 |
| Pic by Ravindra Dharmathilake |
“I was only sixteen…Very old man now,” he says
patting his chest. “Yes, they are from the papers, come in search of old
Chinese antiques,” his wife teases him. “Oh I am antique; I am old
Chinese antique…” He laughs a welcoming laugh.
Sixteen-year-old Luchuan Chang migrated to Sri Lanka in early 1940s, seeking reprieve from the unbearable poverty that prevailed in China during the WW II season. Unlike most other Chinese who migrated to Sri Lanka in that era, he didn’t have any trouble settling down, as he already had an uncle living in Sri Lanka. They had a roof over their head in the New Chinese Shop in Colombo, which was good business at that time. What more could you ask for.
After nearly seven decades, now he lives in Pamankada with a family of three generations. Luchuan haven’t learnt to speak Sinhala, as it was never required in his day to day work. He speaks English well, but with slight tilt in pronunciation, making is difficult to understand.
His wife, Kwei-Ying Chan was able to speak Sinhala and English both fluently as she was born and raised in Sri Lanka. Her father also migrated from China under the same circumstances and was married to a Sinhala woman. “My mother is an Udarata Kumarihami,” says Kwei-Ying proudly. Her father, who was working with her mother’s brother at a hotel in Trincomalee Street in Kandy, has asked for her hand after getting to know her. Three of her mother’s sisters have also got married to Chinese migrants.
Kwei-Ying, who is also called Kweini, has three brothers and two sisters, and they all are doing well. She has met Luchaun via a marriage proposal. According to them, there has been a trend of getting proposals from the same community, as they all liked to get married to someone with same customs.
They are currently engaged in a small business in Pamankada with one of their sons. We met them at their shop, and we were surprised to see an abacus on the cashiers table. More surprisingly, Kweini said that her husband still uses the abacus instead of the calculator. “I can do all my calculations with the abacus, it is very easy,” Luchuan said showing us how to use it.
According to them, only four of the migrants including Luchuan are still alive from the first set of Chinese people migrated to Sri Lanka during the “Japanese War”. “One of them is my brother-in-law who is now 88 years old. He is the eldest among the living migrants,” Kweini said. They all get together sometimes, specially on the day of Chinese New Year.
“We make a table full of Chinese food including Jiaozi (dumplings) and various dishes of sweets,” says Kweini. They decorate the house with Chinese lanterns, all brought from China, for the New Year. “My husband still doesn’t like Sri Lankan food very much. He still adores the Chinese dishes,” she added.
Luchuan hasn’t faced any difficulty getting along with the Sinhala community. His wife, son and granddaughter Meifan also seconded this, saying that everyone treats them with no difference. They have also received the Sri Lankan nationality during Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s government. Meifan representing the third generation of the Chinese migrants is no different compared to a normal Sri Lankan teenager except for her cute Chinese look. In spite of her looks, she can’t speak her ancestors’ language. “There is no time to learn Chinese. I feel sorry for them, they have to go for tuition classes one after the other, after school,” her grandmother complains. “Maybe after her ALs,” she added in afterthought.
Luchaun still enjoys watching Chinese shows and news. Thanks to Satellite television, he never misses any of the news from his native country. “We feel proud when we hear of China’s achievements. We are happy to see Chinese winning more medals in tournaments just as much as we enjoy seeing Sri Lankans win,” says Luchuan.
Luchuan, who is 86, said that being an old man now, he sometimes feels homesick. But when we asked whether he’d like to go back to China and settle down there, he refused. “I left there when I was 16. Nobody I know lives there now. I spent my whole life here. This is my country. I’ll never leave Sri Lanka.”
Most of the Chinese descendants of the original migrants still congregate in Maradana. Chinese Lucky Stores is a landmark building that has stood the test of time. Its current owner’s father’s love story is the idyllic-village type. Hang Weiyen left china under fear of being drafted. When he came to Sri Lanka, he resorted to the only trade he knew – selling cloth material. While shouting “Ee…yop!” at the top of his lungs, with the basket of cloth material in his head, he walked the long-winding roads of rural Ceylon. But not for long. He was bewitched by the village belle Pitawalagedara Hemawathie soon to be Hang.
They eventually got married – no objection from the Hemaathie’s family – and moved to Maradana, where Hang founded the Chinese Lucky Stores. The store is now owned by his son, Lanting Hang helped by his son, who looked nothing like Chinese! Unfortunately, although they are of Chinese descent, none of them can correspond with the few relatives left in China because they cannot speak Chinese.
PK Moo arrived in Sri Lanka with her parents from India when she was one-year-old, after her father was wounded in WW II. After arriving in Sri Lanka, they, much like Hang, sold cloth material by bicycle. Later they moved to Maradana, where her father put up a dental technician’s office, a trade that ran in the family. The office is now run by PK’s son YJ Moo. Her parents who were from Hupeh could not speak Sinhala, but all seven children could speak Sinhala well. PK was educated at Clifton Girls’ School, Maradana and later was married to another Chinese descendant via a proposal.
“It was a completely different Maradana back then, with tram cars and rickshaws,” said PK, reminiscing. “We had our own rickshaw man back then, to take us to school.”
Lesong Dihen is six. He represents the third generation of Chinese descendents living in Sri Lanka and attends St Joseph’s College. He was oblivious to his aunt who was telling us how her father and grandfather moved to Sri Lanka after the onset of WWII. No, Dihen was content to play with his dog, which, believe it or not, was also of Chinese descent!
“They were never able to go back, as they would not have been allowed to return to Sri Lanka,” explained Ju Ling Yu. “So we lost all contact with our relatives back in China.” But like Luchuan, one of the oldest living original migrants, they have made Sri Lanka their home and have no intention of leaving.
