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Friday, July 18, 2008
Quon Family Legacy
The Los Angeles Chinatown Corporation is still in existence today. My grandfather, Robert B. Jung, was President of the corporation until his death in 2007.
My father, Larry V. Jung, is the current co-manager and Chief Financial Officer of the corporation. Today, the Quon family is a well respected as a founding family of New Los Angeles Chinatown. My great-grandmother, Yiu Hai Seto, affectionately known by the community as “Mama Quon”, was a longtime member of the Chinese Women’s Club and was honored and recognized by civic organizations and civic leaders, including Mayor Tom Bradley and President Ronald Reagan. My grandparents. Robert B. Jung and Edith Quon Jung, are founders of the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles. Edith Quon Jung and my father, Larry V. Jung, are active leaders of The Los Angeles Chinatown Corporation today. The entrepreneurial spirit of my greatgreatgrandfather, Soon Doon Quon, is reflected in many of my uncles, aunts, and cousins. They have been owners of banks, restaurants, and stores in New Los Angeles Chinatown. The Quon family has continued to make significant contributions to the Los Angeles Chinatown’s Chinese American Museum, the Kow Kong Association, the Chinese Historical Association, the Chinatown Library, and many, many other organizations assisting Chinese in Los Angeles and throughout America.
The entrepreneurial spirit of Soon Doon Quon and Yiu Hai Seto lives on today in their descendents who have continued to contribute to the well being of the Chinese community everywhere. Although Soon Doon Quon was never able to become a citizen of America, this did not diminish his love of America and his recognition of the opportunities America could provide for his family and descendents.
My father, Larry V. Jung, is the current co-manager and Chief Financial Officer of the corporation. Today, the Quon family is a well respected as a founding family of New Los Angeles Chinatown. My great-grandmother, Yiu Hai Seto, affectionately known by the community as “Mama Quon”, was a longtime member of the Chinese Women’s Club and was honored and recognized by civic organizations and civic leaders, including Mayor Tom Bradley and President Ronald Reagan. My grandparents. Robert B. Jung and Edith Quon Jung, are founders of the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles. Edith Quon Jung and my father, Larry V. Jung, are active leaders of The Los Angeles Chinatown Corporation today. The entrepreneurial spirit of my greatgreatgrandfather, Soon Doon Quon, is reflected in many of my uncles, aunts, and cousins. They have been owners of banks, restaurants, and stores in New Los Angeles Chinatown. The Quon family has continued to make significant contributions to the Los Angeles Chinatown’s Chinese American Museum, the Kow Kong Association, the Chinese Historical Association, the Chinatown Library, and many, many other organizations assisting Chinese in Los Angeles and throughout America.
The entrepreneurial spirit of Soon Doon Quon and Yiu Hai Seto lives on today in their descendents who have continued to contribute to the well being of the Chinese community everywhere. Although Soon Doon Quon was never able to become a citizen of America, this did not diminish his love of America and his recognition of the opportunities America could provide for his family and descendents.
New Chinatown
By the 1910s Old Los Angeles Chinatown was in decline. Besides the Chinese Exclusion Act curtailing immigration, there were constant rumors that the Chinese would be forced out of Old Los Angeles Chinatown to make way for redevelopment. The Old Los Angeles Chinatown property was leased land since Chinese could not own land in America. Eventually, on May 19, 1931, a California Supreme Court decision upheld land condemnations and the construction of the new Union Station on the site of Old Los Angeles Chinatown. Beginning in December 1933 part of Old Los Angeles Chinatown east of Alameda Street was condemned and razed to make room for today’s Union Station
The landmark organizational meeting to build a New Los Angeles Chinatown took place on April 22, 1937 at Soon Doon Quon’s restaurant, Tuey Far Low, on Alameda and Marchessault Street. By this time Soon Doon Quon was recognized as an eminent Chinatown leader and restaurateur. At this monumental meeting the Los Angeles Chinatown Project Association (later called The Los Angeles Chinatown Corporation) was formed to own the land upon which New Los Angeles Chinatown would be relocated between North Broadway and Castelar Street. The company sold shares, and the Chinese community invested $100,000. No bank financing or loans were used to acquire the land upon which the New Los Angeles Chinatown was to be build.
