Pearl of the Desert | Chinese History in Arizona, USA (39) Chapter 4: The History of Four Chinese Families

Arizona Chinese Historical Association: Zhang Zhaohong 2. Guan Chongqiong Family (1) The history of the Guan Chongqiong Family can be preserved to a large extent because of this family...

Arizona Chinese Historical Association: Zhang Zhaohong

2. Guan Chongqiong Family (1) )

> The history of the Guan Chongqiong family can be preserved to a large extent because this family has contributed to the country, the motherland, and the Chinese society.

> Guan Chongqiong (1893-1981), a native of Tianxin Village, Chikan, Kaiping, Guangdong, died at the age of 88. Guan Chongqiong’s wife Li Nuhao (1891-1975), a native of Tianxin Village, Kaiping, Guangdong, died at the age of 84. During their lifetime, they had a total of eleven children.

Before the history of Guan Chongqiong’s family was written, although the family enjoyed a high reputation in the Chinese community from the 1920s to the 1970s, half a century later, it had been gradually forgotten.

After the death of senior Guan Chongqiong in 1981, his only black and white photo can be seen in the phone book issued by the Phoenix Overseas Chinese Federation, which reads: Founding Chairman of the Phoenix Overseas Chinese Federation, and there is no other more information. The Phoenix Overseas Chinese Federation was founded in 1968.

In the 1990s, the author joined the "Longgang" clan group consisting of Liu, Guan, Zhang and Zhao. At that time, I learned that senior Guan Chongqiong was the founder and first chairman of the Phoenix Longgang Organization. I saw the next group photo left, but there was no other information.

Since then, when accumulating the history of Chinese people in Phoenix City, more and more information about the Guan Chongqiong family has become more and more representative, so starting from the first episode of "Desert Pearl", the story of the Guan Chongqiong family has been written.

In recent years, due to constant visits, the author has gained the trust of the Guan family. They have provided me with many original documents, information and photos, so that I can write down the original story of this famous family in a more systematic way.

Among the Chinese families in Arizona, only Guan Chongqiong and his son participated in World War I and World War II, and both of them had military merit.

Guan Chongqiong participated in World War I and was wounded during the war, and was awarded the "Purple Heart Medal".

The two sons of the Guan family participated in the Second World War and returned to China to participate in the Anti-Japanese War. The eldest son, William Kwan, later became a lieutenant colonel and became the highest-ranking holder of the Chinese-American military rank in Arizona. The third son, Guan Guannuo, was a member of the Flying Tigers, a special forces unit of the US military headquarters.

Guan Chongqiong was elected to the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame. Only three Chinese-American soldiers in the state have this honor.

This family contributed money and effort to the Anti-Japanese War, took care of the Chinese Air Force soldiers who came to the United States for training, and formed a deep friendship.

This family is well-run in real estate, shops, and restaurants, and has become a successful example of Chinese business entrepreneurship.

This family is enthusiastic about public welfare, has made positive contributions to mainstream society and the Chinese community, and has made many achievements.

The D. H. Toy Residence is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2016, Longgang America held the 16th Kiss Conference in Phoenix. It received strong support from the Guan family and sponsored US$10,000 to the organizing committee. During the conference, as the founders of Phoenix Longgang, the photos of Guan Chongqiong and his wife were placed in the lobby and were respected by the four surnamed clan members. "Longgang Quarterly", which has a history of more than 100 years, has published this photo on its full page for three consecutive years.

Another important point is that the Guan family is good at preserving information. Since Guan Chongqiong immigrated to the United States, he has kept entry certificates, discharge documents, return documents, and even car insurance from a hundred years ago, etc. In this archiving process, the author reorganized these unpublished family genealogies, materials, documents, photos, etc., to leave more historical records for this representative family.

In the process of many interviews, I deeply felt the ordinaryness and greatness of this family. I continued to write during interviews, and continued to interview while writing, and continued to revise with the increase of data. It can be said that the Guan Chongqiong family has been a model for local Chinese for more than a hundred years, and it is also one of the families that the editor has been able to collect the most historical materials.

We will publish information in installments to let everyone know more about this famous Chinese family in Arizona. (to be continued)