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been later than 1868, when Rev. Lobscheid first published his dictionary.
The paper is not modern, of indifferent quality and badly stained, and Chinese ink and a brush were used to write the record. These facts, together with the currency in use, provide some indication of the period at which the paper was written. Most likely, it was the late 19th or early 20th century.
A Money Loan Association?
What can one make of it? I like to think that these men were members of a money loan association. This involved revolving a small sum among themselves, and paying differing amounts of interest, depending upon the order in which they agreed to take the loan, those waiting longer paying less by way of interest. If this were the case, the person drawing up the list and crossing off one name on it, was most likely the organizer.
The fact that those on the list are a mixed bunch strengthens this supposition. Two of them are listed only by family name, namely "Sang Chan" and "Sang Ho": that is a Mr. Chan and a Mr. Ho. The two men may be presumed to have been casual acquaintances of the organizer or of the man who kept the record, or else strangers introduced by other persons in the group. By contrast, "Ah Yee" was clearly well known to either man, this being a familiar form of address. So, too, were Yeung and Yip, whose family and personal names are both set down. The person whose name was removed from the list appears also to have been a friend or relative, as personal names only are given.
It is known that the usual number of persons joining together in this way was around twelve, each in turn to take a loan, month by month, during the lunar year. This period was considered to be the most practical by the organizers of these ephemeral bodies, since it restricted time, capital and interest to what they hoped were realistic levels. Thus it is likely that more persons were involved than those listed, and that this torn fragment may provide the names of those who had yet to receive their loans, with the amounts of principal and interest due.
The variations in the sums listed are explained by the amount of