Wong Nai Siong
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Wong Nai Siong (;
Bàng-uâ-cê Foochow Romanized, also known as Bàng-uâ-cê (BUC for short; ) or Hók-ciŭ-uâ Lò̤-mā-cê (), is a Latin script, Latin alphabet for the Fuzhou dialect of Eastern Min adopted in the middle of the 19th century by Western missionaries. It had ...
: Uòng Nāi-siòng) (1849—1924) as a Chinese revolutionary leader and educator from Minqing county in
Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...
,
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
province, China. He served in The
Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
for many years and participated in the "Ten Thousand Word Memorial" or the "Memorial of the Examination Candidates" Petition (
Gongche Shangshu movement The Gongche Shangshu movement (), or Petition of the Examination Candidates, also known as the Scholar's Petition to the Throne, was a political movement in China during the late Qing dynasty, seeking reforms and expressing opposition to the Treaty ...
) in 1895. He also took part in the
Hundred Days' Reform The Hundred Days' Reform or Wuxu Reform () was a failed 103-day national, cultural, political, and educational reform movement that occurred from 11 June to 22 September 1898 during the late Qing dynasty. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu E ...
in 1898 and the 1911
Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a d ...
which resulted in the founding of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
. Wong led people from Fujian province to migrate to
Sibu Sibu (; Foochow Romanized, Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers ...
,
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
.


Early life, conversion and education

Wong was born in
Minqing County Minqing County is a Counties of China, county in the eastern Fujian, Fujian Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Fuzhou, the provincial capital. History Fire from the soldiers at Meicheng, Fujian, Me ...
,
Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
, where his father was a carpenter. He did farm work to help provide for his family, studying at the same time. In 1866, missionaries from the Methodist Episcopal church arrived; Wong was baptized and converted to Christianity on December the 16th that year. The villagers disapproved, but didn't ostracize him, as they were from the same clan. As time went by, many villagers also converted to Christianity. In the winter of 1867, priest Xu Yang Mei took Wong as an assistant and taught him the Bible. This led to Wong being exposed to Western culture and thinking. When asked his reason for converting to Christianity, Wong remarked on the disparity between the teachings of Confucius and the actions of those who professed Confucianism.


Imperial Examination

During his missionary time, Wong noted that few Christians lived among the influential people in the area, so he decided to take part in the Imperial Examination. In 1877, he became a scholar and was successful in obtaining the shenyuan licentiate degree. His father died in 1884. In 1894, Wong graduated with a 30th position in the Imperial Examination attaining the degree of
Juren ''Juren'' (; 'recommended man') was a rank achieved by people who passed the ''xiangshi'' () exam in the imperial examination system of imperial China. The ''xiangshi'' is also known, in English, as the provincial examination. It was a rank high ...
.


Hundred Days reform

In 1894, Wong's third brother was killed in the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...
. Believing that government incompetence and corruption had led to the downfall of his country, he met
Kang Youwei Kang Youwei (; Cantonese: ''Hōng Yáuh-wàih''; 19March 185831March 1927) was a prominent political thinker and reformer in China of the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor spar ...
in Beijing and participated in the
Gongche Shangshu movement The Gongche Shangshu movement (), or Petition of the Examination Candidates, also known as the Scholar's Petition to the Throne, was a political movement in China during the late Qing dynasty, seeking reforms and expressing opposition to the Treaty ...
in 1895. In 1896, Wong founded the first modern Chinese newspaper called ''Fubao'' and advocated socio-political reform and education of the masses. In 1897, he once again sat for the Imperial Exam. In 1898 following the leading reformers of the hundred days' reform,
Kang Youwei Kang Youwei (; Cantonese: ''Hōng Yáuh-wàih''; 19March 185831March 1927) was a prominent political thinker and reformer in China of the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor spar ...
and
Liang Qichao Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超 ; Wade–Giles, Wade-Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu'') (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political act ...
, Wong submitted eight memorials for the modernization of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Wong's most well known memorial was 'petition for the
Romanization of Chinese Romanization of Chinese () is the use of the Latin alphabet to transliterate Chinese. Chinese uses a logographic script and its characters do not represent phonemes directly. There have been many systems using Roman characters to represent Chin ...
characters or
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
.
Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...
however, found these reforms far to radical and attempted to arrest the reformers and executed some of the leaders of the Reform. Wong was number eleventh on the list of wanted Imperials Criminals pursued by the Qing Imperial army. He managed to escape pursuit and returned to Fujian.


Reconnaissance for resettlement

In September 1899, Wong went to Singapore and worked as an editor for a local newspaper. During his stint, knowing that life was difficult for the people of Fujian, he went to Malaya, Sumatra, and the Dutch East Indies to search for locations for immigrant resettlement and escape from Empress CiXi's authoritarian rule. In April 1900, at the recommendation of his son-in-law, Wong investigated Sarawak's Rejang River Basin. In this area with a small population and large amount of undeveloped land, immigrants were welcomed. In late May 1900, Wong, acting as the harbour master, signed a resettlement contract with the Brooke government for the Rejang Riverbanks area.


