[ By: James S. L. Jung  (  張錫利  ) . October 3, 2005 ]

Lung Kong Ancient Temple

     In 1662, during the beginning years of the Qing dynasty (清朝:1644-1911), a temple was built and named, “Lung Kong Ancient Temple” (龍岡古廟) on top of a small hill in Shiu Kou County, Kai Ping City, Kwangtung Province, China, by the four-family members of Lew, Quan, Jung, and Chew. The intentions of the Temple were for solidarity, worship and empowerment. But little did the builders would have ever known nor imagined that their temple laid the foundation and marked the beginning of the growth to one of the largest family organization existing in the world today, which is the “Lung Kong Tin Yee” organization. Presently, there are Lung Kong Tin Yee Associations all over the world and membership by the millions.

     Why the Ancient Temple was built on this particular hill and called, “Lung Kong”? The shape of this hill resembled a dragon’s head looking straight toward the sky, and on many occasions, energy could be seen as spurts from the top of the hill into heaven. According to geomancers, positive chi energy generated from this hill would enhance and influence people’s health, careers, romance, and prosperity. In other words, this hill has excellent feng shui. Hence this hill was so named “Dragon Hill” (in Chinese: 龍岡), to reflect its shape and sacred nature. This Dragon Hill belonged to the nearby Lew family. Due to the sacredness of this hill, nearby families of other surnames were eyeing this hill for quite sometime, ready to claim ownership. The Lew family members were out-numbered and therefore had insufficient strength to stop any invasion by surrounding families. Subsequently, the Lew family eventually joined forces with the nearby Quan, Jung, and Chew family members, and together they built this Temple.         

Inside the Temple, the statues of the ancestor from each family: Lew Pei (劉備), Quan Yu (關羽), Jung Fei (張飛) and Chew Wen (趙雲) were at the altar. (Note: names are translated with Cantonese pronunciations. In present Pinyin system, the spelling would be Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun.) Respectively, Lew Pei is an ancestor from the Lew family; Quan Yu, the ancestor from the Quan family; Jung Fei, the ancestor from the Jung family; and Chew Wen is the ancestor
from the Chew family. When the Temple was in place, worshipping services were quite popular not
only by the four families who built it but also by other surname families nearby and afar.

      The Chinese has hundreds of family surnames with many famous persons over the past five thousands of years in history, so why had the four families chosen Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun to be their ancestors to worship and commemorate? (Note: From this point on, all Chinese names will be here in translated using the Pinyin system). To find out whom they were and what they had accomplished, one must go back about 2,000 years in Chinese history to the later Han dynasty period between 168 AD and 220 AD.

 Eternal Brotherhood

     The Han dynasty (漢朝: 206 BC-220 AD) controlled China for over 400 years, and it was known as one of the most powerful and strong periods in China history. But toward the end of the Han dynasty (168 AD-220 AD), all the emperors in this period were weak leaders. With severe corruption in the palace and warlords fighting among each other, the whole country was disorganized. At the same time, famine and flood struck the land often which the Emperor ignored. People suffered greatly. The worst time period was in 184 AD when a large and powerful group of rebels called the “Yellow Turban” (symbolized by a yellow scarf tied on their heads) wanted to overthrow the
kingdom. The emperor at the time was frightened and sent out official notice to call for volunteers to
quash the rebels. The country was in chaos. Among thousands of volunteers that had wished to join the imperial army, three common, patriotic young men, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were no exception. At the time, Liu Bei was a mat and straw sandal maker even though he was a descendant from one of the early Han emperors. Guan Yu was a fugitive, who had slain a bad bully in his own
town. Zhang Fei was a butcher and a wine seller.

        It is no doubt that the greatest threat was the Yellow Turban rebels. This is when Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei first met each other while on the verge to enlist into the government force. They got together to discuss the country’s political, economic, and social problems the country faced at the moment, and became good friends. Furthermore, they discovered that they shared the same compassion, sincerity, dedication and goal to serve the country and to save the people from the suffering. Desiring to be more than good friends, three of them, therefore, gathered at the Peach Garden (owned by Zhang Fei), knelt down, bowed to Heaven and Earth, and swore to be eternal
brothers. They vowed from that day forward, to unite their hearts and strengths to help each other in
danger; to serve the country and help the people from suffering, and were even willing to die together.
The eternal brotherhood of Lui Bei, GuanYu and Zhang Fei, truly based on absolute righteousness,
bonded for their entire lives. This was the famous historical legend of the “Brotherhood at the Peach
Garden” (桃園結義) which occurred in 184 AD.

