The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Alvin I. Dacanay
They’re undeniably Filipino, yet they’re not. Their slanted eyes and pale skin show how different they are, but their accent and speech also show how they are not that different. Their surnames may sound foreign, but everything else about them are not.
This has often been with Chinese-Filipinos, or Tsinoys, for centuries: caught between the country of their ancestors and the country they now call home, between who they are and who they are not. Non-Tsinoys sometimes even wonder about that. Fortunately, there is a special museum in Intramuros that has already worked to lessen that confusion: Bahay Tsinoy.
Established in 1999 and housed in the Kaisa Heritage Center, Bahay Tsinoy presents vivid portraits of the Chinese in Philippine life. Visitors can learn as much when they move through the various sections of the museum, showing the Chinese in various guises.
First, there’s the Chinese in his most traditional role: as trader. Long before Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached our shores, precolonial Filipinos and Chinese traders had already enjoyed years of fruitful business dealings. They had bartered swallow nests for silk, mother-of-pearl for porcelain bowls and plates, and ornaments with tortoise shells for farm implements. The museum displays some of these previously buried precious goods, with many of them in fine condition, ready to be admired.
The next section, though, presents a radical shift. Here, the Chinese trader becomes the persecuted outsider. Spanish colonization not only brought sharp-nosed peninsulares (pureblooded Spaniards born in the Iberian peninsula) to the Philippines, but also a greater number of Chinese immigrants. Called Sangleys by the Spaniards, these Chinese served as the backbone of the colonial economy. But their fast-growing population alarmed the colonizers, who forced them to settle in a ghetto outside the Walled City called the Parian. Worse, the Spaniards often mistreated them. This sometimes escalated into large-scale massacres.
Despite this, the Chinese not only survived, but also thrived. A replica of the Puerta del Parian façade leads guests to the next section, where life-sized wax figures of the Chinese in different roles are on display: Merchants. Traders. Vendors. Barbers. Carpenters. Cobblers. Public readers.
For many of the Chinese, they also assumed another role: as Catholic convert. Their conversion to Roman Catholicism allowed them to move out of the Parian and resettle elsewhere. A good number of them worked as artisans and craftsmen for the Spanish friars. Upon close inspection, the different religious statues and elaborately decorated altars on exhibit do show unmistakable Chinese features.
A lot of these Christianized Chinese married Filipinos and relocated to better neighborhoods, such as Binondo, Santa Cruz and Tondo. The two-story bahay-na-bato, or stone houses, they built reflected their improved status in life. These houses often have a sari-sari store that sold a variety of products, and a tool shed on the ground floor. The upper floor, on the other hand, served as the actual residence of the family. Here, the Chinese shed their image as merchants and traders and stepped into their roles as household heads and managers. Here, certain furniture pieces, kitchen utensils and food-processing techniques also reveal strong Chinese links.
The last years of Spanish rule saw the Chinese and Chinese mestizos adopting another role: as patriot. Like the indios, they had had enough of the abuse inflicted on them by the Spaniards. Encouraged by European ideals, a lot of them joined the Philippine reform and revolutionary movements. Several of the men and women the country honors today as heroes, including the Great Malayan himself, Dr. José P. Rizal, actually have Chinese blood. This section of the museum pays tribute to their sacrifices.
World War II had forced the Chinese to take on yet another role: as guerilla. During the Japanese Occupation, Chinese-Filipinos formed guerilla units and fought alongside their Filipino comrades, and fought just as valiantly.
Today, many Chinese-Filipinos hold top positions in different fields, especially in business, community development and government. Their roles as tycoons, community leaders and politicians continue to impact Philippine daily life, and help shape the future.
History has witnessed how the Chinese in the country have evolved through the centuries, shifting from one role to another to respond to the needs of the times. For a long time, Chinese-Filipinos have struggled to know themselves, to confront who they truly are, and to determine what part they should play in Philippine society.
But for Bahay Tsinoy, it has never doubted as to who the Tsinoy is. This museum, which shows the many faces of the Chinese in the Philippines, cherishes a particular identity over and above all that it had taken on through the years. It is an identity Tsinoys have more than earned. It is an identity that they proudly assert: the Chinese as Filipino.
Bahay Tsinoy is located inside the Kaisa Heritage Center, on the corner of Anda and Cabildo streets in Intramuros, Manila. It is open from 1 to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday. Entrance fee is P100 for adults and P60 for students. For more information, call (632) 527-6083 or 526-6796, send an e-mail to info@bahaytsinoy.org or visit www.bahaytsinoy.org.