippine economy, no one escapes the importance of the Chinese traders and migrants. The were masons, carpenters, shoemakers, bakers, etc. The builders of churches and other edifices both in government and private individuals were both Chinese and Filipinos. Intermarriages were rampant during those early times of Spanish colonization. The national hero of the Philippines, Dr. Jose Rizal was a mestizo Chinese. Many political figures were mestizo Chinese like former President Sergio Osmena.
By the advent of the Spaniards to the Philippines, to build a cohesive Philippine society was not an easy one. The coming of the Spaniards was also an encounter of Western civilization. The meeting between the East and the West did not only bring "bridging" two distinct cultures but it also brought a history of broken bridges. The Chinese and the Filipinos who were in harmonious environment, were now struggling to live a new life characterized by a pluralistic setting. It is a fascinating adventure to look into the fabric of life of the Chinese in the Philippines because the vision and mission of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society are rooted in the experiences of the Chinese.
The pluralistic Philippine Society beginning from the 16th century did not guarantee a peaceful co-existence between Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino cultures. The Spaniards entered into relationship with the Chinese through trade, religion, and colonial expansion. The Chinese related with the Spaniards and the Filipinos through trade and merchandizing. The Filipinos were engaging trade with the Chinese while politics and religion with the Spaniards. Bridges between these cultures and institutions were built but there were also broken bridges that happened. These indicate that the relevance of an apostolate or a pastoral missionary is essential in the task of evangelization among the Chinese in the Philippines both in the past and in the present.
BUILDING BRIDGES
BROKEN BRIDGES
Trade: The Initial Bridge
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