Chun Lung (; c. 1852 – August 11, 1889) was a Chinese businessman in the

Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. It was established in 1795 w ...

. He sometimes used his father's Hawaiianized surname and was known as C. L. Afong. He was also known as Alung or Ah Lung using the common Cantonese diminutive prefix Ah () before his given name.

Early life

Alung was born in about 1852, in the village of Kai Sheong-san,

Zhuhai Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. He was the eldest son of Chun Afong and his primary '' kit-fat'' wife (), Lee Hong. His father resided in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

where he became the first Chinese millionaire in Hawaii and traveled intermittently between the islands and China. Alung had two full brothers and sixteen half-siblings from his father's second marriage to Julia Fayerweather Afong, a British-Hawaiian woman of ''

aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. Cognates of the word ''aliʻi'' have a similar meaning in other Polynesian languages; in Māori it is pronoun ...

'' (noble) descent. His father Chun Afong and half-brother Toney ( Chun Chik-yu) returned to China in June 1862. Chun Afong left his Hawaiian-born son to live with Lee Hong and his family in Meixi and took Alung back to Hawaii to raise in each other's respective culture for the next seven years. Afong returned to China in 1869 with Alung to retrieve Toney.

Education

Back in Honolulu, Alung was instructed in the English language by either

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

missionary Rev. Edmund Ibbotson or Charles William Turner at

ʻIolani School Iolani School is a private coeducational K-12 college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. It serves over 2,200 students with a boarding program for grades 9 - 12 as well as a summer boarding program for middle school grades. Founded in 18 ...

(called St. Alban's College). He later studied at

Oahu College Oahu College (originally and later, Punahou School; 1853-1934) was located in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was a school for the children of Protestant missionaries serving throughout the Pacific region. It was the first school west of the Rocky Mountains ...

. Both brothers were prepared for college at Hartford Public High School in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. Alung later enrolled in

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

under the tutelage of

Yung Wing Yung Wing (; November 17, 1828April 21, 1912) was a Chinese-American diplomat and businessman. In 1854, he became the first Chinese student to graduate from an American university, Yale College. He was involved in business transactions between C ...

. He was part of the class of 1879. During his junior year at Yale, Alung won an oratory prize with his essay titled "The Educational Element in Chinese Civilization".; ;

Career

After graduating from Yale, he was employed at the Chinese Legation at

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, as an interpreter. In 1886–87, he was appointed as Special Commissioner by the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

government to inquire into the

Coolie Coolie (also spelled koelie, kouli, khuli, khulie, kuli, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a pejorative term used for low-wage labourers, typically those of Indian people, Indian or Chinese descent. The word ''coolie'' was first used in the 16th cent ...

trade in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. He was awarded a tract of land and the decoration of the "White Button" by the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China ...

. Around 1884, Alung returned to Hawaii to help his father manage his Hawaiian business interests. In 1886–87, he was involved in the so-called ''Aki opium scandal'', an infamous bribery scandal involving King

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...

and his subordinate

Junius Kaʻae Junius Kaʻae (September 17, 1845 – December 19, 1906) was a Native Hawaiian politician of the Kingdom of Hawaii. In 1887, he was implicated in the infamous bribery scandal involving King Kalākaua over the sale of an opium license to Tong Kee. ...

who promised a government license to sell

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

to Chinese businessman Tong Kee (Aki) after a bribe of $75,000. Despite the bribe, Alung was awarded the license and Aki demanded the return of the money. When the king refused Aki brought a lawsuit against the king. Alung became seriously ill while on a business trip between Honolulu and the Pepeekeo Plantation on the island of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. Although given medical treatment on

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, he died on August 11, 1889, of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

, after he returned to Honolulu. Alung married Ung See Soy and had three children: Chan Mui-Ngan, Chan Wing-On and an unnamed child.

Notes

References

Bibliography