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{{Short description|Chinese Hakka community leader in India (1906 - 1991)}}
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== Lee Youn Chin ==
{{Multiple issues|{{Advert|date=April 2023}}
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{{Infobox person
{{Prose|date=April 2023}}
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}}{{Infobox person
| name = Lee Youn Chin
| name = Lee Youn Chin
| birth_date = 1903
| image = LeeYounChin.jpg
| birth_place = Guangdong, China
| native_name = 李雲珍
| death_date = 1991/10/07
| native_name_lang = zh
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| birth_date = 1906
| birth_place = [[Guangdong]], [[Qing Empire]] (present day [[China]])
| death_date = 1991/10/08
| death_place = Kolkata, India
| death_place = Kolkata, India
| burial_place = Baptized a Christian. Chinese Cemetary Kolkata India
| burial_place = Chinese Cemetery, Kolkata, India
| citizenship = Indian
| citizenship = Indian
| boards = The Chinese Tannery Owners Association
| years_active = 1933–1989
| boards = The Chinese Tannery Owners Association
The Overseas Chinese Commerce Association of India
The Overseas Chinese Commerce Association of India
Overseas Chinese Commerce Journal 'Seong Pow'
Seong Pow - Overseas Chinese Daily Newspaper
The New Pei May High School, Kolkata India
Pei May High School
| spouse = Koo Tek Siu
| spouse = Koo Tek Xiu
| children = 10
| children = Lee Shiu Fong, Li Chun Fang, Lee Yam Fong, Lee Sin Fong, Lee Siu Fong, Lee Tung Hsing (son), Li Kin Fang
<!-- not listed as not independently notable -->
-----------------------------------------
| father = Lee Sie Xhien
Lee Hok Seong (son 1935-1969); Lee Jun Fong (daughter deceased 1992); Lee Chun Hsiang (son deceased 2010)
| parents = Lee See Shan (father)
| mother = Zhu Juying
Choo Kyuk Yin (mother)
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| relatives = (Uncles)
Lee See Kam, Lee See Sham, Lee See Lim, Lee See Chim
}}
}}
'''Lee Youn Chin''' ({{Lang-zh|c=李雲珍|p=Lǐ Yúnzhēn}}; 1906–1991) was a Chinese [[Hakka people|Hakka]] community leader in [[India]] for over half a century. Lee was instrumental in founding the Chinese Tannery Owners Association of India, the newspaper ''Seong Pow'' (Overseas Chinese Commerce of India), and the new Pei May High School. These institutions for [[commerce]], [[education]], and [[journalism]] had a profound impact on the Hakka Chinese settlement in [[Kolkata]], India.


== Personal life ==
Lee Youn Chin (1903 - 1991) was a visionary and a distinguished Chinese Hakka community leader for over half a century in India. Born in the Hakka village of [[Meixian District|Meixian]] in [[Guangdong|Guangdong,]] China. At eighteen together with the next wave of migrants he embarked on a voyage to British India’s east coast of [[Bay of Bengal]], [[Queen Victoria]] crown city [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] then ([[Kolkata]]). He went back to China one last time to wed his wife Koo Tek Siu and returned with her to Kolkata. From very early on his great mind, his intellect was noticed by a few elders who would seek his advice. Slowly in time his reputation and popularity within the community grew and quickly, he found himself to become their voluntary leader for over fifty years. He was instrumental in initiatives that would have a profound impact for the [[Hakka Chinese]] settlement in India, until his death in 1991 (age 88).
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Lee Youn Chin was born in 1906 in the [[Hakka people|Hakka]] village of [[Meixian District|Meixian]], [[Guangdong]], [[China]]. He was the fourth of five children of Lee Sie Xhien and Zhu Juying, with one older sister and four brothers. When Lee was six years old his father died, and he was raised by his mother and relatives. He completed high school and was encouraged to join the next wave of migrants to [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]]. At the age of 18, he emigrated to Kolkata. The [[Chinese people in India]] had earlier pioneers, but the first to arrive in Kolkata was Yang Tai Chow.<ref name=getbengal>{{cite web |title=How did the Chinese land up in Kolkata and Bengal? |url=https://www.getbengal.com/details/how-did-the-chinese-land-up-in-kolkata-and-bengal |website=getbengal.com |date=2020-06-21 |access-date=2023-03-23}}</ref> 


