Chinese Catholic merchants during the Philippines’ colonial period have been labeled by many Western documenters as “bad” or “insincere,” so historian Richard Chu discovered in his doctoral research.

The research, for the University of Southern California, has been published as a book Chinese and Chinese Mestizos: Family, Identity, and Culture 1860s-1930s.

Chu said he discovered that Spanish missioner had accused Chinese merchants of marrying Filipino women just to gain privileges and benefits accorded to Catholics. Later, they reportedly “abandoned” their families and returned to China.

Most 19th century accounts of the Chinese were derived from official Church documents by priests. Many of these priests had no understanding of the Chinese or their culture, Chu concluded.

He claims the documents do not take into consideration the role of the Church in shaping the way the Chinese practiced Catholicism.

His interview follows:

Q. Where did the Chinese that you studied come from?

A. Most of the Chinese who came to the Philippines in the early 19th century came from the southeastern part of China. Those who came here were either merchants or blue collar “skilled workers.”

Q. What interested you about them?

A. Western missionaries and other writers wrote about them in a very judgmental way. If they are to be believed, we would say the Chinese were different and were never Catholic.

The purpose of the research was to try to disprove some of the stereotypes attributed to the Chinese merchants.

Q. In what way were they thought to be ‘bad’ Catholics?

A. If you read missioners’ writings you will see the low regard they had for Chinese converts.

Dominican Friar Victorio Riccio called the converts lavados or “washed.” He says they were washed with holy water but were not sincere in their conversion.

Other Westerners said they were opportunists and used the Catholic faith to marry women in order to gain padrinos or patrons who would help them get government licenses and/or loans.

This looked so prejudicial.

I had to find other sources to show what the Chinese converts really felt about Catholicism.

Q. What did your study discover about the role of Church officials toward the situation of Chinese Catholics?

A. One of the charges against the merchants was they were “insincere” Catholics. They converted then married a local woman whilst still having a wife in China.

This did take place but I discovered many took their Filipina wives and children back to China where they were treated as lesser wives or concubines (some as slaves or servants). Boys were brought up by the primary wives but not much is known about the daughters.

The merchants left behind testaments outlining this and saying they had a wife of a Catholic rite while also having a wife through the “rites of their nation.”

I discovered that even though the friars criticized this, they still helped accommodate these marriages.

For example in 1585, Pope Gregory XIII ruled that “pagans far from home” who could not contact their pagan wives were allowed to enter a Catholic marriage.

The Pauline Privilege allowed “pagans,” who converted to the Catholic faith but whose first wife refused to convert, to have a Catholic wife.

In Manila, the Church allowed any Chinese who declared he was sotero or single to marry even if they knew he wasn’t single.

Many priests did not recognize “pagan marriages” as legal, so they believed the man was still single.

Many rich merchants were also regarded as “devout” because they donated lots of money to the churches and lent money to the parishes and priests.

One reason they allowed these marriages, according to the missioners, was that Chinese-Filipino mestizos of Manila children could one day serve the Church as missioners in China.

The Church made many concessions to allow Chinese marriages. It wasn’t until 1917 that the Church codified regulations on marriage.

Q. Why were the Chinese considered ‘insincere’ Catholics?

A. Many were accused of still being Buddhists after conversion. In their homes you would see Buddhist figures alongside Catholic religious statues.

The merchants would give money to build churches here but also send money back to China to build temples. This should be seen as part of their culture rather than a sign of insincerity. Even if they did not believe in Buddhism they still would lend support because it was expected of them.

Q. Where did you get your data?

A. Most of my data came from The National Archives here in Manila and from court case documents. I also searched the archdiocese of Manila  sacramental records which I used to reconstruct family heritages and history.

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