#b.l. singley

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Hurricane aftermath in Galveston, Texas Photographer: B.L. Singley Date: 1900 Negative Number: 112321 From Keystone View Company stereocard #10992: "'Topsy-Turvy'-- A Characteristic Scene in One of the Worst Stricken Districts, Galveston, Texas"

[chinatownstreetscape]

“3546 The New Chinese Joss House, Waverly Place, San Francisco” c. 1887. Photograph by Isaiah West Taber.   The above photograph shows the new headquarters of the Hoy Sun Ning Yung Association at 25 Waverly Place (the construction of which other sources report was completed in 1890). Seen at the top is the temple containing a shrine to Guan Di (關帝; canto: “Guān daì” implies deified status) or "Lord Guan" (關公; canto: Guān Gūng), while his Taoist title is "Holy Emperor Lord Guan" (關聖帝君; “Gwaan1 Sing3 dai3 gwan1”).

A pioneer Chinese American institution:  The Ning Yung Association

In 2022, the Ning Yung Association quietly marked the 115th anniversary of the construction of its headquarters building on Waverly Place in San Francisco Chinatown.  In 2023, this pioneer institution will mark its 170th anniversary as one of Chinatown’s preeminent and influential organizations in the life of Chinese America.   

The late Him Mark Lai, the dean of Chinese American historiography and a co-founder of the Chinese Historical Society of America, wrote about Ning Yung and the network of district associations or “huiguan” [會館; canto: “wui gwun”] as follows:

“[The] system evolved in response to the need of the Chinese to organize for social, economic, and political reasons. The earliest formal organization, the huiguan, united clans or groups of people from the same region, district or districts. Led by the merchant class, the huiguan exercised by economic power and social control over its members. The huiguan became the key components of the CCBA [“Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association” a.k.a. Chinese Six Companies]. The latter represents a higher level of organization which was prompted by a growing sense of community that crossed clan or regional lines and the need to respond to anti-Chinese agitation. . . .

“In 1853 a dispute within the Sze Yup Company led Xinning [canto: Sunning] people, with the largest number of Sze Yup immigrants, to secede and form Ningyang Yuguan (Ning Yung Association) [寧陽會館; canto: Ning Yung Wui Gwun]. The split was accented by a bloody fight between adherents of each faction in front of a San Francisco Chinatown theater. . . . * * * “. . . The huiguan was the organization by which the merchant class in the Chinese community maintained social control. It influenced the lives of the nineteenth-century Chinese immigrants as soon as they arrived in San Francisco. ‘Each huiguan has one to two directors (dongshi) and one interpreter (tongshi) . . . . When Chinese arrive each huiguan sends people to the wharf to meet and take them to the association quarters where they are registered.” The association building served the purpose of a caravansary, where the new immigrant was furnished a room to spread his mat and provided with water and facilities for cooking. Persons returning from inland towns enroute to China, or who had finished a job and were seeking new work, could also find temporary lodgings there.”

-- From the essay “Historical Development of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association/Huiguan System,” by Him Mark Lai

The current Ning Yung Association building on Waverly Place represents at least the third headquarters building for San Francisco Chinatown’s preeminent district association.  The 1890 construction of the building and “new Chinese joss house” seen in I.W. Taber’s photo 3546 replaced an earlier structure at 517 Broadway Street which the association had constructed in 1864, the temple portion of which had been devoted to the worship of Guan Di.  

Prior to its relocation to Waverly Place, and between 1887 and 1890, the Ning Yung Association had also been located at what was 230 Montgomery Ave. (near Adler), as listed on page 1098 of the Langley’s directory for 1883.