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Lee had uncles already settled in Kolkata, who gave him shelter. At his uncle’s shoe shop, he worked and took on an [[apprenticeship]]. He saved money over a few years to visit China, where he married his wife, Koo Tek Xiu. He took her to India. They had a business selling products used in the [[leather]] industry. Lee prospered and also owned several shoe shops with his other relatives. He purchased a large plot of land and built his house, where he moved in with his ten children: seven daughters and three sons. He later expanded and established his company, the Lee Youn Chin [[Tanning (leather)|Tannery]], adjoining it.<ref>{{Cite book |author=India Labour Bureau |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSvoAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Lee+Youn+Chin%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA329 |title=Large Industrial Establishments in India |publisher=Manager of Publications |year=1958 |pages= |language=en}}</ref> He was granted Indian [[citizenship]] under the [[British Raj]].
=== His Life ===
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[https://thebengalstory.com/english/a-chinese-newspaper-that-represents-the-indomitable-spirit-of-kolkata/ Lee Youn Chin] was born in 1903 in Guangdong, China. The fourth of five children of Lee See Shan and Choo Kyuk Yin, consisting of one older sister and four brothers. At six years of age his father died, and he was raised by his humble mother and relatives. He was a man of books but could not continue further after high school, as he was encouraged to join the next wave of migrants to [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]]. At eighteen he embarked on a sea voyage arriving in the Bay of Bengal capital, Calcutta then (Kolkata). With confidence he disembarked and set foot on foreign soil. The [[Chinese people in India]] had earlier pioneer but the first to Kolkata was thought to have been [https://www.getbengal.com/details/how-did-the-chinese-land-up-in-kolkata-and-bengal Yang Tai Chow]. 


Lee lived a long life of community involvement and service. He died in 1991 and was buried in Kolkata.
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Lee Youn Chin had uncles already settled in Kolkata who gave him shelter. At his uncle’s shoe shop, he worked and also took other apprenticeship. He saved enough money in a few years to visit China and married his wife Koo Tek Siu. The young couple labored, and his wife proved to be of great help in their merchandise business of products used in tannery. With their savings he purchased a large plot of marsh land. This marsh was transformed to dry and raised over tons of poured dirt. He built his house where he raised ten children of seven daughters and three sons. He later built and established his company, the Lee Youn Chin Tannery beside it.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bureau |first=India Labour |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSvoAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Lee+Youn+Chin%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA329 |title=Large Industrial Establishments in India |date=1958 |publisher=Manager of Publications |language=en}}</ref> His mother Koo Tek Siu joined him arriving on a flight and she lived in his care to a ripe age of a hundred.


== Hakka community ==
In 1947, the British Raj was over with an independent young India. In 1950s, he applied and was granted Indian citizenship. His oldest son, by now a well-read young man fluent in English and Bengali, was a tremendous help to him and to the community in filing for the Indian Permanent Residency Permit or Indian Citizenship Application.
Lee founded and was the chairman of the Chinese Tannery Owners Association, the Overseas Chinese Commerce Association of India, and the founder of the local Chinese-language newspaper ''Seong Pow'' (Overseas Chinese Commerce of India).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Rajesh |date=2020-12-29 |title=Is this the end for India's last Chinese-language newspaper? |url=https://www.todayonline.com/world/end-indias-last-chinese-language-newspaper-editors-death-leaves-questions-over-seong-pows |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=todayonline.com }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pathak |first=Nilima |date=2018-01-01 |title=Chinese newspaper that's Made in India |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/chinese-newspaper-thats-made-in-india-1.2150089 |access-date=March 11, 2023 |website=gulfnews.com}}</ref><ref name=homegrown>{{Cite web |author=Homegrown Staff |date=2021-06-08 |title=Kolkata's Tannery Neighbourhood Is Home To India's Only Chinese Language Newspaper |url=https://homegrown.co.in/homegrown-explore/kolkatas-tannery-neighbourhood-is-home-to-indias-only-chinese-language-newspaper |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=homegrown.co.in }}</ref> When the small and old Pei May school needed more space, Lee built a new school on a large plot of land. Construction started in later 1940s, but was interrupted over payment issues. The association filed a case in court. Classes began in the 1950s in the new, but incomplete, building. After a period, another of the Association's English-speaking managers was assigned and a new builder was brought in to complete its construction. These institutions formed an integral part of the community, which flourished as the largest minority culture in Kolkata.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sircar |first=Jawhar |title=The Chinese of Calcutta |url=https://www.academia.edu/36019117}}</ref> There were 1,466 Chinese in Chinatown in 1901, and by 1936 there were 14,000.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bose |first=Arpita |date=2019-06-01 |title=The Chinese in Calcutta: A Study on Settlement and Demographical Patterns |journal=Indian Historical Review |language=en |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=132–149 |doi=10.1177/0376983619856540 |issn=0376-9836 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukherjee |first=Amrita |date=2021-09-01 |title=Chinese Community of Kolkata: A Forgotten Chapter in History |url=https://map.sahapedia.org/article/Chinese-Community-of-Kolkata:-A-Forgotten-Chapter-in-History/11283 |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=map.sahapedia.org |language=en}}</ref> By the mid 1990s, the unofficial population count was estimated to be around 20,000.[[File:LeeYounChin1.jpg|left|thumb|Lee Youn Chin]]