Resettlement at Sibu

In September 1900, Wong and his party started recruiting villagers to immigrate to
Sibu Sibu (; Foochow Romanized, Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers ...
; they were able to recruit over 500. On 23 December 1900, the first batch of 91 immigrants left for Sibu, arriving on 12 January 1901. Some of the prospective immigrants changed their minds during the journey, so only 72 people reached Sibu. The second batch of immigrants was led by Wong personally from Fujian. However, during their stop in Singapore, rumours of the villagers being sold as coolies resulted in a riot. Wong, with the help of the minister from the Methodist Episcopal Church, was able to stop the rioting. On 5 March 1901, the immigrants left Singapore; they reached Sibu eleven days later. The third batch of immigrants totalled 1118, of whom two-thirds were Christians. They reached Sibu on 7 June 1902. Wong renamed Sibu as New Fu Zhou. He took out a loan to build six atap houses in New Zhushan to accommodate the farmers. Later, he changed the name of New Zhushan to New Cuo Ann, reflecting the prosperity of the new settlement. Wong gave each farmer of land for farming. However, the new immigrants were not accustomed to the local climate and many fell ill. On top of that, they had to explore new techniques of farming, which made their life more difficult. Wong established the New Fuzhou Company, which sold basic necessities, including rice and salt, to the immigrants. He built five churches and a primary school during his stint in Sibu. During a lion dance event on the Yuan Xiao of 1930 (15 January of the Lunar Calendar), there was a gang fight between the Fuzhou immigrants and the immigrants from Guangdong. This had to be settled by Wong and the Guangdong immigrant leader. To prevent future conflicts, the Brooke government directed immigrants from Fuzhou to develop the area below Rejang Sibu. In June 1904, Wong passed the managing duties to American minister James Hoover, and returned to Fujian. There were many rumours regarding his departure, including poor health, his yearning for revolutionary work, huge debts, and his reluctance to deal opium. After this departure, Hoover introduced rubber-tree planting; the boom in latex propelled Sibu's economy.


Return to China

In June 1906, Wong met
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
in Singapore and joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance. He started disseminating revolutionary propaganda in China, and was involved in the planning of the Chaozhou Huanggang Uprising and the promoting of Fuzhou's education and industrialisation.


Constitution revolution

In 1909, the government began promoting the establishment of a constitution. Wong was elected as a committee member for the Fujian Province. During his term, he submitted several detailed proposals regarding such matters as the establishment of a coastal police, the promotion of farming and industrialisation, and the prohibition of the sale of opium. In 1910, he became the chairman of the Fuzhou YMCA.


Resignation

In 1912, Wong quit his position due to poor health, although rumours suggested that it was due to his support for the prosecution of Pengshou Song, Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Government Administration Council (Hunan). In 1914, Yuan Shi Kai framed Wong for obstructing the "smoke ban" campaign, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. After pressure from abroad, he was released a few months later.


Later years

In 1920, Wong was appointed the higher consultant in the Marshal Office by Sun Yat Sen. In 1921, while on leave in Fujian, he was also appointed a senior consultant in the Fujian Province Office. In July 1923, Wong returned to Minqing County due to liver illness. He died on 22 September 1924.


After death


In China

On 13 May 1947, Fujian Province changed the name of Wang Hou Street to Nai Siong Road, to commemorate Wong's lectures in the Ming Qing Hall located on the street. The road was renamed as Shu Xin Road during the Cultural Revolution, but the name was later changed back to Nai Siong Road. In December 1979, Ming Qing County of Fujian built a memorial museum at the Ban Tou River. A statue of Wong was erected the following year. In 1995, the Ming Qing Ban Dong Town Lake Street was renamed "Nai Siong Street", and the Wong Nai Siong memorial museum in Ming Qing Tai Shan Park was completed. In 1991, the graves of Wong Nai Siong and his brother Wong Nai Mo were declared provincial cultural relics. In 2001, they became a base for patriotism education.


Overseas

In 1958, Sibu Municipal named one of the streets to Nai Siong Road. On 16 March 1961, Sibu celebrated its 60th year of resettlement by unveiling the statue of Wong Nai Siong. In 1967, the "Wong Nai Siong Secondary School" was established. On 16 March 2001, Wong Nai Siong Park and Wong Nai Siong Monument were opened to the public. On 23 November 2007, during the twentieth anniversary of Hong Kong's Asia Week, Taiwanese author and Taiwan's minister of culture
Lung Ying-tai Lung Ying-tai (; born 13 February 1952 in Kaohsiung) is a Taiwanese essayist and cultural critic. She occasionally writes under the pen name 'Hu Meili' (). Lung's poignant and critical essays contributed to the democratization of Taiwan and as t ...
mentioned Wong's accomplishments and expressed her disappointment that not many people knew of him. On 24 November 2012, during a seminar on "Wong Nai Siong and the Fujian Spirit", participants from both China and Taiwan suggested shooting a feature film about Wong. Wong's great-granddaughter Wong Bi Yao ( Anne Pang) revealed that she would be meeting Lung Ying-tai in late 2012 to discuss Lung's suggestion.


Tribute

In 1950, in honor of Wong, a Sibu-based private secondary school was established and named S.M. Wong Nai Siong after him.


References



- Wong Nai Siong and Sun Yat Sen

- Remembering Wong Nai Siong

- Wong Nai Siong's Status


External links



- http://www.66163.com/Fujian_w/news/huabao/hb0106/c-h6-3.html

- http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4f9fbc8d010083f9.html

http://www.dajunzk.com/longyanj.htm

- http://www.chinanews.com/tw/2012/11-24/4355304.shtml

http://ent.china.com.cn/live/2012-11/24/content_17323899.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Nai Siong 1849 births 1924 deaths Chinese revolutionaries Educators from Fujian Malaysian Christians Malaysian people of Chinese descent People from Minqing County