On June 25, 1938 public ceremonies proclaimed the official opening of the New Los Angeles Chinatown.
The landmark organizational meeting to build a New Los Angeles Chinatown took place on April 22, 1937 at Soon Doon Quon’s restaurant, Tuey Far Low, on Alameda and Marchessault Street. By this time Soon Doon Quon was recognized as an eminent Chinatown leader and restaurateur. At this monumental meeting the Los Angeles Chinatown Project Association (later called The Los Angeles Chinatown Corporation) was formed to own the land upon which New Los Angeles Chinatown would be relocated between North Broadway and Castelar Street. The company sold shares, and the Chinese community invested $100,000. No bank financing or loans were used to acquire the land upon which the New Los Angeles Chinatown was to be build.
On June 25, 1938 public ceremonies proclaimed the official opening of the New Los Angeles Chinatown.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Mama Quon
In about 1916, at the age of eighteen, Him Gin Quon returned to China to meet his arranged bride. Him Gin Quon married Yiu Hai Seto (later known as “MaMa Quon”) who was then seventeen. Yiu Hai Seto remained behind in China and in 1917 gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Katherine. About four years later, in 1921, when Him Gin Quon returned to China to visit his wife and daughter, my grandmother, Edith Quon Jung, was conceived. In 1922 Yiu Hai Seto and her daughter, Katherine, left Kwangtung to reunite with Him Gin Quon in Los Angeles. A few days after their arrival in Los Angeles my grandmother, Edith, was born, the first Quon to be a citizen of America.
Him Gin Quon
During the late 1800s and early 1900s Soon Doon Quon returned to China several times to visit his wife and daughters. On October 10, 1898 my great-grandfather, Him Gin Quon, was born and soon thereafter adopted by Soon Doon Quon and his wife since they had no sons. In about 1910 Soon Doon Quon returned to China to visit his family and to bring back his twelve-year-old adopted son, Him Gin Quon, my great-grandfather, to help in his restaurant. Since Soon Doon Quon was the owner of a restaurant in Old Los Angeles Chinatown, he was able to obtain a merchant’s certificate for himself and his son to enter America.
Him Gin Quon soon found that he was a talented cook. His exceptional cooking talent brought many of the family and district associations to Tuey Far Low Restaurant for banquets. Even as Old Los Angeles Chinatown declined in the 1900s, Tuey Far Low Restaurant prospered, and with the help of his son, Soon Doon Quon became a respected restaurateur and community leader.
Tuey Far Low
Soon Doon Quon either immigrated to America before the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 or acquired a merchant certificate exemption by finding a sponsoring merchant in Los Angeles. Upon arrival in Los Angeles in the late 1800s Soon Doon Quon found jobs in restaurants in Old Los Angeles Chinatown. Like other Chinese immigrants, he found many white Americans were hostile toward the Chinese and decided to live, work, shop, and socialize in Old Los Angeles Chinatown where he felt safe with fellow immigrants from China. He regularly sent money back to his wife and daughters in China. He worked hard, lived frugally, and was able to save enough money by the end of the 1800s to open his own restaurant in Old Los Angeles Chinatown on Alameda St. and Marchessault St. He called his restaurant “Tuey Far Low”. Since Soon Doon Quon now owned and operated a restaurant in Old Los Angeles Chinatown, he was able to get a merchant’s certificate from the Imperial Chinese Majesty’s Superintendent of Customs allowing him to visit China and reenter America.The Patriarch-Soon Doon Quon
During the 1800s Chinese in Kwangtung (now Guangdong) on the south coast of China found living difficult due to a series of wars, rebellions, civil disorders, floods,
famines, and droughts. When news of the discovery of gold reached Kwangtung, many Chinese decided to immigrate to California, the land of “The Golden Mountain”. Between 1871 and 1880 about 123,201 Chinese immigrated to America. Kwangtung became the major port of exit for laborers to the Western United States. In the late 1800s my greatgreatgrandfather, Soon Doon Quon, was a farmer in the village of Kow Kong, Kwangtung Province, China. Sometime in the late 1800s he, like other young Chinese males, left behind his wife and daughters and sailed to America to seek a new and better life in California.
