Welcome to the 23rd
issue of the Yee Fung Toy Global Village Voice, an
electronic newsletter for the World Yee community.
In this issue we are
featuring celebrations of the annual Spring Banquets,
Ching Ming Festival and Parents Day celebrations from
associations around the world.
The World Yee Family
Association 4th International Convention was held
sucessfully in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Wednesday,
March 24th to Thursday, March 25th, 2010.
Immediately after the
World Yee Convention, the Yee Chung-sheung Ancestor
Hall Rehabilitation Ceremony Activity Program held in
in Kaiping, China from Sunday, March 28th through
Monday, March 29th was also very successful. A large
crowd was there to witness this historical event.
The trip to Kaiping
opened up unexpected opportunities. One was to make
contact with staff of the Fung Toy Monthly and discuss
alternatives to submitting articles and photos using
slow mail. We are now able to send articles to the
Monthly via email. We can also email your articles
written in Chinese and photos to the Monthly so they
could appear in both our Newsletter and the Fung Toy
Monthly (if the editors so decide). Another
opportunity was to tour the diaolou in the Kaiping
area. This opened our eyes to a UN world heritage site
in the midst of our ancestral villages.
Thanks to everyone for contributing advice, articles,
photos, and editorial assistance, including:
Edward Yee of Detroit
Frank Yee and Gong Sum Yee of New York
Frank Yu of Houston
Fred Yee of Seattle
Henry Yee of Cleveland
Henry Yu, Sherman Yee and Melinda Yee of
Sacramento
Jack Charles Yee of Calgary
John M. Yee, David M. Yee, Edward Yue and Rudy Yee
of Phoenix
Kai Yon Yee of Malaysia
Kenneth Yee of Philippines
Larry Yee of San Francisco
Martin Yee, James Yu and Wing Yee of Vancouver
Richard Yue of Hong Kong
Stephen Yu of Montreal
Wayne Yee of Ontario
Winston Yee, Ho Lee Yee, Paula Yee and Peter Yee
of Boston
Ying Hua Yu, Jerome Yee, and Eric Yu of Edmonton
Jim Yee, Vancouver
Congratulations
to Mr. Kan Yu, Chairman of the Yee Fung Toy Society of
Canada, for being elected Chairman of the World Yee
Family Association, and to Canada for winning the bid
to host the World Yee Convention in 2012!
4th World Yee
Convention in Kuala Lumpur
The 4th World Yee Family
Association Convention was held successfully at the
Cititel Hotel, Mid Valley in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
from Wednesday, March 24, to Thursday, March 25, 2010.
This convention was organized by The World Yee Family
Association, co-organised by The Yee Association
Malaysia and The Federation of Selangor & Kuala
Lumpur Yee Association.
March 24 marks the date
for the arrival of guests from all over the world at
the Cititel Hotel, Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur -
Registration Area.
On the morning of March
25th, Ancestor Ceremony was held at the The Federation
of Selangor & Kuala Lumpur Yee Association
Headquarters, followed by The World Yee Family
Association 4th (2010) Convention Opening Ceremony -
at the Cititel Hotel MataHari Ballroom on Level 5.
On March 25th, at The
World Yee Family Association's 4th AGM, the election
of the 5th World Yee Office Bearers and the selection
of the next Host City was held.
A day trip for
convention guests and non-delegates was arranged by
the Convention Organizing Committee.
The Closing Ceremony for
The World Yee Family Association was held at the
Empurau Fish Restaurant SDN BHD (魚龍國大酒家). The 5th
Council taking the Oath of Office. Exchange of
Souvenirs
The World Yee Family
Association committee passed the following resolutions
during the convention:
(1) Singapore Yee Clan Association and 余徐涂佘公所 from
Indonesia became new members of the World Yee Family
Association.
(2) Amend Article 3 Section 9, Vice-Chair from 6
members to eight members.
(3) The World Yee Executive committee unanimously
chose Mr. Kan Yu from Canada for its Fifth World Yee
Family Association Chairman, Vice-chairmen as follow:
Mr. Johnson Yee (Hong Kong), Alan Yee (US), Mr. Suisee
Er (Malaysia), Mr. Antonio A. Yee (Philippines), Mr.
Seng Ching Yu (Thailand), Mr. 余海年 (Singapore) and Mr.
余偉球 (Indonesia).
(4) The next World Yee Convention will take place in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 2012.