Tanneries were the largest businesses of the growing community, with smaller trades such as carpentry, shoe shops, restaurants, herbal stores, beauty parlors, and dentistry. [[Tangra, Kolkata|Tangra]] or Dhapa, was located outside the city where the majority of the Chinese settled. Chinatown or [[Tiretta Bazaar]] was situated in the interior part of the city.<ref name=getbengal/>
=== Community Leader ===
Lee Youn Chin<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is this the end for India's last Chinese-language newspaper? |url=https://www.todayonline.com/world/end-indias-last-chinese-language-newspaper-editors-death-leaves-questions-over-seong-pows |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=TODAY |language=en}}</ref> managed on the board of The Chinese Tannery Owners Association<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pathak |first=Nilima |date=2018-01-01 |title=Chinese newspaper that's Made in India |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/chinese-newspaper-thats-made-in-india-1.2150089 |access-date=March 11, 2023 |website=Gulf News}}</ref>; The Overseas Chinese Commerce Association of India<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Homegrown |title=Kolkata's Tannery Neighbourhood Is Home To India's Only Chinese Language Newspaper |url=https://homegrown.co.in/homegrown-explore/kolkatas-tannery-neighbourhood-is-home-to-indias-only-chinese-language-newspaper |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=Homegrown |language=en}}</ref> and the local Chinese [https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3115286/end-indias-last-chinese-language-newspaper-editors-death Seong Pow] newspaper. When the old Pei May school outgrew, he leased the land and built a bigger The New Pei May<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gupta |first=Abir |date=2016-06-30 |title=The Story of Chinese People in Kolkata and How it Gave Us Our Favorite Chinese Food |url=https://www.storypick.com/chinese-food/ |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=StoryPick}}</ref> Chinese High school. The need for the community burial land was also bought.


Acquiring a track of land and built the Chinese Tannery Owners Association in (19?)
Working with him on the Chinese Tannery Owners Association board were:


Chen Zaan Xhen, Chung Yat Xheng, Lee Vaan Yao, Chung Lee Ming, Liu Sem Nyan, Chung Kwi Xheng, Lee Shie Yen and Liu Daou Nyan.
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* Centralizing a tanner market for owners to benefit in the procurement of the highest market price for finished leather.
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* Introduced carbon footprint (recycling) ahead of his time by reducing the collective byproduct wastage of hide shavings, by curing it and selling it for profit.


===Chinese Tannery Owners Association of India===
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Allocating space for The Overseas Chinese Commerce Association of India in (19??) within the compound of the Chinese Tannery Owners Assoc.


Lee leased the land and built the Chinese Tannery Owners Association.<ref name=homegrown/> This association's initiatives included:
* Launched the Overseas Chinese Commerce newsprint, a local Seong Pow Chinese newspaper to disseminate community announcements, local and overseas news in (1969).
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* Centralizing a tanner market for owners to benefit in the procurement sourcing of the highest market price for finished leather. The tannery owners contributed to the immense wealth of the West Bengal government in producing leather and leather products for export.
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* Introducing recycling by reducing and recycling the collective [[byproduct]] wastage of hide shavings by curing it and selling it for profit. The community benefited from this recycling scheme.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}


===Overseas Chinese Commerce Journal===
The New Pei May School (19?)
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He allocated space for The Overseas Chinese Commerce Association of India within the existing Chinese Tannery Owners Association where he:


* Launched the Overseas Chinese Commerce newspaper, a local Seong Pow news in Chinese. The paper [[disseminated]] community announcements and overseas news in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukherjee |first=Soham |date=2018-11-28 |title=Chinese Newspaper |url=https://www.jiyobangla.com/news/chinese-newspaper |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=Jiyo Bangla}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ayandas |date=2018-05-08 |title=A Chinese newspaper that represents the indomitable spirit of Kolkata » The Bengal Story |url=https://thebengalstory.com/english/a-chinese-newspaper-that-represents-the-indomitable-spirit-of-kolkata/ |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=The Bengal Story |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Datta |first=Sjrita |date=2019-10-11 |title=Tucked away in a Kolkata bylane, India's only Chinese newspaper runs on old methods and perseverance |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/tucked-away-in-a-kolkata-bylane-indias-only-chinese-newspaper-runs-on-old-methods-and-perseverance-7456951.html |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Firstpost |language=en}}</ref><ref name=homegrown /> [[File:Overseas Chinese Commerce of India - Sea Ip Church - Kolkata 2013-03-03 5272.JPG|alt=The Overseas Chinese Commerce of India (1969) newspaper. Photo courtesy of Biswarup ganguly|left|thumb|331x331px|Founded: The Overseas Chinese Commerce of India (1969). Photo courtesy of Biswarup Ganguly]]
* Acquired the land, built and founded the New Pei May High School for the growing education needs of the community young generation.
This newspaper published the local news compared with a pro-Kuomintang newspaper, the Chinese Journal of India, and a few other journals that had existed before his arrival. The Overseas Chinese Commerce of India, or 'Seong Pow' newspaper, survived until its last [[publication]] with the death of its last editor, Kuo-Tsai Chang, in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Monitor |first=South Asian |date=2020-12-28 |title=Is this the end for India's last Chinese-language newspaper? Editor's death leaves questions over SeongPow's future |url=https://southasianmonitor.net/en/feature/is-this-the-end-for-indias-last-chinese-language-newspaper-editors-death-leaves-questions-over-seongpows-future |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=South Asian Monitor |language=en}}</ref><ref name=homegrown /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gupta |first=Abir |date=2016-06-30 |title=The Story of Chinese People in Kolkata and How it Gave Us Our Favorite Chinese Food |url=https://www.storypick.com/chinese-food/ |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=StoryPick}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Roy |first=Rajdeep Datta |date=2008-07-26 |title=News from Tangra |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/TirR2KGKv23EAopEbHSnUP/News-from-Tangra.html |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=Mint}}</ref>
[[File:Overseas Chinese Commerce of India - Sea Ip Church - Kolkata 2013-03-03 5272.JPG|alt=The Overseas Chinese Commerce of India (1969) newspaper. Photo courtesy of Biswarup ganguly|left|thumb|331x331px|Founded: The Overseas Chinese Commerce of India (1969). Photo courtesy of Biswarup Ganguly]]
The community bestowed on him the role of a mediator. As young man how his first hearing out a dispute and the way he resolved it between two warring parties, the news spread, and he gained prominence. More people brought their problems to him, he heard it out before the gathering and gave his judgement. Daily there would be an audience not only at his office at the Chinese Tannery Owners Association, but there would also be others who followed him when he returned home. "As a man, he avails himself everywhere with little to no time to spend with his family." This complain was voiced by his wife.


==== <u>Pei May High School</u> ====
The community would come to him to settle their grievances. He was a man of great mind, an intellect with good judgement settling hundreds of disputes. For which he often received great admiration and appreciation from the community at large but also had a few fall-out with his judgement. Lee was a man of conviction with a conscientious mind. When an inaccuracy in a bookkeeping kept by another was reported to him, he questioned their record keeping. In turn, he was accused by them and there was yet another fall-out.
* He leased the land, built, and founded the new Pei May High School for the increasing younger generation. This school became the new grounds for a combined elementary and high school education. It was a Chinese medium school that also taught English.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nyogi Subhro |first=Yengkhom Sumati |date=2009-03-25 |title=Questions from a vanishing generation |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/questions-from-a-vanishing-generation/articleshow/4311817.cms |access-date=2023-03-20 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> At its peak, the school had over a thousand students, but declined over the years until the school was closed in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jawed |first=Jeeshan |date=2010-06-14 |title=Lone Chinese school shuts down |work=Telegraph India |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/lone-chinese-school-shuts-down/cid/1271842 |access-date=2023-03-20}}</ref>


Lee left behind a legacy of distinguished works as the Hakka community leader for over half a century. In his lifetime, the community grew to over 15,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukherjee |first=Amrita |date=2021-09-01 |title=Chinese Community of Kolkata: A Forgotten Chapter in History |url=https://map.sahapedia.org/article/Chinese-Community-of-Kolkata:-A-Forgotten-Chapter-in-History/11283 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=map.sahapedia.org |language=en}}</ref>
His oldest son, Lee Hok Seong, an educated young man with a promising future was assassinated by a grenade thrown on his back (1969). Shortly thereafter, he survived an assassination attempted with a knife when a youth was sent to his house on a pretext to deliver him a personal letter. A criminal case was filed by him in court on the death of his son. Speaking no English and little [[Bengali language|Bengali]] himself and with his 'right hand man' son gone, he had entrusted a friend with his court case. Kept in the dark when asked about upcoming court dates he would later be stunned to learn that the court had dismissed his case for three times of no show at court.

