Chung On Siew

Chung On Siew (simplified Chinese: 郑安寿, traditional Chinese: 鄭安壽, pinyin: Zhèng Ānshòu, 1851 - 25 December 1907) was a low profile mainland Chinese capitalist, industrialist, inventor, investor, philanthropist and real estate developer known for his extensive travels and scholarship. He was conferred upon the title Justice of the Peace by the Queen of England, Alexandrina Victoria, for his contributions in charity and education to the British Commonwealth during the late eighteenth-century.[1][2] His anglicised and transliterated surname Chung, derived from the surname Zheng, is also anglicised and transliterated as Chang or Zhang.

Based on historical records, he was the descendant, precisely the twenty fourth generation, of an aristocratic family from Xinyang, Henan Province, China. This scholar-gentry family dominated the Zhuangyuan title of the prestigious Chinese imperial examination for over a thousand years. Despite being subjugated during the Tang Dynasty, as descendants of royalty from the Zheng (state), they became the most powerful and richest people as well as top scholars recorded in ancient Chinese history. During the Qing Dynasty, as a result of their family ties with the ruling Aixinjueluo family through marriages as well as their ranks in imperial court, they were assigned to carry out imperial edict in Canton, modern day Guangzhou, China.[3]

Unlike many of his contemporaries, he was invited by the British to develop British Malaya. He was known as a wise investor as well as the inventor of the hydraulic mining method.[4] One of his largest tin mines employed over 400 men. His tin mines were managed by European engineer, A. Hamilton. [5] He has a street named after him in the tin mining town of Ipoh, Perak. The street was selected by Oscar-winning Taiwanese Director Ang Lee as a setting for one of his award-winning movies. An international hotel chain, ibis Styles, was constructed along the street after demolishment of his pre war shophouses in 2013.[6]

According to a prolific British writer, Arnold Wright, he was one of the biggest owner with many rubber plantations and tin mines in South East Asia.[7] Based on the Singapore Straits Times published on 4 June 1908, he acquired many other properties in China and Hong Kong. He retired back to China in 1905 and resided in China until his death in 1907.[8] His descendants now reside in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States of America while some remain in China.


References

  1. ↑ (Researched by his great great granddaughter)
  2. ↑ The Meixian Historical Information, the Album of Town East written by Xuanping Yip
  3. ↑ The Civil Judgement of Meixian, Volume 38, Guangdong Province
  4. ↑ Overseas Chinese of the British Empire, Chang On Siew written by Eugene Khoo
  5. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=cgsZvl1zTXgC&pg=PA158&lpg=PA158&dq=Rotan+Dahan+Mines+A+hamilton&source=bl&ots=lP3J-uyvcv&sig=W-K9y9k4pOYV7bEwdsU_nrQX9HA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj83-nN9u7KAhUGHh4KHSE1BmkQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=Rotan%20Dahan%20Mines%20A%20hamilton&f=false
  6. ↑ The Star Publication, published 23 August 2006
  7. ↑ Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya written by Arnold Wright ISBN 9789971491468
  8. ↑ The Straits Times, Page 6, published 4 June 1908


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