At the 4th World Yee
Convention, the renewed kinship, the meeting of new
friends, the heartwarming dinner banquets and
entertainment provided by our host will always remind
us of the unforgettable events that have touched our
hearts. Without question, within this two day setting,
in a beautiful Malaysian city, under sunny skies, the
atmosphere was in our favor for a wonderful time!
Hope to see you all
again in 2012 in Vancouver, British Columbia!
Our special thanks to
Kenny Yee of Southern California, Pauline Tom of
Vancouver and Secretary General of the World Yee
Convention Committee, Mr. Kai Yon Yee, for providing
us with some of their memorable photos.
Yee Chung-sheung
Ancestor Hall Rehabilitation Opening Ceremony was held
successfully in Kaiping on March 28, 2010. The Yees
also celebrated the Yee Chung-sheung's 1010 birthday
anniversary and Fung Cai Middle School's 70th
Anniversary.
57 Canada YFT delegates
and Canadian guests, led by the Yee Fung Toy Society
of Canada Chairman Kan Yu, attended this festive event
that day.
Oversea guests from the
United States, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines,
Thailand, other guests include Mainland China, Hong
Kong and Macau. Over 2300 people attended this
historical event.
It was very emotional
for us to hear the Guangdong Kaiping Fengcai Middle
School (开平市风采中学) students chanting their heartwarming
words - "Welcome, welcome", as we walk along the
streets toward their school ground to attend the
Ancestor Hall Rehabilitation grand opening ceremony.
As the old saying goes,
a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some
memorable pictures capturing the "Real Moment" that
will be treasured in our hearts forever.
The welcoming students
from the Fengcai Huaqiao Middle School were just as
heartwarming as the Fengcai Middle School students!
They entertained us with their songs and dances.
Our special thanks to
the Hong Kong Yues Clansmen Association; Kenny Yee of
Southern California; Pauline Tom of Vancouver; George
Yue, Eddie Yue and Joe Yue of Phoenix for providing us
with some of their memorable photos.
Martin Yee, Vancouver
Yees
of Phoenix AZ Celebrate Spring Festival 2010
Gung-hay
Fat
Choy! / Gongxi Fa Cai!
The Yee Fung-toy Family
Association of Phoenix, Arizona celebrated the advent
of the time-honored Lunisolar (Agricultural) New Year
in CE 2010 in its traditional fashion. While the
family-centered feasting for typically three
consecutive nights (New Year’s Eve, New Year’s, and
Opening-the-Year) would of course have been observed
at our private residences and restaurants throughout
the Valley of the Sun, according to the different
customs of our areas of origin in China, the
Association commemorated this premier festival of the
year with several special events on one date.
This year, on Saturday,
March 6th, about 70+ members of the Association, male
and female, young and old, gathered at the Clan Hall
on 3040 North 16th Street in central Phoenix at noon
to pay respects to our ancestors in the ceremonial
manner that Chinese culture has generally instructed
for over four millennia in front of the artist’s
conception of the appearance of the eponymous Yee
Fung-toy / Yu Fengcai, whose origins date back to the
Northern Sung / Song dynasty in the region of
Kuangtung / Guangdong, approximately 1000+ years ago.
The ceremony on this occasion was officiated by Mr.
Kam Tim Yee. Afterwards, our usual abundant potluck
luncheon featured the distinctive and customary
Cantonese-style roast suckling pig, soy-braised and
American fried chickens, with an array of accompanying
side dishes, highlighted by the traditional dessert
pastries brought by our own skillful cooks.
Later that evening, the
Association hosted over four hundred diners at a
Festive Banquet held at the Great Wall Restaurant,
inviting not only a broader representation of all the
Yees of many generations resident in the area, but
also an array of community leaders and honored guests
and friends. Mr. Jack J.F. Yee and Ms. Betty Yee were
the Master and Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening.
The welcoming remarks were delivered by the newly
elected Association President Mr. David M. Yee. Ms.
Angie Yu introduced the Association officers and
honored guests. Grand Elder John M. Yee offered the
formal toast – not once but instructing us to drink up
several times!
To add a further note of
good luck and happiness, over two dozen generous door
prizes were available to be drawn; many of these were
meals from several well-regarded Chinese restaurants
in the metropolitan area so that a quite appropriate
note of feasting would continue. The happily noisy
raffle was conducted by Ms. Kathy Yee, Ms. Janet Yee,
and Ms. Gale Yee.
Naturally, with our
strong families and characteristic cultural emphasis
on good education, the Association is always delighted
to highlight this most meaningful occasion with
scholarship awards to our youth to encourage them to
set good examples and to continue their excellence in
their every endeavor. Our Scholarship Committee was
led once more this year by long-time Chairwoman Ms.