Lee Youn Chin<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roy |first=Rajdeep Datta |date=2008-07-26 |title=News from Tangra |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/TirR2KGKv23EAopEbHSnUP/News-from-Tangra.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=Mint}}</ref> on a journey to complete the tasks before him was not thwarted by adversaries nor sought for accolades. He continued his work intertwined with community service and personal life in honor, valor, grace, wisdom, courage and strength. His conscience with him from the beginning to his end. He left behind a legacy of distinguished works both within the Hakka community and to his children. In his lifetime the community grew strong to over 15,000.


=== Sino-Indian war repercussion on the community ===
=== Sino-Indian war repercussion on the community ===
When the [[Sino-Indian War|Sino-Indian war]] broke out in 1962, the community went through an upheaval with their [[civil liberties]] and freedom violated. Lee, through his English-speaking son, had been helping the community with their application submission and follow-up years before the war broke out. His family and those who possessed Permanent Indian Residency papers were not detained.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GUPTA |first=UTTARAN DAS |date=2020-06-09 |title=When India put Indians in camps |url=https://www.himalmag.com/when-india-put-indians-in-camps-2020/ |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Himal Southasian |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=D’Souza |first=Dilip |title=Chinese-Indians from Deoli Camp write to Modi again urging India to apologise for 1962 internment |url=https://scroll.in/article/1011024/chinese-indians-from-deoli-camp-write-to-modi-again-urging-india-to-apologise-for-1962-internment |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}</ref> After the war, the community gathered themselves and set about to find their families and to restore their properties and businesses.
When the [[Sino-Indian War|Sino-Indian]] war broke out in 1962, the livelihood of a few thousand Chinese were disrupted. The Chinese in Calcutta were eyed with suspicion by the Indian government. Those Chinese who were considered stateless or with Chinese documentation were caught and sent to camps in the west coast of Deoli in [[Deoli, Rajasthan|Rajasthan]], India. <ref>{{Cite web |last=gateway |date=2017-11-01 |title=Indian Chinese diaspora: from Calcutta to Toronto |url=https://www.gatewayhouse.in/indian-chinese-diaspora/ |access-date=2023-03-12 |website=Gateway House |language=en}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ghosh |first=Sanchali |title=DIASPORA AND NATIONAL IDENTITY: LOCATING THE INDIAN CHINESE IN A POSTCOLONIAL NATION |url=https://www.academia.edu/12465704}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-11-21 |title=The 1962 jailing of Chinese Indians |url=https://openthemagazine.com/features/india/the-1962-jailing-of-chinese-indians/ |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=Open The Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> Lee for long through his son had been helping the community with their application submission and follow-up years before when the war broke out, had their Permanent Indian Residency papers and were not rounded. The community went through some of its darkest and disruptive time under this internment.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2017 |title=Charting Ethnic Violence through the Lens of Heritage: Engaging with the Indo-Chinese Population of Kolkata |url=https://www.academia.edu/37399797 |journal=Prace Etnograficzne |volume=45 |issue=2 |issn=2299-9558}}</ref> After the war, the community with resilience, returned to restoring their homes and business and thrived the twenty years until Lee's death in 1991. Another harassment on the community came by the order of the Supreme court 1995 to relocate the Kolkata tanneries<ref>{{Cite web |last=GB Get Bengal |first=Information Desk |date=2019-02-20 |title=How did the Hakka Chinese Community learn Bengali |url=https://www.getbengal.com/details/how-did-the-hakka-chinese-community-learn-bengali |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=GB Get Bengal}}</ref>, further caused more Chinese community to leave India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chinatown in Kolkata: A Heritage of Negotiation and Survival |url=https://map.sahapedia.org/search/article/Chinatown-in-Kolkata:-A-Heritage-of-Negotiation-and-Survival/11284 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=map.sahapedia.org |language=en}}</ref> An unofficial census in 2020 estimate the remaining Hakka Chinese to over 2000.


