Kongsi in the context of "Pearl River Delta"

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⭐ Core Definition: Kongsi

Kongsi (Chinese: 公司; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kong-si; pinyin: gōngsī; Jyutping: gung1 si1) is a Hokkien transcription of a Chinese term meaning "company", especially businesses which have been incorporated. However, the word has other meanings under different historical contexts. Kongsi were most commonly known as Chinese social organizations or partnerships, but the term was also used for various Chinese institutions.

Amongst overseas Chinese, the word kongsi was applied to reference both clan organizations, whose members shared a common descent, and to district-dialect clubs, for Chinese immigrants originating from the same district speaking the same dialect. In the late 19th century, these district-dialect associations came to be known as wui gun (huiguan; traditional Chinese: 會館; simplified Chinese: 会馆; Jyutping: wuigun; pinyin: huìguǎn), especially in San Francisco, California where many Chinese from eight districts on the west side of the Pearl River Delta near the City of Canton went for the California gold rush.

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Kongsi in the context of Chinatown, San Francisco

The Chinatown, centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Chinese enclaves outside Asia. It is also the oldest and largest of the four notable Chinese enclaves within San Francisco. Since its establishment in the early 1850s, it has been important and influential in the history and culture of ethnic Chinese immigrants in North America. Chinatown is an enclave that has retained its own customs, languages, places of worship, social clubs, and identity.

The Chinatown district is primarily Cantonese and Taishanese-speaking, both dialects originating in southern China. Most Chinatown residents have origins in Guangdong Province and Hong Kong, with some Mandarin-speaking residents from Taiwan and central and Northern China, although lesser in comparison to Cantonese-speaking people, despite Cantonese being a minority language amongst people in China and ethnically Chinese people in Asia.

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Kongsi in the context of Chinatown, San Francisco, California

The Chinatown, centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Chinese enclaves outside Asia. It is also the oldest and largest of the four notable Chinese enclaves within San Francisco. Since its establishment in the early 1850s, it has been important and influential in the history and culture of ethnic Chinese immigrants in North America. Chinatown is an enclave that has retained its own customs, languages, places of worship, social clubs, and identity. San Francisco's Chinatown is also a major tourist attraction, drawing more visitors annually than the Golden Gate Bridge (as of 2013).

The Chinatown district is primarily Cantonese and Taishanese-speaking, both dialects originating in southern China. Most Chinatown residents have origins in Guangdong Province and Hong Kong, with some Mandarin-speaking residents from Taiwan and central and Northern China, although lesser in comparison to Cantonese-speaking people, despite Cantonese being a minority language amongst people in China and ethnically Chinese people in Asia.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Chinatown, San Francisco ← Chinatown, San Francisco, California
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Traditional Chinese characters → Pe̍h-ōe-jī → Pinyin → Jyutping → Hokkien → Company → Incorporation (business) → Overseas Chinese → Simplified Chinese characters → San Francisco, California → Pearl River Delta → Guangzhou → California gold rush →