Chock Chin
of Hanalei, Kauai
Chock Chin was the patriarch of a large Chinese family who settled in the Hanalei valley on the island of Kauai in the late 1800s. At age 18 he left his huge extended family in southeast China during a time of famine, pestilence, and economic collapse, as part of the great outward movement of the sons of China to earn money abroad and save their families.
The clans and villages of Zhuhai venerate their heroic memory to this day. And we bless our patriarch for his courage, grit, and perseverance–saving his family in China from starvation and ruin, and creating a joyful, industrious life with abundant possibilities for his family in Hawaii. We honor him with this site, and hope always to honor him with lives of grace, gratitude, service, and integrity. He changed the world forever for all of us.
Remember. Remember.
The Restaurant — Chock Chin’s popular store and restaurant, C. Akeoni store, attracted locals, travelers fresh from the pier, and paniolos from nearby ranches. Strategically positioned on the road from Hanalei Bay to the village, it was a great way to support the large family and teach the children great life skills. Learn more >
“Papa delivered each of his children except Ardith, who was delivered by Mrs. Deverill because Papa was away.” — Nee Chang Chock, daughter.
Mini Jiapu — Chock Chin was faithful to his Chinese legacy of accurate record keeping, even in a remote Hawaiian village. He had a little ledger book that he turned sideways to accommodate the Chinese way of writing birth records, and kept a careful log of the births of all his children, who were delivered by himself on the scrubbed kitchen table. When the roads were passable and there was time for the journey, he would take this to the officials in Lihue to register the births and get legal documentation. It was a two-day journey by horse-drawn buggy.
Dim sum — these little bite-sized delicacies of every kind — originated in southeast China where Chock Chin and his wives were from. His C. Akeoni restaurant specialized in this delightful fare. Learn more >
The Lily Pond — Behind the restaurant and store, Chock Chin and his sons created a massive pond in order to raise lotus roots for use in some favorite dishes. The lotus roots never thrived, and eventually they were replaced with water lilies. Guidebooks advised tourists not to miss the Hanalei Lily Pond, and pictures like this 1958 vacation snapshot are in the photo albums of many travelers. Learn more >
Zhuo Bing Quan — This is our Chock cousin whose family never left Guan Tang village, at a Chock grave in Guan Tang in 2019. He is our family’s special hero. He rebuilt the Guan Tang Chock jiapu after it was burned to ashes in the 1960s Cultural Revolution. If you go to the village today, you can see his extraordinary handwritten record installed in the Chock Ancestral Temple. Chock Chin’s name is there with all his ancestors. Learn more >
Two Susan Cousins – October 2022: First meeting of the two Susan’s. Left, Susan Chock Salgy, (Chock Chin and Hee See’s granddaughter via George Chock). Right, Susan Chun, (Chock Chin and Chun Shee’s great-granddaughter via Ardith Chock Lam). Standing at the respective graves of our grandmothers, who are buried side by side. Learn more >
Chock Ancestral Tree — In the Chock ancestral temple in Guan Tang Village — Chock Chin’s home town. Zhuo Bing Quan shows the hand-written clan pedigree chart he painstakingly researched and reconstructed after the clan records were pillaged from the ancestral temples and burned in the village square by the Red Guard. Learn more >