Pearl of the Desert | Chinese History of Arizona, USA (51) Chapter 4: The History of Four Chinese Families

Arizona Chinese Historical Association: Zhang Zhaohong Deng Kailong Family (3) Deng Kailong (Deng Family Photo Collection) Deng Kailong Family (Deng Family Photo Collection) &…

Arizona Chinese Historical Association: Zhang Zhaohong

>Deng Kailong family (3)

Deng Kailong (Deng family photo album)

Deng Kailong family (Deng family photo album)

Deng Kailong traveled across the ocean to the United States to make a living in the early 20th century. He and his wife Ma Liqing have seven children after marriage.

In 1922, Deng Kailong returned to China and purchased a house in Guangzhou. In 1928, the family moved back to Guangzhou, China. He attached great importance to traditional Chinese cultural education and sent his son to a prestigious school. The second son, Deng Yueyin, attended and boarded at the famous high school attached to National Sun Yat-sen University until graduating from high school. The third son, Deng Yuedian, was in the third year of junior high school at the High School Affiliated to National Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou before returning to the United States. The two brothers are both excellent in Chinese and English and have helped many Chinese and Xinxiang people who do not understand English.

After the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, Deng Kailong and his family planned to move back to the United States. As Guangzhou was bombed, they sought refuge back home in Kaiping before traveling to Hong Kong.

In 1938, they finally left Hong Kong and sailed back to the United States. In order for every child to be able to speak, read and write Chinese, Deng Kailong hired teachers from San Francisco to ensure that his children were proficient in expressing themselves in Chinese.

As the overseas Chinese leader of the Chinese community at that time, Deng Kailong requested the Phoenix Central Baptist Church to open a Chinese Sunday school, and the Phoenix Central Baptist Church later became the First Chinese Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

In the 1930s, in order to allow more Chinese descendants to learn Chinese, Phoenix Chinese established a Chinese school in Chinatown and hired Mr. Frank T. C. Yue, who graduated from Lingnan College in China, to teach. Deng Kailong serves as the director of the Chinese school and cares about the growth of the next generation of Chinese Americans.

>The earliest Chinese school in Chinatown, Phoenix

Deng Kailong was one of the founders of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce

Deng Kailong organized political activities in the 1930s to support the Chinese National Government's anti-Japanese resistance. He was appointed as the leader of the Phoenix branch of the Kuomintang and became a representative at the National Party Conference many times.

>Phoenix Branch of the Kuomintang (1940s)

Deng Kailong was one of the eight founders of the Arizona Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1939 and was the first Chinese organization in Arizona registered with the state government. Deng Kailong once served as the president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

In 1943, during World War II, Deng Kailong was responsible for organizing the China Disaster Relief Fund to fund the National Government. The author collected the photos and names of Deng Kailong and his wife in the "Phoenix City Anti-Japanese National Salvation Organization" of that year: Deng Kailong (founder and chairman of the Fenni Chinese Chamber of Commerce; executive member of the Southern United States Branch of the Chinese Kuomintang, and overseas Chinese affairs counselor of the National Government), and Deng Maliqing (director of the women's section of the Fei Ni branch of the Kuomintang, and the third chairman of the Women's Salvation Association). Deng Kailong and his wife contributed money and efforts to China's Anti-Japanese War.

The buildings built by Deng Kailong are the pride of the Chinese people. He is a hardworking and entrepreneurial person. As a first-generation Chinese immigrant, Deng Kailong had a far-sighted vision. He was diligent, studious, and business-minded. His tireless work enabled him to achieve success. After success, he never forgot to give back to society and the Chinese community. He was a well-known overseas Chinese leader in the Chinese community at that time, and he was also a kind father and good senior. (to be continued)