The Mah Society is proud to serve its loyal, growing community. By providing scholarships, opportunities to socialize with each other, and a commitment to giving back to the Chinese community, we ensure our members are provided a variety of opportunities.
Vision
The Mah Society is committed to maintaining our ancestry and developing a network of Mah families to foster a powerful and influential organization within our community.
Origin of the Mah Society – 馬氏宗親會的來源
For Chinese nationals, the 1800s and the railroad were opportunities to build their fortunes and make a new life. As these young Chinese men moved to Canada to work, they left behind their families, and sometimes wives and children. They would send some of their wages home to China to support their families, and eventually, work to move to Canada as well. Many of the men who moved to Canada began to feel loneliness and were in need of some camaraderie, and so the Mah Society was built to foster relationships amongst the Chinese railroad workers with the last name Mah, Ma, or Mar.
As families began to reunite within Canada, members of the Mah Society who had gone through the process helped their friends and families fill out paperwork to do the same.
Chinese settlement in Alberta, particularly in larger cities like Edmonton, can be traced back as early as the early 1900’s. Census data indicated in 1901 there were 235 Chinese settlers in Alberta. The entry tax or what is commonly known as the “head” tax from 1885 grew to $500 in 1903, which was roughly equivalent to two years’ wage for a Chinese worker. This was far too big of an expense to bring families to Canada resulting in the population of Chinese immigrants being predominantly male with few females. In the late 1920’s, there were only 6 married Chinese women in Edmonton. By 1921, the province’s Chinese population stood at over 3,500 with the existing Chinese neighbourhoods in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge growing larger.
A wide variety of Chinese-owned businesses opened and the cities were home to clubs and associations that assisted new immigrants and provided social and cultural resources for the Chinese population.
The Mah Society of Edmonton, chartered in 1917, was one of the associations assisting new immigrants. In the Henderson’s directory in 1924, the Mah Society of Edmonton building was referred to as the Mah Jim Doo Fong Club and in 1925 as Mah Gim Doo Tong. Later in 1950, the building name was Mah Foo Fong until 1953, it became known as the Mah Society building.
十九世紀,加拿大建造鐵路,為很多華工提供了謀生和改變生活命運的機會。很多 中國青年男子離開妻子和兒女獨自來到加拿大。他們起初把薪水郵回中國,供養家 人。經過一段努力,也會把妻子兒女接到加拿大團聚。為了消除海外生活的寂寞和 建立族人之間的親情,馬氏宗親會成立了。並且在幫助華人在加拿大家庭團聚起了重大的作用。
華人在初20世紀,開始移民,定居在亞省。很多人來到點問頓等大城市。根據加拿大人口調 查,1901年居住在亞省的華人有235人。當時的華人必須繳納人頭稅。從1885年到1903年, 人頭稅已增加到500加元。當時是一筆很龐大的數目,相當於一個華工兩年的薪水。也正是因爲 這個原因,在當時的華人移民中,男子人數居多。20世紀20年代末,只有六位華人的妻子移民 到點問頓與丈夫團聚。到1921年,亞省的華人人數增加到3500人。點問頓,卡加利,和烈必 子都有了華人社區。
隨著華人人口的增多,華人社區創辦了各種不同的華人商業。各種各樣的華人組織,也相繼成 立。成爲幫助新移民,不可缺少的文化和社會資源。
馬氏宗親會在1917年正式成立,不斷地爲新移民提供大量的幫助。1924年馬氏宗親會的舊址 被叫做Mah Jim Doo Fong Club。後來在1925年稱爲馬金第堂。一直到1950年,被成爲馬扶 風, 也就是現在的“ 點問頓馬氏親宗會”。
Origin of the Surname Mah – 馬氏的起源
The surname Ma originated from the surname Ying and can be traced back to one of Emperor Huang’s descendants Zhao She. More than two thousand years ago the king of Zhao honored Zhao She as “Master Mafu” for his bravery, intelligence, and outstanding military achievements. Zhao She’s grandson, Zhao Xing, admired his grandfather so much; he changed his surname from “Zhao” to “Mafu” and later, simply, to “Ma”. Zhao Xing would later be conferred as Marquis of Wu’an in the Han Dynasty. During the rteign of the Han Dynasty, he moved from Handan to Xianyang and prospered in FuFeng that led to the Ma clan multiplying and becoming a prominent name in the area.
Throughout Chinese history there were famous generals and outstanding statesmen with the surname Ma including Ma Yuan, a general that helped Emperor Guangwu capture the Great Plains and conquer Jiaozhi. He was known for his teachings such as “If a man is determined, he should be more resolute when he is poor and more powerful when he is old”, “If I die in battle, wrap my body with the hide of my horse and bring me home”, and “Do not criticize others”.
The Ma Clan has prospered over many years and has spread to all parts of the country from east to west. Today, more than 16 million people share the surname Ma. They can be found in five continents, and more than twenty countries and regions.
Apart from individual exceptions, all members of the Ma Associations in Canada and the United States of America are descendants of Tianpo from Taishan’s Baisha. Tianpo originally moved from Xialing in Mayuan, Xinhui County to Baishamadong in Taishan County. Tianpo made roots in Baisha by growing his business and developing a public facility called Fubo House. Since then, the Ma clan has prospered and more than 70 000 Ma clan descendants live locally and in many of the fifty villages nearby, with many more living overseas.
馬姓出自贏姓,為黃帝之後,其始祖為趙奢。相傳兩千多年以前,趙王 因趙奢的英勇才智,用兵卓著封他為“馬服君”。趙奢的孫子,趙興, 為紀念祖父的功勛,改其姓為馬服。後省去“服”字,便有了馬姓。两 漢時期趙興被封為武安侯,從邯鄲遷居到鹹陽。馬氏家族开始逐漸興 旺,最終以扶風成為馬氏的發展繁衍中心。
在中國歷史上有很多傑出的馬家歷史人物。例如,大將軍馬援,曾幫光 武帝,平定中原,南征交趾。他的廣為流傳的名言警句有“丈夫立誌, 窮當益堅,老當益壯。” “男兒要當死於邊野,以馬革裹屍還葬耳”和 “莫議人過”等等。
馬姓族人經過世代的不斷發展,已分布在中國各地。如今,世界上有一 千六百萬人姓馬。 他們遍布在世界五大洲,二十多個國家。
加拿大和美國的馬氏後裔是臺山白沙地區田波人的後代。田波人起初從 廣東省的新會麻園遷入到臺山鎮的白沙馬洞地區。他們在白沙紮根創 業,家族逐漸繁榮興旺。如今這支馬氏族人已有7萬多人,居住在白沙 及周邊的五十多個村莊里。也有大量的馬氏後裔僑居在海外。