       Subsequently, the three sworn brothers raised their own army and joined the governmental force and distinguished themselves in helping to suppress the Yellow Turban rebels. They, as common working folks, became heroes and created a legend for themselves. After the Yellow Turban rebels were annihilated, the kingdom rather than becoming united, in fact, became more fractionized. Severe political corruption continued at the royal palace and warlords were fighting more fiercely than ever
for territory control. People were still in great misery. The three fraternal brothers continued their fight
for the people until by 200 AD (16 years after the three brothers who have sworn brotherhood at the
Peach Garden), when another young warrior, Zhao Yun, joined them as the fourth brother at the
Ancient City (古城聚會). The four pledged brothers vowed to dedicate their entire lives with great
determination to save the empire and to reaffirm the lawful sovereignty of the Han dynasty. All
throughout their legend, besides being bold warriors, all four exhibited and demonstrated their
wisdom, bravery, courage, kindness, righteousness and leadership in their struggle for the country. Finally in 221 AD, Liu Bei was proclaimed Emperor of the Shu Han (蜀 漢) kingdom, and his three
brothers, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, became Generals. Their united effort and tales of
deeds are recorded in a famous novel called "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” by Luo
Guanzhong. Due to the four brothers’ profound spirits of righteousness, kindness, wisdom, royalty,
and especially true brotherhood, they influenced and greatly impacted the Chinese culture and the
Chinese people from generation to generation for over thousands of years. Unequivocally, the
descendents of the four brothers are proud of the deeds and accomplishments of their prestigious
ancestors; therefore, to worship and commemorate them all is most proper and an honor.

Lung Kong in the United States

Livelihood opportunities, such as Gold Rush and the construction of the transcontinental railroad in California, USA in the mid-eighteen hundreds, attracted many Chinese people to emigrate especially from Guangdong Province, China. Due to social hostilities and discrimination, most Chinese immigrants were forced to stay in the San Francisco Chinatown area. Many different family groups started to formulate family associations. With no exception, the families of Lew, Quan, Jung, and Chew in 1876 built a “Lung Kong Ancient Temple” in the heart of San Francisco Chinatown, a replicate of the same Temple in Shiu Kou County in 1662, for a place of worship and meetings. As years passed, more four-family members arrived in San Francisco. Around 1895, two four-family associations had organized: the San Francisco Lung Kong Association and the San Francisco Mu Tin Association (later changing its name to Ming Yee Association). The former was engaged in fraternal activities such as providing a meeting place, promoting social activities for its members, and aiding and helping its newly arrived members from China. The latter was formed for the protection of its members from unfair hostilities. Unfortunately a massive earthquake in 1906 completely destroyed the Temple and all historical records. Not willing to give up so easily, as well as pressing needs dictating, in 1910, the four-family forefathers got together and built a new “Lung Kong Building” at 1034 Stockton Street as the home for the San Francisco Lung Kong Association. In 1924, another building was acquired at 924 Grant Avenue, named the “Ming Yee Building,” in which the San Francisco Lung Kong Association has resided in ever since.

          Economic opportunities began to open up in many places across the country. Chinese immigrants from China and from San Francisco Chinatown started to move to meet these challenges. Some of the four-family members traveled to different parts of the country to work, to settle, and to formulate additional four-family associations or groups with names such as Lung Kong (龍岡), Mu Tin (睦親), Ming Yee (名義 ), and Four Brothers (四兄弟).

 The following table is a summary of the four-family associations and the years of establishment
 in the United States:  

      (1)     In 1928, the first Lung Kong Fraternal Convention was held in Los Angeles, California  where a resolution
 was passed to combine the San Francisco Lung Kong Association (三藩市龍岡公所) and San Francisco
 Tien Yee Association (三藩市親義公所) to become the Lung Kong Tin Yee Association, USA (美國龍岡
 親義總公所) as the headquarters to all lung kong and ming yee associations in the United States.

     ⁽²⁾    Due to an increase in membership, activities and representation, in October 1986, the Lung Kong Association
          of San Francisco was revived and re-organized to the identity as similarly established in 1895.

      ⁽³⁾    In 1948, Pan American Lung Kong Tin Yee Association (美洲龍岡親義總公所) held its Second Fraternal
    Convention in New York City and truly established this association as the Headquarters for all the lung kong
    and ming yee associations in the entire North and South America continents.