Mary Ann Yee who welcomed these new scholars to our
long list of annual honorees. As listed below, the
other Committee members then introduced the awardees
of 2009-2010 at their respective levels of educational
accomplishments, with acknowledgements as well of
their rightfully proud parents and grandparents –
Ms. Jeanette Hing
presented four graduates completing their senior years
of high school –
Larissa Dong;
daughter of Reicher and Michelle Dong
Kyle Evan Michael Yee; son of Allan and Missy
Yee
Jordan Yee; son of Larry and Joanie Yee
Kyle Tompkins; son of Scott and Pam Tompkins.
Ms. Mayen Yue presented
two graduates completing their 8th grade years of
elementary school –
Elizabeth Yee; daughter
of Fred and Ellen Yee
Richard Yu; son of Mr & Mrs Walter Yu
Ms. Betty Yee presented four scholars of the Phoenix
Chinese School (offering instruction in Mandarin &
Cantonese) –
Nathan Yee; son of Harold and Lisa Yee
Derek Yu; son of Jian Yu and Xiao-hua Huang Yu
George Yu; son of Kerbin and Sherry Yu
John Yu; son of Kerbin and Sherry Yu
Newly elected
Association Vice President Joe Yue then warmly thanked
everyone for their attendance with us to observe what
we all pray will be the beginning of an auspicious
White Metal Tiger Year, 4707.
The Phoenix YFT
Association hopes to observe the Spring Festival again
in 2011 in a time of peace and plenty, and to welcome
all with new happiness and new honors.
May your New Year be
blessed with good health, good fortune, and great
prosperity!
M. Cheak Yee, Mary Ann
Yee, Angie Yu, John M Yee & Eddie Yue, Phoenix
NY YFT Lunar New
Year Spring Banquet
Our Lunar New Year
Spring Banquet and honoring senior members were held
on March 6, 2010 at the Jing Fong Restaurant, 20
Elizabeth Street, NY 10013.
Sun neen fai lok
(新年快樂！), Sun tai keen hong (身體健康！) to all as we
welcome the Year of the Tiger, 4708.
More than 500 members
and guest gathered at Empire Garden for our annual
Spring Festival and Seniors Appreciation banquet on
March 13 led by Co-Presidents Jack Yu and Ho-Lee Yee.
Joining them were Grand President Peter And Grand
Elder Henry. Our two emcees for the evening were
Melinda Du (Chinese) and David Yee (English).
The Wah Lum Kung Fu Club
led by our own Sifu Mai Du demonstrated various forms
of kung fu for all to enjoy. Many of our guests were
mesmerized by the precise eye and hand coordination
and acrobatic abilities of the perfomers, some of
which demonstrated with swords and other weapons that
made some of our guests gasp with amazement.
Following Wah Lum's
performance, our own Tom and Linda demonstrated the
skills of the Tai Chi Sword classes they learned from
YFT.
Our honored guests
included State Representative Aron Michelwicz, City
Councilor John Connelly, Director General of TECCO Ann
Hung, Director Jack Huang of TECO's cultural Center,
and CCBA President Wing Kay Leung. Many members from
our New York Chapter also attended the banquet.
Our Grand Elders, Grand
President and two Co-Presidents presented an
appreciative award to Judge Paul Yee. Frank Chin also
announced that the Governor will be giving Judge Paul
a public ceremony on May 10, 2010.
Co-Presidents Jack and
Ho-Lee presented scholarship awards to eight qualified
college students.
Recreation Director Ken
headed up the entertainment portion of the evening
with various members and guests performing Karaoke
while other guests enjoyed the music by filling up the
dance floor with their ballroom dance skills. The
evening concluded with the distribution of raffle
prizes presented by Women'd Divivion Vice-Chair Karin
and other Women's Division members. All in all, it was
a succesful, fun-filled evening.
Paula Yee, Boston
Phoenix
Yees Commemorate The Duke
On May 2, 2010, a full
house of over 100 Yees and kin-by-marriage gathered
just after noon for a grand festivity commemorating
and celebrating several threads of our common life.