No photos of the interior of the Ning Yung’s temple have been identified definitively.  Fortunately, an English language description of the interior of the temple from November 1892 by Frederic J. Masters, .D.D., was published in The Californian Illustrated Magazine (vol. II, no. 5, p. 5).  Masters wrote about the Ning Yung Company’s temple as follows:  

“The finest Pagan establishment in San Francisco is the new temple of Kwan Kung,. on the west side of Waverly street between Clay and Sacramento streets.  It was erected nearly two years ago in connection with the headquarters of the Ning Yeung or Sze Yap Company, the richest and most powerful Chinese guild in California.  The lot and buildings are said to have cost one hundred and sixty thousand dollars.  The entrance bears the Chinese inscription:  “Purify thyself by fasting and self-denial.”  The walls on each side of the marble staircase are adorned with thousands of slips of red paper, each bearing the name of some subscriber to the last temple festival, the amounts contributed ranging from one to a hundred dollars. On the first floor are the offices of the company and the guild hall, containing elegant embroideries, gilded carvings and ebony furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl, the most costly to be found in San Francisco. Over the guild hall is a gilt inscription:  “Honesty is the bond of association.”  On either side are two poor paintings in oil, one of the terraced city of Victoria Hong Kong, the other a picture of General Grant's arrival at the Taku forts en route to Peking.  Ascending another flight of steps, we meet with such inscriptions as “Men and women must be separated;“ “Gentlemen will behave with decorum;” “Beware of little fingers (pickpockets);“ “Highbinders keep away.”  Over the inner folded doors that stand in front of the temple, and are never opened except when the idol is carried forth in procession, hangs a magnificent monumental gateway piece of carved woodwork, the gift of the Lee family.  It is an intricate device representing the principal gods of the Chinese pantheon, a most artistic composition containing miniature temples, pagodas and shrines festooned with flowers interlaced with gilded dragons, amidst which are the thrones of gods and goddesses, the highest being “the heavenly Mandarin.”  The piece contains crowds of illustrious generals and statesmen of historic fame, mingled with gorgeous peacocks and fabulous birds, standard bearers with flags and banners, the most conspicuous being the banner of the dragon king of the Eastern Sea and the banner of the Prince of the North, so familiar to readers of Chinese fairy tales.  In a corner near the door is the shrine of the God of Earth, an image of painted clay with long white beard, clad in royal robes and seated in regal state.  

Artist’s sketch of the shrine to Guan Di (關帝; canto: “Guān daì”) the deified "Lord Guan" (關公; canto: “Guān Gūng”) as seen through the top balcony of the new Ning Yung building on Waverly Place. 

“Behind the folded doors is an enormous brazen urn worth a thousand dollars.  Over a hundred bright-colored tablets cover the walls or hang from the ceiling, bearing eulogistic inscriptions to the patron deity of the Ning Yeung Company.  Many of these have been presented by worshippers in acknowledgment of supposed personal favors received from the god.  One in crimson reads:  “Thy grace abounds like ocean waves.”  A purple tablet reads: “The breath of the gods fills heaven and earth.”  Another tablet in blue hears a prayer:  “May thy mercy descend upon our house,” inscribed with forty names.  Two long tablets in green bear a distich which cannot be translated in the antithetical sententious form of the original. “Thy glory all the empire fills and reaches distant lands like light from sun and moon.”  The altars are very fine, bearing costly urns, incense bowls, candlesticks and trays carved with those historic devices so dear to every patriotic Chinese heart.  The silken scrolls and banners are exquisite pieces of embroidery presented by rich merchants of the guild, one splendid device representing an historic scene on the one side and a eulogistic motto for the idol's birthday on the other, stretching across the temple.  

The upper floors of the Ning Yung Association’s building at 25 Waverly Place in old San Francisco Chinatown, c. 1887.  Photographer unknown (from the collection of the Bancroft Library).  Judging from the state of the potted plants, the photo appears to have been taken later than I.W. Taber’s photo 3546.

“The fronts of the altars are set with elaborate carved work representing historic scenes of feudal times, the pageantry of royal courts or figures of sages and kings belonging to that remote age of China's national greatness upon which a Chinaman loves to dwell.  Out of compliment to the military god are seen stands of spears, halberds, battle-axes and other weapons with banners, loh-sang and battle flags.  There is a huge brass dragon spear, tasseled and draped in peach-colored silk, about ten feet long, placed in a stand. It is said to be an imitation of the weapon one hundred and ten pounds in weight used by Kwan Kung in battle. 