=== Environmental Plan for relocation of the community tanneries ===
Lee You Chin, together with a team of selfless contributors had the longest and most influential impact on the Hakka Chinese and its community. Under his leadership the Hakka Chinese Community saw its height of growth, prosperity and stability in Kolkata, India.
Four years after his death, a directive on the community came by the order of the Supreme Court (1995) to relocate the Kolkata tanneries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GB Get Bengal |first=Information Desk |date=2019-02-20 |title=How did the Hakka Chinese Community learn Bengali |url=https://www.getbengal.com/details/how-did-the-hakka-chinese-community-learn-bengali |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=GB Get Bengal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rajamanj S.; Ravindranath; Sarkar; Ramasamj |first=Louxborough University |date=2002-01-01 |title=Major Integrated Environmental System Relocation of 540 Tanneries in Kolkata City |url=https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/resources/conference/28/Rajamani.pdf |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Loughborough University (Kolkata Calcutta, India 2002)}}</ref> This caused more of the Chinese community to leave India on their own, while others stayed and converted their tanneries into restaurants.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukherjee |first=Amrita |date=2021-09-01 |title=Chinatown in Kolkata: A Heritage of Negotiation and Survival |url=https://map.sahapedia.org/search/article/Chinatown-in-Kolkata:-A-Heritage-of-Negotiation-and-Survival/11284 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=map.sahapedia.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mazumder |first=Abir Lal |title=From Tanneries to kitchens: Indian Hakka Chinese and their memories of making and remaking the Tangra Chinatown in Kolkata, India |url=https://nomadit.co.uk/conference/sief2021/paper/59175 |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=nomadit.co.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cakeray |first=Priya |date=2018-03-21 |title=Learning about the Deoli Camp of 1962 |url=https://medium.com/@priyakekre/learning-about-the-deoli-camp-of-1962-9bdc7655f6e |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Medium |language=en}}</ref> The majority of the community immigrated to Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=Mike |date=2018-11-06 |title=Scarborough's Chinese Cultural Centre puts Hakka culture on display |url=https://www.sachem.ca/whatson-story/9007795-scarborough-s-chinese-cultural-centre-puts-hakka-culture-on-display/ |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Sachem.ca |language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=The Official site of the city of Markham, ON, Canada |first=Markham City website |date=2016-07-16 |title=Markham named Host City of 31st Hakka World Conference in 2021! |url=https://www.markham.ca/wps/portal/home/about/news/sa-news-releases/20180716-markham-named-host-city-of-31st-hakka-world-conference |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=Markham City official website (Canada)}}</ref> An unofficial [[census]] in 2020 estimated that the remaining Hakka Chinese population in Kolkata to be only about 2,000 people.


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== References ==
=== Notable Hakka Community Team ===
His team loyalists journeyed with him in the vested interest of the community. Just to name a few are:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="4" |Lee Youn Chin's collaborators
|-
|Chen zhan Sin
|Chung Yit Shing
|Chung Lee Ming
|Liu San Nyan
|-
|Chung Kwi Sheen
|Lee See Yim
|Lee Van Yao
|Liu Dhou Nyan
|}

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=== References ===
{{Reflist}}
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{{Authority control}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Youn Chin}}
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1991 deaths]]
[[Category:Hakka people]]
[[Category:Chinese emigrants to India]]
[[Category:Chinese diaspora in India]]

Latest revision as of 21:54, 9 November 2024

Lee Youn Chin
李雲珍
Born1906
Guangdong, Qing Empire (present day China)
Died1991/10/08
Kolkata, India
Burial placeChinese Cemetery, Kolkata, India
CitizenshipIndian
Years active1933–1989
Board member ofThe Chinese Tannery Owners Association

The Overseas Chinese Commerce Association of India Overseas Chinese Commerce Journal 'Seong Pow'

Pei May High School
SpouseKoo Tek Xiu
Children10
Parents
  • Lee Sie Xhien (father)
  • Zhu Juying (mother)

Lee Youn Chin (Chinese: 李雲珍; pinyin: Lǐ Yúnzhēn; 1906–1991) was a Chinese Hakka community leader in India for over half a century. Lee was instrumental in founding the Chinese Tannery Owners Association of India, the newspaper Seong Pow (Overseas Chinese Commerce of India), and the new Pei May High School. These institutions for commerce, education, and journalism had a profound impact on the Hakka Chinese settlement in Kolkata, India.

