Lung Kong Tin Yee Association 龍岡親義公所
The Lung Kong Tin Yee Association 龍岡親義公所 is one of the larger and older associations of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. It is often referred to as the Four Families 四 姓 一 家 as it is a conglomerate of four clans: Liu 劉 (also spelled Lew, Lau, Lieu), Guan 關 (also Kwan, Quan, Kuan), Zhang 張 (also Chang, Cheong, Cheung), and Zhao 趙 (also Chew, Chao, Chu, Trieu). Today, there are millions of Chinese and in the Chinese diaspora who bear the four last names, and chapters of the Lung Kong Tin Yee Association, headquartered in Taipei, have sprung up around the world and across the U.S.
The Los Angeles chapter of the Lung Kong Tin Yee Association was founded around 1870 on Ferguson Street. In 1887, a Chinatown fire forced the group to move to Los Angeles Street, where they established a hall next to the Garnier Building around 1889. In 1928, it merged with Mu Tin Association 睦親 (renamed to Ming Yee 名義 Tong), which functioned as a protection and self-defense group in earlier times when Chinese Americans were often under racial attack. Together, they became the Lung Kong Tin Yee Association.
The construction of the Santa Ana Freeway forced the Lung Kong Tin Yee Association to move out of the Garnier Building. The Association, with the generous support of its members, began building a new home at its current location at 989 North Broadway in 1947. The first floor of this building consists of several commercial units which the association leases out to generate income. The second floor serves as a gathering place for members to engage in cultural activities such as meetings, mahjong, ping pong, kungfu, and lion dancing. Ornamented with paintings, scrolls, historical photographs, and archival records, the second floor main hall also bears a wall mural depicting the four blood brothers who founded the Lung Kong Tin Yee Association.
Origins of the Association
In the novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is a story of four who became oath brothers in their patriotic goals: Liu Bei 劉 備, Guan Yu 關 羽, Zhang Fei 張 飛, and Zhao Yun 趙 雲. This is the origin of this generational friendship. In 1662, in the village of Longgang 龍崗區 (in Cantonese, Lung Kong) in Kaiping district 開平 (in Cantonese, Hoiping), a temple was founded by members of the Four Families. The Four Families joined together for self-protection in the Qing dynasty. In 1876, the early Chinese immigrants built a similar temple in San Francisco. The main purpose of this fraternal organization was to serve as “family” for Chinese immigrants of these four clans. They are guided by four virtues: loyalty, justice, kindness, and courage. At each official gathering, they chant their motto to remind all of their legacy. This motto is credited to Liu Bei 劉備 who was then on his sick bed.