“In the corner is a stand also found in every temple, containing a bass drum and a heavy bell, used to wake the god or call his attention when worshippers are present.  According to an inscription, the bell was cast in the third year of the Emperor Tung Chi, and its frame bears the words: “Let my voice be heard ten thousand miles.” Close by is a stand containing the temple roll of commandments and the great seal of the god, wrapped in yellow cloth and opened on high days to stamp good-luck papers—a rich source of revenue to the temple treasury.  On the veranda over the door is another large device in carved wood bearing the inscription:  “Leet Shing Kung,” or Pantheon of the Holy Gods. It contains minute figures of the Chinese deities in heaven, earth and sea, so arranged that worship offered at this temple is accepted by all the gods.  Two granite lions of fabulous design seated upon the veranda wall are worthy of remark. These are supposed to guard the aerial approaches to the temple and keep off evil influences. Each lion's mouth contains a loose stone ball chiseled out of the solid granite.  The ball is emblematical of power, but how it was carved so round and smooth in so inaccessible a place is a puzzle.  Close by stands a furnace where paper money and other sacrifices are burnt and are supposed to pass through the flames and smoke to the god, whose spirit is believed to dwell above, the image being regarded as its earthly representation.  Re-entering the temple, we follow behind some worshippers. After passing two splendid altar pieces, with their costly service of urns, censers, bowls and vases, the visitor stands in front of the high altar, and a canopy of carved ebony, gilded with dragons and images of immortals and decorated with embroidered draperies, silken banners, tinselled ornaments, gilded altar screens and fans of cunning workmanship.  There is an enormous coil of incense in the shape of a crinoline hung up on a frame which burns for days.  The worshipper kneels upon a mat in front of the altar, the priest drones forth his litany in unintelligible sounds, incense ascends in curling wreaths to the temple roof; bells tinkle and drums sound ; a score of colored candles flicker forth their yellow glare; the holy flame from the altar lamp, that is never allowed to go out, sheds its ruddy light upon the stem visage of the nation's hero, that flower of Sahm Kwok Chivalry, the Saint George of Far Cathay, whose full apotheosis title is the faithful, brave and all-compassionate Prince, Kwan Kung, the God of War.

“Interior of a Chinese Temple, Broadway, San Francisco” -- The location cited in the caption of this drawing of an altar to Guan Di probably denotes the pre-1890 location of the Ning Yung temple on Broadway.  

At this point in his 1892 article, Frederic Masters digressed from his description of the Ning Yung temple to explain to his readers about the deified Guan Di as follows:

“Of all the gods worshipped by the Cantonese in America Kwan Kung is the most popular.  He is the hero of their ballads, novels and dramas, the embodiment of Chinese patriotism, the center around which rallies the spirit of Chinese jingoism.  In life he was a distinguished general who flourished in the third year of the Christian era.  At a time when the empire was rent with civil strife and when the court was the scene of political intrigues, Kwan Kung, the patriot, came to the front and gave loyal support to the Emperor Lau Pey against the traitor, Tso Tso.  His exploits are recounted at length in the popular novel called the “History of the Three States.”  It was not until eight hundred years after his death, however, that he became a god.  The occasion of his canonization is said to have been the drying up of the salt wells in the province of Shan Si, a calamity that caused wide spread misery.  The Emperor and his ministers are said to have prepared written prayers, which were burnt and conveyed up to heaven in the smoke. An hour had scarcely elapsed when, as the legend says, Kwan Kung riding his red charger, appeared in mid-heaven and informed his majesty that his petitions could not be granted till a temple was erected to his honor.  No time was lost, hundreds of masons were set to work, and when the top stone was set in its place the wells once more yielded their supplies. It is said that during the rebellion of 1855, the hero appeared to the commander-in-chief of the Imperial forces directing the plan of the campaign, and assisting in the battle that led to the overthrow of the rebels at Nanking.  Grateful for this interposition, the Emperor Hien Fung placed him on the same rank with Confucius in the national pantheon and Kwan Kung was henceforth known to men as the God of War, the protector of the people and the preserver of the empire's peace. In China there are one thousand and six hundred state temples to this god, at which the Mandarins worship twice a month and offer sacrifices of sheep and oxen. . . .”