Soon Doon Quon arrived in the port of San Francisco, California and made his way down to Los Angeles, California where he joined his fellow immigrants from Kwangtung in Old Los Angeles Chinatown. By the late 1800s there was an identifiable “Los Angeles Chinatown” located on Calle de Los Negros – Street of the Dark Hued Ones – a short alley fifty feet wide and one block long between El Pueblo Plaza and Old Arcadia Street in the center of the City of Los Angeles. Chinese held dominant economic positions in the Los Angeles laundry and produce industries, and within a short time Old Los Angeles Chinatown expanded eastward from the Plaza across to Alameda Street. In its heyday, from 1890 to 1910, Old Los Angeles Chinatown consisted of fifteen or so streets and alleys and about 200 building units, and included a Chinese opera theater, three temples, a newspaper, restaurants, and stores. It became an urban center for Chinese laborers and farm workers. With no police protection and political representation, the community established its own family and district organizations for mutual aid and services.
The latter half of the 1800s was a period marked by an uncertain and unstable economy in the west following the Civil War, with significant unemployment, especially among veterans. Only two skin colors were recognized – white and black. Since only “free white persons” could become American citizens under the Act of March 26, 1790, and Chinese were not considered “white persons”, no Chinese immigrant was able to become a citizen of the United States. Chinese were faced with a growing resentment because they were seen as industrious immigrants, who undertook, at a minimal wage, jobs and tasks too menial, harsh, or difficult for citizens to take. This willing work force, with very different physical features, culture, and religion, was perceived by a growing number of white Americans to be usurping jobs and resources of white Americans.
The anti-Chinese racism climaxed on May 26, 1882 when Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act (“Act”), which was the first significant restriction of immigration in United States history. The Act excluded Chinese laborers from entering America unless they were able to obtain certification from the Chinese government that they were qualified to immigrate as merchants. Only diplomats, merchants with government certificates, students, and dependents were allowed to travel from China to the United States after passage of the Act. The Act also affected Chinese who were already in the United States. In order to leave the United States and reenter, departing Chinese immigrants also had to obtain a certification from the Chinese government for reentry to America. After passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act most Chinese men in America either returned to China or remained in America with little chance of reuniting with their wives and family in China.
In the late 1800s anti-Chinese legislation and discrimination were rampant in Los Angeles. An altercation between two Chinese immigrants and the accidental shooting of a white man resulted in the “Chinese Massacre of Los Angeles” where 500 whites burned and looted Old Los Angeles Chinatown and left nineteen Chinese dead. In 1878 Los Angeles County voted against Chinese immigration 98% to 2%. In 1879 California included in its Constitution a provision specifically banning Chinese from public work. During the 1880s the City of Los Angeles excluded all Chinese laborers from city contracts. In 1882 the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance removing all Chinese from the city limits, but this was ruled invalid by the city attorney as a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1886 the Los Angeles Trade and Labor Council and the Knights of Labor moved to boycott Chinese goods and labor in Los Angeles. By 1890 residents of the city faced a dilemma – although they did not want Chinese in the city limits, they also did not want to do without their services. Without citizenship, Chinese could not vote, hold government office, or be employed by the state. They had no voice in determining their future. They were unable to own land, file mining claims, or testify in court against whites. The future of Chinese in America was uncertain, even though they paid taxes and contributed to the growth of America’s economy.
famines, and droughts. When news of the discovery of gold reached Kwangtung, many Chinese decided to immigrate to California, the land of “The Golden Mountain”. Between 1871 and 1880 about 123,201 Chinese immigrated to America. Kwangtung became the major port of exit for laborers to the Western United States. In the late 1800s my greatgreatgrandfather, Soon Doon Quon, was a farmer in the village of Kow Kong, Kwangtung Province, China. Sometime in the late 1800s he, like other young Chinese males, left behind his wife and daughters and sailed to America to seek a new and better life in California.
