HCHC is open on Wednesdays from 10am to 12pm.
Appointments are required/requested.
Masks mandates are followed.
HCHC Contact Info -- e-mail hchc71989@gmail.com Office Telephone (808) 521-5948
The 49th annual Living Treasures of Hawai‘i event in early February recently honored five exceptional people who have made significant contributions to their respective fields and Hawaii’s multifaceted culture.
HCHC president Douglas D. L. Chong was one of the 5 hornored in the 2024 event.
The following quote is from the Feb. 5, 2024 article by Pat Gee in the Star-Advertiser. " Living Treasures luncheon to fete 5 Hawaii residents".
" Douglas D.L Chong is the preeminent authority on the history of the Chinese in the islands. Fluent in five Chinese dialects, he is active in practicing and teaching the rituals and practices of Chinese memorial rites, and other means of cultural preservation."
HCHC ANNOUNCEMENT!! It's Here!
RESEARCHING ONE'S CHINESE ROOTS IN HAWAII.
Cost $25.00
The reprinted version of "Researching One's Chinese Roots in Hawaii" has been reprinted. This extremely rare publication was first published 20 years ago.
Get it now! While this limited edition is still available.
Contents: Family surnames, Origin of South China families, maps, organizations, Chinese families of Punalu'u, Kaua'i, Big Island, Maui, and many more.
Another HCHC Acquired Publication.
An addtion to the "Honolulu Chinatown" Book, below.
By Gary R. Coover.
Price: $10.00
Available at the HCHC Office.
Latest HCHC Bookstore Addition
Brand new fresh off the the press.
Honolulu Chinatown 200 Years of Red Lanterns & Red Lights.
by Gary Coover
Comprehensive history of early ChInese stores and business properties from the years 1850 – 1950.
BUSINESS | HAWAII NEWS | REARVIEW MIRROR
Hawaii’s Chinese Roots Run Deep Through Isle History
By Bob Sigall | February 23, 2018 (Star Advertiser)
My Chinese friends and readers often encourage me to write about the history of their ethnicity. That’s why I was happy to hear from Douglas D.L. Chong, president of the Hawaii Chinese History Center.
The Hawaii Chinese History Center is 48 years old and is the second-oldest Chinese historical center in the U.S. It is located in the heart of Honolulu’s Chinatown.
I asked him to share with my readers some of the interesting highlights of Chinese history in the islands.
“Hawaii’s Chinese roots go deep through island history,” he told me. “Most people think that Chinese only eat and do lion dancing at the Lunar New Year, but there is a lot more.”
“Chinese began migrating to Hawaii nearly 230 years ago,” Chong says, “due to civil unrest, famine, wars and colonial imperialism occurring in China during that time.
Click link above to view details
Interviews, YouTube and Podcasts
Living 808 June 2018 - Chinese Heritage Week (w/permission from KHON)
YouTube Video - Think Tank Hawaii
Podcast.com - Marvels of China: Pathways to the PACIFIC RIM
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PBS Hawaii Classics
(original: 2/1/1984. Re-broadcast: 1/18/2023)
Narcissus Festival in Hawaii
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Sun Yat Sen's Supporters and the Origins of the Revolution in Honolulu
Celebrations, Customs &Traditions
First Day of Issue New Year Stamp
Chinese Chamber Young Professionals
Chinese New Year of the Golden Pig and Gee Yung Lion Dance History
Sun Yat Sen in Hawaii by Douglas Chong and Prof. Hong Jiang (in Chinese and English )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0H6HJ_nLtU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NwH2l593Ts
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - About three-fourths of all Chinese in Hawaii trace their roots to Zhongshan — right above Macau and right across from Hong Kong.
Douglas Chong, president of the Hawaii Chinese History Center, said Western history puts the first Chinese arrivals to Hawaii at 1789.
“But Chinese know better,” he said. “It was before that. Everybody thinks they only came as sugar plantation laborers. That’s very late in the history.”
Chong says the earliest arrivals actually came in 1785 — first as sailors, then traders and sandalwood exporters. The 1800s marked the very beginning of Chinatown on King Street.
