Oh Young Siew (a famous scholar in the Chin Dynasty) wrote:
“Among Court Officials, friends and gangsters, from ancient times there is a
saying: to determine if a person could be trusted; we have to differentiate between
a gentleman or a rouge.” In the declining years of the Eastern Han Dynasty,
Liu, Kwan and Chong became brothers after the ceremony in the peach orchard.
All three clans desired to bring back Han rule with totally united efforts in their
attempts. That happened more than one thousand years ago. Among the
Overseas Chinese community, the three clans united to organise clansmen
association in the state of Melaka in Peninsular Malaysia. Folks from all three surnames gathered in
one hall, funds were raised to help the poorer brethren’s children to continue
their education. Descendants of all three branches are friendly to one
and all, there is funding to assist those who require short term welfare assistance
to get on their own two feet under certain adverse circumstances. Such organisations
are vibrant, active, fulfilling the vital needs of the first and
second generation of immigrants.
In 1865, Hong Siew Chuen failed in toppling the Ching Dynasty. Many of the revolutionary volunteers from the South of China ran to South East Asia. My ancestor Lo Kam Sheng was only twelve years old, he bought a child ship ticket and left his hometown Da Shen (Big Victory). He landed in Singapore and started to earn his own living. Even at that tender age, he was a strong and persistent person. He had a very definite idea of how he wanted to live his life. Probably because of previous trauma, he stopped communicating with his nearest and dearest in China. Throughout his life, he was no longer interested in whatever that happened in China. For most of his life after age twelve he lived in the southern tip of colonial Malaya, now known as Desaru in the state of Johor. With the help of immigrant workers from China, he cleared virgin rain forest in that part of the coast. He worked hard and long, he was extremely frugal in building his land holdings. He and his band planted coconut and rubber trees as pioneers in the area then known as Pengarang. As his children were still young, he lacked workers he could depend on. With little capital and limited hands, it was by no means an easy undertaking to attempt such a vast and dangerous project. There were tigers and other big animals prowling in the forest then.
In 1904, Lo met Choo Siang Aun who left China to seek his fortune in Malaya. Lo appreciated the fact that Choo was trustworthy and honest. The former suggested that they become brothers by a religious ceremony. Thereafter both were of one heart and one mind. Each took care of tasks that he was good at. After more than a decade of diligence, co-operation and persistent effort, they were able to achieve some of what they had hoped for. Unfortunately, Choo and his wife lost all of their children in infancy; they seemed unable to beget descendants. Lo gave his second and third sons, Chen Sieng and Chen Yu, to the Choos. After ensuring succession, they continued to work together to expand their estates. By 1925, Lo was old and sickly, his days on earth drew to an end and he passed on at age 73.
The following year in 1926, Choo fell ill due to overwork and worries, he had lost his able partner who used to shoulder most of the headaches and difficult decisions. Medicine could only do that much for someone who had lost heart. He lived a short 63 years. At that time the entire clan lost both their leaders, between ten to twenty land titles were all held by the Choo family. It took the elders in the village much persuasive efforts before the main house and the surrounding land (14 acres) planted with coconut and rubber trees to be transferred to the Lo family. People with two surnames continued to work together earning their living, no one uttered a word of complaint.
Chen Sieng (the second son of Lo given to Choo) held the most land titles, all in he had 22 acres of rubber plantation. Chen Yu (the third son given to Choo) held only 8 acres of rubber land. After their adopted father passed away, it was a time of world wide economic downturn. Rubber prices dropped, both brothers were not able to manage their holdings as expertly as their father. A few years down the line, one by one the land grant was sold by the Choo family. Chen Sieng was an opium addict, he spent more time in bed on drugs than taking care of his land and financial affairs. Chen Yu sold everything and returned to China. He signed up as a soldier under Captain Chai Ting Kai. He died as a Chinese hero fighting the battle against the Japanese along the Wangpu River near Shanghai. Chen Sieng and Chen Yu jointly left only Choo Choon Fow, who was also known as Choo Siow Kang in China. It is most unfortunate that instead of prospering, that genetic line shrunk over the years. It could reflect back to the adoptive parents, Chinese cultural belief states that according to the Law of Sowing and Reaping, good deeds would lead to good returns. Only kind and generous behaviour would beget blessings.
We, the choos and the Los, were like one big family. The male members were like brothers. The ladies were like sisters. Seldom did conflict arise. Living together, working at each person's assigned work, co-operation lasted for three generations. Right up until the Japanese Surrender in 1945, did the clans separate into two households. Until today, more than four decades have passed. The Choo and the Lo would visit one another through the years. While the Choos were having difficulties in China during the lean famine years of Great Leap Forward, the Lo family in Malaysia would send whatever financial help they could. Requested by Choo Siang Aun's grand nephew Choo Choon Her, I took up a pen to document a brief history of our forebear. The aim is to explain what went on before, with the hope that the next generation would continue the friendly relationship. A Chinese proverb states: a harmonious family would prosper in all ways, but a family facing adverse circumstances usually lives among contentious disharmony. It is therefore wiser to cultivate harmony, not to be over calculative, work for the common good and build up each other's future while not forgetting one's roots.
Written in olden Chinese by one of the Lo descendants in 1998
Translated by the rambler
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