Post by NZBC on Jul 28, 2013 8:55:11 GMT 12
Lum Sai Ho Tong
Mission:
To provide mutual benefit
and assure the welfare of its members
1315 River Street, Honolulu, HI 96817
Telephone (808) 536-6590
History:
The society was established in 1889, when a group of immigrants organized an associa-
tion for people with the last name Lum (or Lam, Lim, and Lin;
Lin
). The first clubhouse,
located in an upstairs room in a building on Smith Street between Hotel and Pauahi, provided a
central location for members to meet with other members and friends on weekends and special
occasions; receive letters from home; find help to read letters from home and to write letters to
China; and obtain help in times of financial need, illness, or other crisis.
In 1899, Lum Say Yip (
Lin Sheye
), a founding member, donated a parcel of land
on River Street, near the corner of Kukui Street, to build the society its own clubhouse. The one-
storey wooden building featured in the front a temple to Tin Hau (
Tianhou
Heavenly
Queen), patron deity of the society, and behind it a meeting place for the members. It was called
the Sai Ho Tong (
Xihe Tang
West River Hall), after the ancestral homelands which lay
west of the Yellow River in China. Although construction was completed in 1899, the typhoid
(??) epidemic of that year led to the fire-razing of Chinatown, in which all buildings in the
quarantined area were burned to the ground. Fortunately, the Sai Ho Tong lay outside the
quarantined area and was spared, and was officially opened in June of 1900.
The society was chartered in 1918 under
the statutes of the Territory of Hawaii.
In 1919, president Lum Yum and the
board of directors approved the renovation of the
original building, including the addition of a
second storey, and the construction of a second
building in front of it. The second storey of the
new building housed the Tin Hau temple and a
conference hall; the ground floor, two rooms for
rental. The second storey of the back (original)
building consisted of a large room for living
quarters; the ground floor comprised a bedroom,
a room for the elderly, and a sick room.
By 1951, the wooden structures was show-
ing signs of dilapidation, so members began to
plan a three-storey structure totake its place. The
design and specifications were provided as a
contribution by member Lum Quon Chock. The
ground floor would include two spacious rooms
for shops in the front and five rooms for living quarters in the back. On the second storey, the
front would house the Tin Hau temple and the back a large kitchen and two toilets and wash-
rooms. The third storey would include a conference room and storeroom. The roof of the build-
ing would be in traditional Chinese style.
While the estimated cost of building was $45,000, the building fund of the society only
held $35,000. The board decided to proceed with construction anyway: three members of the
society, Lum Quon Chock, Lum Wah Hin, and Eddie Lam had generously offered to defray any
costs that could not be covered by the building fund. No written contract was ever signed for the
construction of the new building, but the name of the title holder of the land was properly
changed to Lum Sai Ho Tong, to avert any future problems.
On the 28th day of the 5th lunar month of 1952, between 5:00 and 7:00 am, the golden
statue of Tin Hau was ceremoniously transferred to the Kuan Yin Temple for safe enshrinement
during the time of construction. Then the grounds of the Hall were blessed by Taoist priest Lee
Han. In August, demolition of the building began. Then it was discovered that the foundation
had to be stabilized with rockfill and a concrete pad; to cut expenses, some of the work was done
by the members themselves. The new building was completed on schedule in November, 1953.
On the 15th day of the 11th lunar month, at 4:00 am, rites were conducted in the new
temple to prepare it to welcome back the Tin Hau. All members gathered first in the new build-
ing, and at 5:00 am they proceeded to the Kuan Yin Temple to escort the Tin Hau back to her
new temple. The new building was dedicated on November 18, 1956.
In early 1961, the Honolulu Redevelopment Agency of the City and County of Honolulu
offered to sell the adjacent parcels of land to Lum Sai Ho Tong. If the society did not purchase
the land, and someone else did, the land the building was on would have to be relinquished to
the new buyer. Faced with the necessity of assembling $54,000 for the purchase, the society
assembled a package of society funds, bank loans, and loans from private members, and suc-
ceeded in completing the purchase.
The society’s Charter of Incorporation was amended in 1967, based on the changing
circumstances of the organization and to bring it into compliance with the tax rules for a non-
profit organization.