Aside from serving as a spiritual center, the Ning Yung Association’s headquarters also served as a hub of civic life.

Crowd waiting for news about the Boxer Rebellion outside the headquarters of the Hoy Sun Ning Young Assn at 25 Waverly Place, c.1901. (Photo by B.L. Singley/Library of Congress). An original stereograph of this gathering may be viewed in the Cooper Chow collection at the Chinese Historical Society of America. 

Visible in the background of this second shot of the crowd outside Ning Yung headquarters are the ground floor storefronts of Quong On Chong & Co. (at 23 Waverly), and Chew Chung Lung Wo Kee Company (at 27 Waverly) in San Francisco Chinatown. 

The address stated for the above photos raises the question of the Ning Yung Association's address changes both pre and post-quake.  In the Langley's directory for 1880, the “Nin Yueng: association is listed at 25 Waverly, and the same address is indicated for its phone listing in the telephone directory for 1900.  However, by the time of the publication of the 1904 phone directory, the address for the “Ning Yung Koon See, Ning Yung Assn” is listed at 35 Waverly, and the Chew Chong Lung business address has shifted from 27 to 37 Waverly as shown on page 6 here: https://archive.org/.../sanfranciscotele.../page/n5/mode/2up

We know that the association would not have moved out of its fairly new building (built circa 1890); one can only surmise that either Ning Yung or the city re-numbered the addresses.  Looks like some additional research is in order here.

As for the post-quake era, and by the time of publication of the telephone directory of 1909, the address “Ning Yung Assn” had been changed to its current one at 41 Waverly Place.  And it is listed at 41 Waverly Place on page 196 of the directory that reflects much of the rapid rebuild of the preceding three years: https://archive.org/.../sanfranciscohom.../page/196/mode/2up

Was the address change required by the City or self-selected?  Non-native-born Chinese were denied the right to own real property in California.  Although Ning Yung had existed for at least 40 years, the Secretary of State's online record shows it was incorporated on or about August 20, 1892, presumably after the termination of the state law that barred Chinese from forming corporations.  As a corporation, however, it could own real property, so one can assume that it held valid title to its Waverly Place property prior to the quake.  Based on this assumption (which, unfortunately, can only be done by an in-person examination of the Assessor’s office records at City Hall, and not online), Ning Yung was able to rebuild in 1907 on the same parcel, but a new range of address numbers for what is now 41 – 45 Waverly Place was either selected or assigned.  

OPENING OF NEW NING YUNG BUILDING

From the San Francisco Examiner, October 27, 1907:

“The opening of the new Ning Yung house on Waverly Place, between Washington and Clay, was one of the social events of Chinatown a few days ago. The affair was attended by the Chinese Consul General Sun Sze Yee and the Vice Consul King, besides Ju Dung Nang, the president, and many members of the Ning Yung, which is one of the most important of the Chinese associations.

“The building is erected on the site of the former Ning Yung headquarters, and a notable difference in the absence of many Chinese features and substitution of American improvements. The failure to conform to ancient Chinese customs in the matter of the arrangement of the new building is said to have occasioned some dissension in the more conservative elements of the association, but is reported to have met the approval of those among the members anxious to create the atmosphere of an American club.”

The Ning Yung Association’s headquarters at 41 Waverly Place in December 2022.  Photo by Doug Chan

Photo by Doug Chan

Thanks to Wong Yuen-ming for research assistance.

[updated 2023-4-2]