Soon Doon Quon arrived in the port of San Francisco, California and made his way down to Los Angeles, California where he joined his fellow immigrants from Kwangtung in Old Los Angeles Chinatown. By the late 1800s there was an identifiable “Los Angeles Chinatown” located on Calle de Los Negros – Street of the Dark Hued Ones – a short alley fifty feet wide and one block long between El Pueblo Plaza and Old Arcadia Street in the center of the City of Los Angeles. Chinese held dominant economic positions in the Los Angeles laundry and produce industries, and within a short time Old Los Angeles Chinatown expanded eastward from the Plaza across to Alameda Street. In its heyday, from 1890 to 1910, Old Los Angeles Chinatown consisted of fifteen or so streets and alleys and about 200 building units, and included a Chinese opera theater, three temples, a newspaper, restaurants, and stores. It became an urban center for Chinese laborers and farm workers. With no police protection and political representation, the community established its own family and district organizations for mutual aid and services.
The latter half of the 1800s was a period marked by an uncertain and unstable economy in the west following the Civil War, with significant unemployment, especially among veterans. Only two skin colors were recognized – white and black. Since only “free white persons” could become American citizens under the Act of March 26, 1790, and Chinese were not considered “white persons”, no Chinese immigrant was able to become a citizen of the United States. Chinese were faced with a growing resentment because they were seen as industrious immigrants, who undertook, at a minimal wage, jobs and tasks too menial, harsh, or difficult for citizens to take. This willing work force, with very different physical features, culture, and religion, was perceived by a growing number of white Americans to be usurping jobs and resources of white Americans.
The anti-Chinese racism climaxed on May 26, 1882 when Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act (“Act”), which was the first significant restriction of immigration in United States history. The Act excluded Chinese laborers from entering America unless they were able to obtain certification from the Chinese government that they were qualified to immigrate as merchants. Only diplomats, merchants with government certificates, students, and dependents were allowed to travel from China to the United States after passage of the Act. The Act also affected Chinese who were already in the United States. In order to leave the United States and reenter, departing Chinese immigrants also had to obtain a certification from the Chinese government for reentry to America. After passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act most Chinese men in America either returned to China or remained in America with little chance of reuniting with their wives and family in China.
In the late 1800s anti-Chinese legislation and discrimination were rampant in Los Angeles. An altercation between two Chinese immigrants and the accidental shooting of a white man resulted in the “Chinese Massacre of Los Angeles” where 500 whites burned and looted Old Los Angeles Chinatown and left nineteen Chinese dead. In 1878 Los Angeles County voted against Chinese immigration 98% to 2%. In 1879 California included in its Constitution a provision specifically banning Chinese from public work. During the 1880s the City of Los Angeles excluded all Chinese laborers from city contracts. In 1882 the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance removing all Chinese from the city limits, but this was ruled invalid by the city attorney as a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1886 the Los Angeles Trade and Labor Council and the Knights of Labor moved to boycott Chinese goods and labor in Los Angeles. By 1890 residents of the city faced a dilemma – although they did not want Chinese in the city limits, they also did not want to do without their services. Without citizenship, Chinese could not vote, hold government office, or be employed by the state. They had no voice in determining their future. They were unable to own land, file mining claims, or testify in court against whites. The future of Chinese in America was uncertain, even though they paid taxes and contributed to the growth of America’s economy.
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