Membership:
Founded by plantation laborers, the Lum Sai Ho Tong has grown to a society with some
4,000 members, including professionals and business, government, and community
leaders. The Lum Sai Ho Tong was arguably the first Chinese society in Hawaii to grant
full membership rights to women. In 1931, the board of directors voted to offer mem-
bership status to female members of the Lum clan, for the same membership fee as the
men, and enjoying the same rights and privileges, and sharing the same responsibilities.
Three legends:
Tin Hau Sung Mu (Ku Po) (
Tianhou Shengmu [gupo]
Heavenly Queen
Holy Mother (Great Grand-aunt)): The girl later deified as the patron goddess of the Lum clan
was born during the Song dynasty (960–1126 AD), on the 23rd day of the third lunar month
(year unknown). She was the sixth daughter of Lum Yuen, an official of Poo Tin county in
Fukien
(Fujian)
province. Noted for her intelligence and selflessness as a child, and her willing-
ness to help others as she grew to adulthood, she became famous when she dove into deep
waters at sea to save her father from drowning, and attempted to recover the body of her elder
brother. Tragically, she died in her early twenties. Thereafter, there were many reports by seafar-
ers reported that she had appeared to them during heavy storms to guide them to safety. In
successive dynasties, her legend grew, until in the Qing dynasty she was elevated to the status of
tianhou,
or Heavenly Queen, and came to be generally called “The Goddess of the Seas.”
Pi Kan (
Bi Gan
): The Lum clan claims as its earliest ancestor a trusted advisor, the minis-
ter Pi Kan, of the evil last king of the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 BC). Tired of Pi Kan’s con-
stant admonitions, King Tzou ordered him and his entire family executed, but Pi Kan’s pregnant
wife managed to escape and give birth to her son by a spring in the woods. Eventually the evil
king was overthrown by the righteous King Wu, who rehabilitated Pi Kan and bestowed a title
on his young son, whom he named
Lin Jian
(
Forest Spring???).
Lin Jian
eventually the
ancestor of others of the
Lin
(Lum) clan. The land where his father had lived and died, Sai Ho
(Xi He
West River), was given to him and his family. It is located to the west of the
Yellow River, in Shanxi province in northwest China.
Lum family organizations are called the Lum Sai Ho Tong now exist all over the world.
On the sixth day of the fifth month of the lunar member, clan members still gather in their
various organizations to celebrate the birthday of Pi Kan, the original ancestor.
An early Lum in Hawai‘i
:
Prior to the arrival of the first group of Chinese contract laborers in
1852, a young man by the name of Lum Ching from Nam Kai Villange, Kung Sheong Doo
District, Chungshan County, Kwangtung Province, came to Hawai‘i to practice geomancy using
an astronomical compass and a mirror. There is a record of his death and burial in Hawai‘i.
Later, a tombstone bearing his name was discovered in the Manoa Lin Yee Chung cemetery.
Since then, society members have honored “Lum Ching Kung” (The honorable Lum Ching) as
the earliest progenitor of the Lums in Hawai‘i.
Activities
The earliest gathering site of the association provided members with a place to meet
friends, receive and send letters home (with the help of literate members), and receive assistance
in case of need. The clubhouse served then (and continues to serve) the religious needs of the
members as well: ancestral worship, here the worship of Tin Hau, Goddess of Seas, is facilitated
in the temple. Annually, on the 23rd day of the third month of the lunar calendar, the memorial
celebration of the birth of Tin Hau is held at the temple, featuring offerings of incense, candles,
symbolic paper money, and food, contributed by a great many members and their friends. On
occasion, the rites surrounding the worship of Tin Hau are elaborate: on the occasion of her
arrival in the new building in 1953, for example, theTaoist celebration lasted 3 days and 3
nights. For the centennial celebration in 1989 of the founding of the Lum Sai Ho Tong, a Taoist
“Rite of Cosmic Renewal” was conducted over two days, at the Tin Hau temple.
The birthday of the ancestor Pi Kan is also commemorated annually. In addition, the
society holds a spring banquet, a Ching Ming observance at the Lum tombs in Manoa cemetery,
a summer picnic, a Christmas party, and a New Year’s reception and installation of new officers.
