Toisan Pride (Southern Cantonese, Taishanese, Hoisanese): Welcome to 2012 Year of the Dragon

Welcome to Toisan Pride

Toisanese (Hoisanese is the REAL pronunciation; and Mandarin speakers call it "Taishan" or Taishanese") were among the first Chinese-Cantonese immigrants to hail to the United States from the Guangdong/Guangzhou Province of Southern China in the Pearl River Delta, west of Hong Kong.

Many Hoisanese immigrants came to the U.S. starting in the 19th century to help build railroads, and eventually stayed to establish laundromats, restaurants, etc. and worked hard to build a better future for their families. Some famous Hoisan folks include: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Chef Martin Yan (Yan Can Cook); Hawaii Senator Hiram Fong, Hong Kong Martial Artist Donnie Yen (star of IP MAN), Actor James Hong, Former California Treasurer Matt Fong; Actress Anna May Wong. For more Toisan/Taishan background history, click on Wikipedia.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Some day, I plan on updating it but Blogger isn't the greatest with blog templates so I appreciate your patience! I welcome comments, stories, photos, Toisanese/Say-Yip history, anything about our wonderful people to toisangirl@yahoo.com.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Welcome to 2012 Year of the Dragon

China's Year of the Dragon 2012 Stamp
which sparked controversy over being "too ferocious."
Snack anyone?

Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Xin Nian Kuai Le!

The auspicious year of the dragon will arrive January 23, 2012. I was googling the Year of the Dragon and didn't realize that we have special Lunar New Year stamps in China, the U.S. and Canada. Take a look at these beautiful works of art.

U.S. Year of the Dragon Stamp by Brooklyn-based artist Kam Mak.
Mak says the dragon represents strength.“People always ask me, ‘But dragons are scary.’ I’d say Chinese dragons are very different from Western dragons. Its strength is protection. In some way, we are spreading our culture and they’re learning."
For more, go to:
http://carrollgardens.patch.com/articles/kam-mak

The Canadian 2012 Chinese New Year of the Dragon Stamp
Designed by Louis Fishauf and Charles Vinh with calligraphy by James Tan. According to Louis Fishauf and Charles Vinh, this is the year of the water dragon. So they incorporated the wave motif down at the bottom of the stamp to represent the idea of water.

"The dragon, of course, represents good luck as well, and dragon should be very powerful, and knowledgeable with the symbol of the emperor and imperial of China. And this dragon is a five-toe dragon, so this is an imperial dragon." For more, go to: http://www.cncworld.tv/news/v_show/21149_Canada_issues_Dragon_year_stamps.shtml

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Why I'm a TOISAN GIRL

My beloved mother passed away in 2003 followed by my father's passing in 2005, just a few days before he would've met his new grand daughter (my first child). My parents were 1st generation immigrants from the Hoisan Yup (County) just south/southwest of Guangdong (Canton) who ended up in Los Angeles, California in the 1960s. My older brothers were born in Hong Kong and I was born in the City of Angels, so I'm a 2nd generation Toisanese girl.

Hoisan-wah was my 1st language and I retained it because both sets of grandparents only spoke Hoisan-wah and broken English or "Chinglish." I always wondered why we were the only ones who spoke "hilbilly Cantonese" when everyone else in L.A. was speaking Hong Kong Cantonese. I was taught to be ashamed of my dialect because it people said my family hailed from the "countryside" of China.

But I discovered that back in the 1800s when the first Chinese immigrated to the U.S. to build railroads - many were from Toisan. That in itself was a noble act on behalf of ALL Chinese people . Toisanese and the Say Yip people paved the way for ALL CHINESE (Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hong Kongers, etc.) to gain citizenship and access to the U.S.

So I'm proud to be a Toisan Girl, proud that my people were brave enough to withstand discrimination and poor working conditions to carve a new life for them and their families. So instead of looking down on Toisanese, all other Chinese should be grateful to the Toisanese/Say Yip ancestors who had the wherewithal to be the FIRST to arrive in the United States.

I started this blog as a voice for myself and other Toisanese folks. I don't know how many people I'll reach but when I get an email or a comment, I'm tickled and thrilled to hear about other Toisanese out in the world whether in New Zealand, Peru, Malaysia, Queens, NYC, Alabama, Vancouver or Alhambra, California. Here's to Hoisan people everywhere - be proud!