This was the occasion
when our local clan members gather in the April/May
season to commemorate the opening, 21 years ago in
1989, of the Phoenix Yee Fung Toy Family Association
Hall. Of course, a buffet luncheon feast is always a
noisy-happy crowded event, highlighted by the offering
of six whole Cantonese-style Roast Pigs, with the
distinctive golden crispy skin. (Here in Arizona, with
our many friends and business associates of Mexican
and Hispanic descent with whom we appreciate chicharrones,
we’re able to say that it’s even better with the whole
layering of savory fat and seasoned meat!) Not only
can we enjoy this treat on site, but our generous
donors at membership renewal season (and especially
all our seniors above 75) are able to take more
portions to continue the celebration at home. It goes
without saying that additional tables full of American
southern-fried chicken, stir-fried noodles, vegetable
medley, and desserts from the cuisine of both our
native lands round out the occasion when, alas, all
too many of us round ourselves out too…
This year, the Roast
Pigs were generously provided by – Mr. Willie Yee, Mr.
Kam Yui Yi, Mr. Kim H. Yee, Mrs. Jerry M. Yee, Mr.
John M. Yee, Grand Elder and Mr. David M. Yee, our
current Association President.
This is therefore also
the premier occasion at which we, the descendants,
offer up the respect to our parents and grandparents
and to all our ancestors immemorial, symbolized by the
traditional rites of veneration. These were observed
in our Clan Hall before the portrait in oil of an
artist’s conception of our Clan Grand Progenitor,
T’ai-tzu, Yee Fung-toy (Yu Feng-tsai or in pinyin,
romanization, Yu Fengcai). Such a term is of course
redolent of a historical pattern in Chinese history,
when the founding emperor of a dynasty would often be
posthumously designated as a Grand Progenitor.
Our eponymous ancestor
was himself also a Cantonese, born at what then was
named Shaochou, in 1000 C.E.* and he served with
distinction as an official in the Northern Sung
Dynasty (960-1127 C.E.) After his death in 1065, the
reigning Chih-p’ing era Emperor awarded him an
honorific title of nobility: the Chung-hsiang Kung
[Loyal-Assisting Duke] or in an informal Cantonese
rendition, ‘Chung-sheung.’ This feudal-style title
actually looked back then to a vanishing age and yet
these type of honors would continue to be granted,
relatively rarely, until the end of the imperial era
in 1912. When our Clan Grand Progenitor flourished, a
well-developed civil service administration of China
had arisen and afterwards ripened into court and
factional politics involving talented commoners rather
than the older fading aristocratic and military
families of the preceding T’ang Dynasty era (618-906
C.E.).
(It was also during this
period that the famed civil servant and polymath Fan
Chung-yen [989-1052 C.E.], by his example in clan
devotion, set the fashion among the Chinese people in
the millennium afterwards for clans to erect ancestral
halls and to compile formal local histories –
invaluable to scholars. The national clan association
for Yees in America was founded over a century ago in
San Francisco; our local association in the Phoenix
area was established in 1961.)
Naturally, the specific
title for our Grand Ancestor, the Duke, would have
been selected to commemorate and honor his qualities
in life: his loyalty, and his administrative
helpfulness, to the Throne. (For the millennium and
half before, if someone had been created a duke, it
meant the receipt of a fief of territory with
population, income, and hereditary power.) The
character, hsiang, has as its organizing radical
[i.e., that part of the ideograph which signifies its
meaning, rather than being a clue to its
pronunciation], the element which means “clothing.” In
this case, hsiang refers to the need to remove/disrobe
clothing in order to prepare for the hard and
typically muddy work of agriculture. In our day, we
would say that Yee Fung-toy was a
roll-up-your-sleeves, get-it-done kind of guy. Surely
he would be well worth our respect and even veneration
at any occasion. Yet even more than being a source of
pride for us descendants, however, he himself
doubtlessly would only be satisfied to know that we
were following his example. This is the core meaning
of filial piety (hsiao), a truly root virtue in
Chinese culture.
*
C.E. is an abbreviation for “Common Era,” to refer to
the period of history in which both Jews and
Christians shared a frame of reference; the previous
custom, to refer to A.D. for “Anno Domini” [Year of
(our) Lord], has come to be seen as slighting the
elder brothers/sisters in the Judeo-Christian faith
tradition.
Article by M. Cheak Yee
(“check”), Photographs by Eddie Yue. Phoenix
The
Swearing In of Paul M. Yee Jr.
Long time YFT member,
Paul Yee, was sworn in as Associate Justice of the
Quincy District Court on May 10, 2010. Paul became the
court's first Asian-American judge. The ceremony was
held at Kwong Kow Chinese School. More than 230 people
attended the ceremony, including many members of our
own YFT and their families. Among the other guests
were Paul's family and friends, fellow judges, and
many members of the Chinatown community.