      ⁽⁴⁾    In 1951, Pan American Lung Kong Tin Yee Association held its Third Fraternal Convention in San Francisco
     and passed a resolution that all four-family associations and clubs should unify its English names to: Lung Kong
     Tin Yee Association (龍岡親義公所).  However, presently there are still three ming yee clubs in existent.
     One in San Francisco, called the “Ming Yee Kee Loo”; one in New York, called the “Ming Yee Club”; and
     one in Los Angeles, called the “Ming Yee Hin”. Their existence is mainly due to providing a comfortable place
     for Lung Kong elder members to meet, relax and enjoy.

Lung Kong in Canada

     After the transcontinental railroad was completed in California, Chinese immigrants (include the four-family members) from the San Francisco area continued to move to areas where there were economic opportunities. Traveling northward, first they settled in Portland, Oregon, then to Seattle, Washington and eventually to Victoria and Vancouver, Canada. At the same time, more Chinese immigrants from China entered Canada and their first stop was Victoria. Similar situations and conditions existed as in San Francisco; new immigrants needed protection and safe guards, and therefore, family associations (four-family association included) were formed. The first four-family association was the Victoria Lung Kong Association, which was established in 1902. Later it became the Headquarters for all the Lung Kong associations in Canada. 

     The following table summarizes the Lung Kong Associations and year they were established in Canada:

Lung Kong in Mexico and South America

          Four-family members moved southward from the San Francisco area to the Los Angeles area then to Mexico and other South America locales. Also, many Chinese immigrants traveled to South America for better opportunities from the Kwangtung Province, China as early as the 1850’s.

        The following table lists the Lung Kong Associations and year of establishment in Mexico and South America:

Lung Kong in Southeast Asia

     Due to unstable political situations in China such as the Opium Wars (1839-42 and 1856-60) and the Taiping Revolution (1850-64), large numbers of Chinese immigrated abroad for better living conditions and economic opportunities. This was especially true for Chinese people living in Kwangtung and Fukin Provinces, the southeastern part of the country, where living conditions were the worst.

In fact, in this period (1840-1890) more Chinese people left for the Southeast Asian regions than to America. The very first four-family association organized in the Southeast Asian region was the Kucheng Association (古城會館) in Singapore in 1873. Subsequently other four-family associations were formulated in the region. All four-family associations continued to be organized with the name “Kucheng” instead of “Lung Kong.” At present, most “Kucheng” associations have been changed to “Lung Kong” associations in the region.

         The following table summarizes some of the earlier Lung Kong Associations (Kucheng Associations) and the year of establishment in the Southeast Asian region:

Lung Kong in Other Areas of the World

At the Fifth Fraternal Convention of the Pan American Lung Kong Tin Yee Association held in Havana, Cuba in 1958, a proposal to establish a worldwide Lung Kong association was passed and adopted. In addition, a special committee has formed to study its feasibility. There, a seed had been planted to establish a worldwide Lung Kong organization. Two years later, in August 1960, the Hong Kong Lung Kong Tin Yee association was established. Lung Kong association delegations from all over the world came to Hong Kong to celebrate the new association. Right after the celebration, over 40 delegates remained in Hong Kong and met for 14 days straight to discuss, plan and formulate the structure of  a worldwide lung kong organization. Finally, in September 29, 1960, the Lung Kong World Federation was born. Headquarters remained in Hong Kong. Eight years later, in 1968, the Lung Kong World Federation headquarters moved to Taipei, Taiwan to this day.

    The following table summarizes the Lung Kong Associations and the year of establishment in other
 areas of the world:

The Purpose of Lung Kong     

     The growth of the Lung Kong organization is quite a phenomenon. From a temple, which started 344 years ago in an unknown village in southern China, to the present day, Lung Kong associations are established all over the world. It can be said that the sun will never set on Lung Kong.  How did the organizations grow so large and so quickly?  Let’s look into the purposes of the Lung Kong organization in which its members obey and practice, and the answer is very apparent.
             “The purposes of the Association are to propagate the spirit of our four
               Ancestors, as expressed in their sworn eternal brotherhood at the Peach
               Garden and in their assembly at the Ancient City, and in the teachings
               of Ancestor Liu; to promote virtues of loyalty, righteousness, kindness,
               and courage; also to unite in devoted fellowship and seek mutual assistance
               and mutual benefit.
          (Excerpt from the Bylaws of the Pan American Lung Kong Tin Yee Association)

     To note, the teachings of Ancestor Liu Bei are quite noble and they can be simply expressed as
 follows:
            Don’t do anything evil regardless how small it is;
            Don’t fail to do a good deed regardless how negligible it is;
            Only with virtues and wisdom can win people’s heart.