Association presidents
Founders: Lum Duck Sun, Lum Duck Yew,
Lum Lup Lock, Lum Gee Hoon, Lum Gee Wah
1899 -
Lam Sa Yip, First President
1900 - 1916
Lum Lup Sai
1917 - 1918
Lum Gum Fat
1919
Lum Yum
1920 - 1921
Lum Sai
1922
Lum Hop
1923
Lum Mun Sook
1924 - 1925
Lum King
1926
Lum Dip
1929 -1934
Lum Ung Kwai
1935 -1936
Lum Chung Chee
1937 - 1938
Lum Dee Chung
1939
Lum Chung Chee
1940 - 1941
Lum Hong Chee
1942 - 1943
Lum Cheong
1944 - 1945
Arthur Wo Lum
1946
Lum Chung Chee
1947
Lum Kee Choong
1948 - 1949
Lum Yee Nung
1950 - 1951
Eddie Lam
1952
Philip W. C. Lum
1953 - 1954
Lum Wah Hin
1955
Dr. Alfred C. S. Lum
1956
Eddie Lam
1957
Lum Wah Hin
1958
Lum Hung Lun
1959
Alfred K. C. Lum
1960
Arthur Wo Lum
1961
Richard M. C. Lum
1962
Lum Young Kan
1963 - 1964
Lum Kam Ping
1965
Clarence W. H. Lam
1966 - 1967
Charles T. C. Lum
1968
Harold C. K. Lum
1969
William H. K. Lum
1970
Lum Kam On
1971 -1972
Lum Wing Kit
1973
James L. H. Lum
1974 - 1975
Kenneth K. Y. Lum
1976 - 1977
Lum Kwai Wah
1978 - 1979
Richard W. C. Lum
1980 - 1981
Kenneth K. Y. Lum
1982 - 1983
Lam Shing Tak
1984 - 1985
Kenneth K. Y. Lum
1986 - 1987
Harold C. K. Lum
1988 - 1989
William H. K. Lum
1996
Henry P.H. Lim
1997–98
Lita H. Lum
1999–00
Betsy Y. Lum
2001 - 2002
Keith W.F. Lim
2003
Victor W.D. Lim
pdf from our clan members in Hawaii in order to give you a brief outline of how our clan came to settle in Sth. China from Hebei province centuries ago. scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/8307/lum%20sai%20ho%20tong.pdf?sequence=1
Mission:
To provide mutual benefit
and assure the welfare of its members
1315 River Street, Honolulu, HI 96817
Telephone (808) 536-6590
History:
The society was established in 1889, when a group of immigrants organized an associa-
tion for people with the last name Lum (or Lam, Lim, and Lin;
Lin
). The first clubhouse,
located in an upstairs room in a building on Smith Street between Hotel and Pauahi, provided a
central location for members to meet with other members and friends on weekends and special
occasions; receive letters from home; find help to read letters from home and to write letters to
China; and obtain help in times of financial need, illness, or other crisis.
In 1899, Lum Say Yip (
Lin Sheye
), a founding member, donated a parcel of land
on River Street, near the corner of Kukui Street, to build the society its own clubhouse. The one-
storey wooden building featured in the front a temple to Tin Hau (
Tianhou
Heavenly
Queen), patron deity of the society, and behind it a meeting place for the members. It was called
the Sai Ho Tong (
Xihe Tang
West River Hall), after the ancestral homelands which lay
west of the Yellow River in China. Although construction was completed in 1899, the typhoid
(??) epidemic of that year led to the fire-razing of Chinatown, in which all buildings in the
quarantined area were burned to the ground. Fortunately, the Sai Ho Tong lay outside the
quarantined area and was spared, and was officially opened in June of 1900.
The society was chartered in 1918 under
the statutes of the Territory of Hawaii.
In 1919, president Lum Yum and the
board of directors approved the renovation of the
original building, including the addition of a
second storey, and the construction of a second
building in front of it. The second storey of the
new building housed the Tin Hau temple and a
conference hall; the ground floor, two rooms for
rental. The second storey of the back (original)
building consisted of a large room for living
quarters; the ground floor comprised a bedroom,
a room for the elderly, and a sick room.
By 1951, the wooden structures was show-
ing signs of dilapidation, so members began to
plan a three-storey structure totake its place. The
design and specifications were provided as a
contribution by member Lum Quon Chock. The
ground floor would include two spacious rooms
for shops in the front and five rooms for living quarters in the back. On the second storey, the
front would house the Tin Hau temple and the back a large kitchen and two toilets and wash-
rooms. The third storey would include a conference room and storeroom. The roof of the build-
ing would be in traditional Chinese style.