“What we’re seeing is the result of Robert Bonine, a cameraman for Thomas Edison. He had a camera that he hand cranked as he went down King Street, on the electric rail,” said Barnhill.
“Some of the markets down at Mauna Kea street look very similar to how they look now with their flapping awnings and you can see merchants are out there selling fruit and fish.”
“All the Zhongshan merchants start their stores, their community here (in Chinatown). Although they had wives in China, all of them married Hawaiian white girls,” said Chong.
“Sometimes people will say my grandmother was pure Hawaiian and yet, when you look at her picture, she doesn’t look it, she has white blood, she has Chinese blood.”
In 1879, a young Sun Yat Sen arrived from Zhongshan to Hawaii.
“He came and he saw and he wanted an education,” said Chong.
Sun Yat Sen attended several Hawaii schools, including Iolani and Punahou, to learn about Western history and that’s when he began to get ideas of how to modernize and unite China.
“We see his ideas about government for all people beginning to form,” said Iolani School Archivist Georgina Tom. “After Sun Yat Sen spent time here in Hawaii he went on to lead the resistance.”
In 1911, Dr. Sun Yat Sen successfully put an end to Western colonialism and imperial forces in China. “He is the father of our country. He is the father of modern China,” said Chong.
His home is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Zhongshan, the county renamed after him.
“All the sugarcane grown in Hawaii, pineapple, mangoes, starfruit, pakalana, pikake, all of these things all came from Zhongshan,” said Chong.
Today, more than 4 million people live in Honolulu’s sister city. Walking around the town, it’s hard to believe the area was once farmland and is now a major, bustling bright city.
“This province is reputed as Chinese New York because so many opportunities to get job or to make money,” said Zhongshan resident Dragon Cao. “There are so many factories especially in this area and buyers and suppliers from all over the world.”
Yet, in this rapidly developing province, its historical connection with Hawaii remains unchanged.
“We’re kind of a role model for the Asian community,” said Honolulu China Sister City Liaison Jeffrey Lau. “They love to see what we’re able to accomplish and they’re proud to call us American Chinese.”
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
See Dai Doo Society presents $5000 to HCHC
L>R: Leonard Kam (SDD Pres), Douglas Chong (HCHC Pres), Lucy Wong (SDD VP)
The U.S. Postal Service® rings in the Year of the Dog by issuing the 11th of 12 stamps in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series.
First-Day-of-Issue CeremonyCelebrating Lunar New YearYear of the Dog Forever® Stamp
The Year of the Dog begins February 16, 2018, and ends on February 4, 2019. The Postal Service commemorated the issuance of this stamp with a special First Day of Issue ceremony and featured remarks by Hawaii Chinese History Center president Douglas. D.L. Chong and USPS Pacific Area Vice President Larry Munoz following the official unveiling of the stamp..."
Hawaiian Historical Society Recognizes Douglas D. L. Chong
Hawaiian Historical Society
Kahu 'Ikena - Caretakers of Knowledge
Douglas D. L. Chong was one of 14 honored and recognized at the Hawaii Historical Society's "Kaku 'Ikena" dinner on October 21, 2017 .. for making important contributions to the preservation of Hawaiʻi’s history.
The Hawaii Chinese History Center, (HCHC), founded in Honolulu on October 31, 1970 and incorporated March 17, 1971, is an IRS Section 501(C)(3) non-profit organization. All contributions are tax deductible.
Goals:
Stimulate interest and research among the Chinese in their own history and family genealogies in Hawaii
Assist and guide them to make their experiences available to the large community through writing, research and publishing
Collect, inventory, record and preserve historical materials, documents and photographs, related to the Chinese in Hawaii
Results: In the past 44 years, the HCHC has been a leader in the United States for
Producing numerous publications on the Chinese in Hawaii
Guiding individuals, families and organizations in their efforts to research, write and publish their histories.
Membership: Open to all - Individuals, Families and Educational Organizations
tinyurl.com/hichinesehistory or tinyurl.com/hchc808