Personal life

[edit]

Lee Youn Chin was born in 1906 in the Hakka village of Meixian, Guangdong, China. He was the fourth of five children of Lee Sie Xhien and Zhu Juying, with one older sister and four brothers. When Lee was six years old his father died, and he was raised by his mother and relatives. He completed high school and was encouraged to join the next wave of migrants to British India. At the age of 18, he emigrated to Kolkata. The Chinese people in India had earlier pioneers, but the first to arrive in Kolkata was Yang Tai Chow.[1] 

Lee had uncles already settled in Kolkata, who gave him shelter. At his uncle’s shoe shop, he worked and took on an apprenticeship. He saved money over a few years to visit China, where he married his wife, Koo Tek Xiu. He took her to India. They had a business selling products used in the leather industry. Lee prospered and also owned several shoe shops with his other relatives. He purchased a large plot of land and built his house, where he moved in with his ten children: seven daughters and three sons. He later expanded and established his company, the Lee Youn Chin Tannery, adjoining it.[2] He was granted Indian citizenship under the British Raj.

Lee lived a long life of community involvement and service. He died in 1991 and was buried in Kolkata.

Hakka community

[edit]

Lee founded and was the chairman of the Chinese Tannery Owners Association, the Overseas Chinese Commerce Association of India, and the founder of the local Chinese-language newspaper Seong Pow (Overseas Chinese Commerce of India).[3][4][5] When the small and old Pei May school needed more space, Lee built a new school on a large plot of land. Construction started in later 1940s, but was interrupted over payment issues. The association filed a case in court. Classes began in the 1950s in the new, but incomplete, building. After a period, another of the Association's English-speaking managers was assigned and a new builder was brought in to complete its construction. These institutions formed an integral part of the community, which flourished as the largest minority culture in Kolkata.[6] There were 1,466 Chinese in Chinatown in 1901, and by 1936 there were 14,000.[7][8] By the mid 1990s, the unofficial population count was estimated to be around 20,000.

Lee Youn Chin

Tanneries were the largest businesses of the growing community, with smaller trades such as carpentry, shoe shops, restaurants, herbal stores, beauty parlors, and dentistry. Tangra or Dhapa, was located outside the city where the majority of the Chinese settled. Chinatown or Tiretta Bazaar was situated in the interior part of the city.[1]

Working with him on the Chinese Tannery Owners Association board were:

Chen Zaan Xhen, Chung Yat Xheng, Lee Vaan Yao, Chung Lee Ming, Liu Sem Nyan, Chung Kwi Xheng, Lee Shie Yen and Liu Daou Nyan.

Chinese Tannery Owners Association of India

[edit]

Lee leased the land and built the Chinese Tannery Owners Association.[5] This association's initiatives included:

  • Centralizing a tanner market for owners to benefit in the procurement sourcing of the highest market price for finished leather. The tannery owners contributed to the immense wealth of the West Bengal government in producing leather and leather products for export.
  • Introducing recycling by reducing and recycling the collective byproduct wastage of hide shavings by curing it and selling it for profit. The community benefited from this recycling scheme.[citation needed]

Overseas Chinese Commerce Journal

[edit]

He allocated space for The Overseas Chinese Commerce Association of India within the existing Chinese Tannery Owners Association where he:

  • Launched the Overseas Chinese Commerce newspaper, a local Seong Pow news in Chinese. The paper disseminated community announcements and overseas news in 1969.[9][10][11][5]
    The Overseas Chinese Commerce of India (1969) newspaper. Photo courtesy of Biswarup ganguly
    Founded: The Overseas Chinese Commerce of India (1969). Photo courtesy of Biswarup Ganguly

This newspaper published the local news compared with a pro-Kuomintang newspaper, the Chinese Journal of India, and a few other journals that had existed before his arrival. The Overseas Chinese Commerce of India, or 'Seong Pow' newspaper, survived until its last publication with the death of its last editor, Kuo-Tsai Chang, in 2020.[12][5][13][14]

Pei May High School

[edit]
  • He leased the land, built, and founded the new Pei May High School for the increasing younger generation. This school became the new grounds for a combined elementary and high school education. It was a Chinese medium school that also taught English.[15] At its peak, the school had over a thousand students, but declined over the years until the school was closed in 2010.[16]

Lee left behind a legacy of distinguished works as the Hakka community leader for over half a century. In his lifetime, the community grew to over 15,000 people.[17]

Sino-Indian war repercussion on the community

[edit]

When the Sino-Indian war broke out in 1962, the community went through an upheaval with their civil liberties and freedom violated. Lee, through his English-speaking son, had been helping the community with their application submission and follow-up years before the war broke out. His family and those who possessed Permanent Indian Residency papers were not detained.[18][19] After the war, the community gathered themselves and set about to find their families and to restore their properties and businesses.