While the estimated cost of building was $45,000, the building fund of the society only
held $35,000. The board decided to proceed with construction anyway: three members of the
society, Lum Quon Chock, Lum Wah Hin, and Eddie Lam had generously offered to defray any
costs that could not be covered by the building fund. No written contract was ever signed for the
construction of the new building, but the name of the title holder of the land was properly
changed to Lum Sai Ho Tong, to avert any future problems.
On the 28th day of the 5th lunar month of 1952, between 5:00 and 7:00 am, the golden
statue of Tin Hau was ceremoniously transferred to the Kuan Yin Temple for safe enshrinement
during the time of construction. Then the grounds of the Hall were blessed by Taoist priest Lee
Han. In August, demolition of the building began. Then it was discovered that the foundation
had to be stabilized with rockfill and a concrete pad; to cut expenses, some of the work was done
by the members themselves. The new building was completed on schedule in November, 1953.
On the 15th day of the 11th lunar month, at 4:00 am, rites were conducted in the new
temple to prepare it to welcome back the Tin Hau. All members gathered first in the new build-
ing, and at 5:00 am they proceeded to the Kuan Yin Temple to escort the Tin Hau back to her
new temple. The new building was dedicated on November 18, 1956.
In early 1961, the Honolulu Redevelopment Agency of the City and County of Honolulu
offered to sell the adjacent parcels of land to Lum Sai Ho Tong. If the society did not purchase
the land, and someone else did, the land the building was on would have to be relinquished to
the new buyer. Faced with the necessity of assembling $54,000 for the purchase, the society
assembled a package of society funds, bank loans, and loans from private members, and suc-
ceeded in completing the purchase.
The society’s Charter of Incorporation was amended in 1967, based on the changing
circumstances of the organization and to bring it into compliance with the tax rules for a non-
profit organization.
Membership:
Founded by plantation laborers, the Lum Sai Ho Tong has grown to a society with some
4,000 members, including professionals and business, government, and community
leaders. The Lum Sai Ho Tong was arguably the first Chinese society in Hawaii to grant
full membership rights to women. In 1931, the board of directors voted to offer mem-
bership status to female members of the Lum clan, for the same membership fee as the
men, and enjoying the same rights and privileges, and sharing the same responsibilities.
Three legends:
Tin Hau Sung Mu (Ku Po) (
Tianhou Shengmu [gupo]
Heavenly Queen
Holy Mother (Great Grand-aunt)): The girl later deified as the patron goddess of the Lum clan
was born during the Song dynasty (960–1126 AD), on the 23rd day of the third lunar month
(year unknown). She was the sixth daughter of Lum Yuen, an official of Poo Tin county in
Fukien
(Fujian)
province. Noted for her intelligence and selflessness as a child, and her willing-
ness to help others as she grew to adulthood, she became famous when she dove into deep
waters at sea to save her father from drowning, and attempted to recover the body of her elder
brother. Tragically, she died in her early twenties. Thereafter, there were many reports by seafar-
ers reported that she had appeared to them during heavy storms to guide them to safety. In
successive dynasties, her legend grew, until in the Qing dynasty she was elevated to the status of
tianhou,
or Heavenly Queen, and came to be generally called “The Goddess of the Seas.”
Pi Kan (
Bi Gan
): The Lum clan claims as its earliest ancestor a trusted advisor, the minis-
ter Pi Kan, of the evil last king of the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 BC). Tired of Pi Kan’s con-
stant admonitions, King Tzou ordered him and his entire family executed, but Pi Kan’s pregnant
wife managed to escape and give birth to her son by a spring in the woods. Eventually the evil
king was overthrown by the righteous King Wu, who rehabilitated Pi Kan and bestowed a title
on his young son, whom he named
Lin Jian
(
Forest Spring???).
Lin Jian
eventually the
ancestor of others of the
Lin
(Lum) clan. The land where his father had lived and died, Sai Ho
(Xi He
West River), was given to him and his family. It is located to the west of the
Yellow River, in Shanxi province in northwest China.
Lum family organizations are called the Lum Sai Ho Tong now exist all over the world.