The program began with
welcoming remarks from Honarable Richard Chin,
followed by some witty remarks from our own YFT
President Jimmy Ho-Lee Yee, making fun of his own
broken English. The audience broke out in laughter.
Other speakers included Mary Chin (President of the
Asian American Civic Association) and the Honorable
Fernande R.V. Duffly (Associate Justice of the Appeals
Court), and Lynda Connolly (Paul's boss). Governor
Deval L. Patric formally swore Paul in as judge. The
ceremony concluded with very touching remarks from
Paul, giving thanks to his immigrant parents for
providing him the opportunity to arrive at where his
is today.
The celebration
continued with a buffet dinner at China Pearl hosted
by Paul.
Congratulations to
judge Paul for all his accomplishments as we are proud
to have him as part of our "Yee" family.
Paula Yee, Boston
On
the Roots of Taishan and Zhongshan Immigrants
[Vancouver BC, May 19, 2010] Fresh from speaking at
the UBC Asian Library (celebrating its 50th
Anniversary) Workshop
on Taishan and Zhongshan Immigrants in North America
the day before, Marjorie Lee from the Asian American
Centre, University of California, Los Angeles, and
Wei-chi Poon from the Ethnic Studies Library,
University of California, Berkeley (bios),
visited
the
Mah
Society
of
Vancouver
today.
They
were
accompanied
by
Marjorie’s
sister
Evelyn
Lee,
Phoebe
Chow
of
the
Asian
Library,
University
of
British
Columbia,
and
Asian
Library
Research
Assistants
Titan
Du
and
Denise
Fong.
At
the
Mah
Society
to
receive
them
were
representatives
from
Shon
Yee
Benevolent
Association
from
Zhongshan and others from Taishan:
Our visitors are passionate about Chinese American
History, and have overcome major obstacles to achieve
their status as eminent research librarians in the
field. Marjorie was born in the US, but has
subsequently mastered the Chinese language and made
numerous research trips to China. Wei-chi was born (as
余慧子 Wei-chi Yee, a true kinswoman of the Yee clan) in
Taishan and came to the US in her teens with no
knowledge of the English language beyond the alphabet.
You obviously need language skills in both English and
in Chinese to succeed in this field in North America.
Marjorie notes there are still a lot of pain
associated with the history of Chinese Americans, as
she discovers when writing “Duty and Honor: A Tribute
to Chinese American World War II Veterans of Southern
California” (pub. 1997). Many Chinese American
veterans were not ready to open up about their
experience, let alone show any pride in serving their
adopted country.
Wei-chi expounds on the importance of archiving
Chinese documents and artifacts in North America,
especially in allowing universities access to useful
historical material. Universities have the resources
to archive and share material given to their care. No
other organizations can afford the high cost of
professional processing. A prominent example is the
Him Mark Lai Collection, which "may eventually consist
of more than 200 linear feet, not counting the
numerous newspapers, journals, magazines, books, and
directories", as Wei-chi recounts in an
Annotation article.
Him Mark Lai (November 11, 1925 - May 21, 2009) was
an amazing amateur historian and master archivist. He
has been called the Dean of Chinese American History
for his role in establishing the field as a legitimate
academic discipline. For more info, see short
video, wiki
bio, or the Him
Mark Lai Digital Archive.
One of Lai's legacies is the In Search of Roots
program, co-founded with Albert Cheng of the Chinese
Cultural Center of San Francisco (who spoke at
the Workshop yesterday about the program). "The
program involves a year-long commitment to researching
one’s Chinese American family history and genealogy.
After exploring their Chinese roots in America,
participants explore their roots in China through
searching for and visiting their paternal and/or
maternal ancestral villages in the Pearl River Delta
and Chaozhou regions of Guangdong Province" from the program
homepage.
This was such a great program that we wondered why
the Chinese Cultural Centre in Vancouver does not
provide one. Fred mentioned he had made contacts
Albert and tried to start a similar program in the
1990’s. Is it possible to get enough support now from
the local Family Associations to get one going for our
youth in Vancouver?
Pictured from left: Denise, Evelyn, Marjorie, Phoebe,
Titan, Wei Chi, Orville, Fred, William, Rick, Jim
The next issue of the Yee
Fung Toy Global Village Voice will be published in mid
September of 2010, featuring summer picnics and other
activities at Yee Fung Toy associations around the
world. Please submit your articles to the Editor via
email (editor @ yeefungtoy.org) or postal mail (The
Editor, 226 East Georgia Street, Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada V6A 1Z7) by August 15, 2010.