Published on July 15,2012
Link : https://www.nation.lk/edition/fine/item/8190-chinese-antiquity-on-sri-lankan-soil.html
Sixteen-year-old Luchuan Chang migrated to Sri Lanka in early 1940s, seeking reprieve from the unbearable poverty that prevailed in China during the WW II season. Unlike most other Chinese who migrated to Sri Lanka in that era, he didn’t have any trouble settling down, as he already had an uncle living in Sri Lanka. They had a roof over their head in the New Chinese Shop in Colombo, which was good business at that time. What more could you ask for.
After nearly seven decades, now he lives in Pamankada with a family of three generations. Luchuan haven’t learnt to speak Sinhala, as it was never required in his day to day work. He speaks English well, but with slight tilt in pronunciation, making is difficult to understand.
His wife, Kwei-Ying Chan was able to speak Sinhala and English both fluently as she was born and raised in Sri Lanka. Her father also migrated from China under the same circumstances and was married to a Sinhala woman. “My mother is an Udarata Kumarihami,” says Kwei-Ying proudly. Her father, who was working with her mother’s brother at a hotel in Trincomalee Street in Kandy, has asked for her hand after getting to know her. Three of her mother’s sisters have also got married to Chinese migrants.
Kwei-Ying, who is also called Kweini, has three brothers and two sisters, and they all are doing well. She has met Luchaun via a marriage proposal. According to them, there has been a trend of getting proposals from the same community, as they all liked to get married to someone with same customs.
They are currently engaged in a small business in Pamankada with one of their sons. We met them at their shop, and we were surprised to see an abacus on the cashiers table. More surprisingly, Kweini said that her husband still uses the abacus instead of the calculator. “I can do all my calculations with the abacus, it is very easy,” Luchuan said showing us how to use it.
According to them, only four of the migrants including Luchuan are still alive from the first set of Chinese people migrated to Sri Lanka during the “Japanese War”. “One of them is my brother-in-law who is now 88 years old. He is the eldest among the living migrants,” Kweini said. They all get together sometimes, specially on the day of Chinese New Year.
“We make a table full of Chinese food including Jiaozi (dumplings) and various dishes of sweets,” says Kweini. They decorate the house with Chinese lanterns, all brought from China, for the New Year. “My husband still doesn’t like Sri Lankan food very much. He still adores the Chinese dishes,” she added.
Luchuan hasn’t faced any difficulty getting along with the Sinhala community. His wife, son and granddaughter Meifan also seconded this, saying that everyone treats them with no difference. They have also received the Sri Lankan nationality during Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s government. Meifan representing the third generation of the Chinese migrants is no different compared to a normal Sri Lankan teenager except for her cute Chinese look. In spite of her looks, she can’t speak her ancestors’ language. “There is no time to learn Chinese. I feel sorry for them, they have to go for tuition classes one after the other, after school,” her grandmother complains. “Maybe after her ALs,” she added in afterthought.
Luchaun still enjoys watching Chinese shows and news. Thanks to Satellite television, he never misses any of the news from his native country. “We feel proud when we hear of China’s achievements. We are happy to see Chinese winning more medals in tournaments just as much as we enjoy seeing Sri Lankans win,” says Luchuan.
Luchuan, who is 86, said that being an old man now, he sometimes feels homesick. But when we asked whether he’d like to go back to China and settle down there, he refused. “I left there when I was 16. Nobody I know lives there now. I spent my whole life here. This is my country. I’ll never leave Sri Lanka.”
Most of the Chinese descendants of the original migrants still congregate in Maradana. Chinese Lucky Stores is a landmark building that has stood the test of time. Its current owner’s father’s love story is the idyllic-village type. Hang Weiyen left china under fear of being drafted. When he came to Sri Lanka, he resorted to the only trade he knew – selling cloth material. While shouting “Ee…yop!” at the top of his lungs, with the basket of cloth material in his head, he walked the long-winding roads of rural Ceylon. But not for long. He was bewitched by the village belle Pitawalagedara Hemawathie soon to be Hang.
They eventually got married – no objection from the Hemaathie’s family – and moved to Maradana, where Hang founded the Chinese Lucky Stores. The store is now owned by his son, Lanting Hang helped by his son, who looked nothing like Chinese! Unfortunately, although they are of Chinese descent, none of them can correspond with the few relatives left in China because they cannot speak Chinese.
PK Moo arrived in Sri Lanka with her parents from India when she was one-year-old, after her father was wounded in WW II. After arriving in Sri Lanka, they, much like Hang, sold cloth material by bicycle. Later they moved to Maradana, where her father put up a dental technician’s office, a trade that ran in the family. The office is now run by PK’s son YJ Moo. Her parents who were from Hupeh could not speak Sinhala, but all seven children could speak Sinhala well. PK was educated at Clifton Girls’ School, Maradana and later was married to another Chinese descendant via a proposal.
“It was a completely different Maradana back then, with tram cars and rickshaws,” said PK, reminiscing. “We had our own rickshaw man back then, to take us to school.”
Lesong Dihen is six. He represents the third generation of Chinese descendents living in Sri Lanka and attends St Joseph’s College. He was oblivious to his aunt who was telling us how her father and grandfather moved to Sri Lanka after the onset of WWII. No, Dihen was content to play with his dog, which, believe it or not, was also of Chinese descent!
“They were never able to go back, as they would not have been allowed to return to Sri Lanka,” explained Ju Ling Yu. “So we lost all contact with our relatives back in China.” But like Luchuan, one of the oldest living original migrants, they have made Sri Lanka their home and have no intention of leaving.
Published on July 15,2012
Link : https://www.nation.lk/edition/fine/item/8190-chinese-antiquity-on-sri-lankan-soil.html
No comments:
Post a Comment