On the sixth day of the fifth month of the lunar member, clan members still gather in their
various organizations to celebrate the birthday of Pi Kan, the original ancestor.
An early Lum in Hawai‘i
:
Prior to the arrival of the first group of Chinese contract laborers in
1852, a young man by the name of Lum Ching from Nam Kai Villange, Kung Sheong Doo
District, Chungshan County, Kwangtung Province, came to Hawai‘i to practice geomancy using
an astronomical compass and a mirror. There is a record of his death and burial in Hawai‘i.
Later, a tombstone bearing his name was discovered in the Manoa Lin Yee Chung cemetery.
Since then, society members have honored “Lum Ching Kung” (The honorable Lum Ching) as
the earliest progenitor of the Lums in Hawai‘i.
Activities
The earliest gathering site of the association provided members with a place to meet
friends, receive and send letters home (with the help of literate members), and receive assistance
in case of need. The clubhouse served then (and continues to serve) the religious needs of the
members as well: ancestral worship, here the worship of Tin Hau, Goddess of Seas, is facilitated
in the temple. Annually, on the 23rd day of the third month of the lunar calendar, the memorial
celebration of the birth of Tin Hau is held at the temple, featuring offerings of incense, candles,
symbolic paper money, and food, contributed by a great many members and their friends. On
occasion, the rites surrounding the worship of Tin Hau are elaborate: on the occasion of her
arrival in the new building in 1953, for example, theTaoist celebration lasted 3 days and 3
nights. For the centennial celebration in 1989 of the founding of the Lum Sai Ho Tong, a Taoist
“Rite of Cosmic Renewal” was conducted over two days, at the Tin Hau temple.
The birthday of the ancestor Pi Kan is also commemorated annually. In addition, the
society holds a spring banquet, a Ching Ming observance at the Lum tombs in Manoa cemetery,
a summer picnic, a Christmas party, and a New Year’s reception and installation of new officers.
Association presidents
Founders: Lum Duck Sun, Lum Duck Yew,
Lum Lup Lock, Lum Gee Hoon, Lum Gee Wah
1899 -
Lam Sa Yip, First President
1900 - 1916
Lum Lup Sai
1917 - 1918
Lum Gum Fat
1919
Lum Yum
1920 - 1921
Lum Sai
1922
Lum Hop
1923
Lum Mun Sook
1924 - 1925
Lum King
1926
Lum Dip
1929 -1934
Lum Ung Kwai
1935 -1936
Lum Chung Chee
1937 - 1938
Lum Dee Chung
1939
Lum Chung Chee
1940 - 1941
Lum Hong Chee
1942 - 1943
Lum Cheong
1944 - 1945
Arthur Wo Lum
1946
Lum Chung Chee
1947
Lum Kee Choong
1948 - 1949
Lum Yee Nung
1950 - 1951
Eddie Lam
1952
Philip W. C. Lum
1953 - 1954
Lum Wah Hin
1955
Dr. Alfred C. S. Lum
1956
Eddie Lam
1957
Lum Wah Hin
1958
Lum Hung Lun
1959
Alfred K. C. Lum
1960
Arthur Wo Lum
1961
Richard M. C. Lum
1962
Lum Young Kan
1963 - 1964
Lum Kam Ping
1965
Clarence W. H. Lam
1966 - 1967
Charles T. C. Lum
1968
Harold C. K. Lum
1969
William H. K. Lum
1970
Lum Kam On
1971 -1972
Lum Wing Kit
1973
James L. H. Lum
1974 - 1975
Kenneth K. Y. Lum
1976 - 1977
Lum Kwai Wah
1978 - 1979
Richard W. C. Lum
1980 - 1981
Kenneth K. Y. Lum
1982 - 1983
Lam Shing Tak
1984 - 1985
Kenneth K. Y. Lum
1986 - 1987
Harold C. K. Lum
1988 - 1989
William H. K. Lum
1996
Henry P.H. Lim
1997–98
Lita H. Lum
1999–00
Betsy Y. Lum
2001 - 2002
Keith W.F. Lim
2003
Victor W.D. Lim
pdf from our clan members in Hawaii in order to give you a brief outline of how our clan came to settle in Sth. China from Hebei province centuries ago. scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/8307/lum%20sai%20ho%20tong.pdf?sequence=1