On Saturday Night our Lion Dance team, Woo Ching White Crane, performed at the China Pearl for the Asian Community Development Corporation banquet. One of our kids asked, “What is ACDC anyway” and that question is most easily answered here

www.asiancdc.org

When I met my contact she was wearing a tiger mask. She showed us the performers room and our teenagers hung out their with 6 year old dancing girls for about. It was fun and strange to see these kids, who I knew as 6 year olds, now having more adult conversations where we adults are now more on the sidelines.

As it turns out downstairs from the ACDC banquet was the Long Gong Association Banquet and we told them since we were doing a lion dance upstairs, we could give them one too, and we did, for a bargain.

This family association comprises Liu, Kwan, Cheung, Zhao and the other spellings. If anyone is familiar with the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, or Dynasty Warriors, the tie between these four families comes right out of that Narrative. So even if you might be critical of whether Liu Bei, Kwan Gung, and Cheung Fei made an oath before Heaven and Earth on a Peach Farm to be brothers, and then later brought in Zhao Wun as their brother as well… just don’t be critical at this Family Association Banquet. Essentially they consider these four families to be one because of what happened between those four individuals nearing the end of the Han Dynasty and moving into the Three Kingdoms Period.  To explain a little bit about these Characters, Liu Bei was the newphew of the emperor who sold bamboo sandals and belts. Eventually he would have the Western Han Kingdom, with Cao Cao controlling the Wei Kingdom in the North, and then the Eastern Wu. He was considered the oldest brother.

Kwan Gung is probably the best known because most every Chinese owned business, Martial Arts School, Police Station , Association, and Organized Crime Meeting place bows to him as a God or Patron Saint of Justice and Loyalty. He is also known for being a great Warrior. as are the younger brothers, Zhang Fei( Cheung Fei) and Zhao Wun or Zhao Jilong. If you really want to know more about these characters and Chinese Culture in general, read an English translation of the Romance of the three Kingdoms, or watch the series.

In some of the comments people have asked for more of a history about Our school as well as other Kung Fu Schools in Chinatown. This Wednesday March 10th is the annual Kung Fu Federation Banquet. Many of the Kung Fu Schools in Chinatown come to it. The “ticket price” which is done in the Chinese way of not directly demanding the money but expecting it,  is $30.00 per person.

I will blog about that event and then perhaps blog about our school’s history and maybe a bit about the Federation as well. The other Schools have their own websites I believe, so if I list the name an interested reader can find it quite easily. Or, you could join our school, learn Chinese, and hear what the old people have to say about each school and you will know all the stories real and fake within about a week.