Environmental Plan for relocation of the community tanneries

[edit]

Four years after his death, a directive on the community came by the order of the Supreme Court (1995) to relocate the Kolkata tanneries.[20][21] This caused more of the Chinese community to leave India on their own, while others stayed and converted their tanneries into restaurants.[22][11][23][24] The majority of the community immigrated to Canada.[25][26] An unofficial census in 2020 estimated that the remaining Hakka Chinese population in Kolkata to be only about 2,000 people.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "How did the Chinese land up in Kolkata and Bengal?". getbengal.com. 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  2. ^ India Labour Bureau (1958). Large Industrial Establishments in India. Manager of Publications.
  3. ^ Kumar, Rajesh (2020-12-29). "Is this the end for India's last Chinese-language newspaper?". todayonline.com. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
  4. ^ Pathak, Nilima (2018-01-01). "Chinese newspaper that's Made in India". gulfnews.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Homegrown Staff (2021-06-08). "Kolkata's Tannery Neighbourhood Is Home To India's Only Chinese Language Newspaper". homegrown.co.in. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  6. ^ Sircar, Jawhar. "The Chinese of Calcutta".
  7. ^ Bose, Arpita (2019-06-01). "The Chinese in Calcutta: A Study on Settlement and Demographical Patterns". Indian Historical Review. 46 (1): 132–149. doi:10.1177/0376983619856540. ISSN 0376-9836.
  8. ^ Mukherjee, Amrita (2021-09-01). "Chinese Community of Kolkata: A Forgotten Chapter in History". map.sahapedia.org. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  9. ^ Mukherjee, Soham (2018-11-28). "Chinese Newspaper". Jiyo Bangla. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  10. ^ Ayandas (2018-05-08). "A Chinese newspaper that represents the indomitable spirit of Kolkata » The Bengal Story". The Bengal Story. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  11. ^ a b Datta, Sjrita (2019-10-11). "Tucked away in a Kolkata bylane, India's only Chinese newspaper runs on old methods and perseverance". Firstpost. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  12. ^ Monitor, South Asian (2020-12-28). "Is this the end for India's last Chinese-language newspaper? Editor's death leaves questions over SeongPow's future". South Asian Monitor. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  13. ^ Gupta, Abir (2016-06-30). "The Story of Chinese People in Kolkata and How it Gave Us Our Favorite Chinese Food". StoryPick. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  14. ^ Roy, Rajdeep Datta (2008-07-26). "News from Tangra". Mint. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  15. ^ Nyogi Subhro, Yengkhom Sumati (2009-03-25). "Questions from a vanishing generation". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  16. ^ Jawed, Jeeshan (2010-06-14). "Lone Chinese school shuts down". Telegraph India. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  17. ^ Mukherjee, Amrita (2021-09-01). "Chinese Community of Kolkata: A Forgotten Chapter in History". map.sahapedia.org. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  18. ^ GUPTA, UTTARAN DAS (2020-06-09). "When India put Indians in camps". Himal Southasian. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  19. ^ D’Souza, Dilip. "Chinese-Indians from Deoli Camp write to Modi again urging India to apologise for 1962 internment". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  20. ^ GB Get Bengal, Information Desk (2019-02-20). "How did the Hakka Chinese Community learn Bengali". GB Get Bengal. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  21. ^ Rajamanj S.; Ravindranath; Sarkar; Ramasamj, Louxborough University (2002-01-01). "Major Integrated Environmental System Relocation of 540 Tanneries in Kolkata City" (PDF). Loughborough University (Kolkata Calcutta, India 2002). Retrieved 2023-03-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Mukherjee, Amrita (2021-09-01). "Chinatown in Kolkata: A Heritage of Negotiation and Survival". map.sahapedia.org. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  23. ^ Mazumder, Abir Lal. "From Tanneries to kitchens: Indian Hakka Chinese and their memories of making and remaking the Tangra Chinatown in Kolkata, India". nomadit.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  24. ^ Cakeray, Priya (2018-03-21). "Learning about the Deoli Camp of 1962". Medium. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  25. ^ Adler, Mike (2018-11-06). "Scarborough's Chinese Cultural Centre puts Hakka culture on display". Sachem.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  26. ^ The Official site of the city of Markham, ON, Canada, Markham City website (2016-07-16). "Markham named Host City of 31st Hakka World Conference in 2021!". Markham City official website (Canada). Retrieved 2023-03-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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