<p>My guess is it's probably 諧道堂 [haai4 dou6 tong4] 'Society of the Harmonious Tao', but I have nothing to back that up.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-24T08:58:52.567Z
2019-08-24T08:58:52.567Z
dirtylittlefingers
<p>"tow tong" means "道堂", without doubt. e.g.:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/eoQxt.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/eoQxt.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p><a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E5%A0%82" rel="nofollow noreferrer">堂 (u+5802) </a>should be interpreted as "association"</p>

<p><a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E9%81%93" rel="nofollow noreferrer">道 (u+9053)</a> means "tao", the proper way.</p>

<p>about the first character "hi", my best guess is, in sequence:</p>

<p><a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E5%87%B1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">凱 (u+51f1)</a> roughy means "victory", that "hi tow tong" would be "the association of the tao of victory"</p>

<p>second is <a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E9%96%8B" rel="nofollow noreferrer">開 (u+958b)</a> roughy means beginning, that "hi tow tong" would be "the association of the tao of beginning"</p>

<p>have fun :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-18T07:44:53.247Z
"Hi" may be  Cantonese 繫 /hai6 / : connect
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-18T08:04:36.180Z
em . . . possible :), better than 開
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-19T14:42:26.703Z
"with doubt" or "without doubt"?
Aaron Brick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-19T14:44:21.910Z
ahhhhh. . . . a typo :(
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-18T04:38:44.887Z
2019-08-19T14:44:33.030Z
2019-08-19T14:44:33.030Z
水巷孑蠻
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_society" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Honor societies</a> and fraternities are a fixture in U.S. colleges. Most often they use Greek letters for their names, and some have names in English. However, the men's honor society of Santa Cruz High School (Santa Cruz, California) is called "Hi Tow Tong".</p>

<p>The word "Tong" is well explained as a neighborhood hall or benevolent association. In light of the origins of most of the Chinese in California at the time, I suspect, but am not sure, that the spelling is a Wade-Giles spelling of Cantonese. There are lots of other local tongs (not high school clubs) listed in Wikipedia's article on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong_Wars" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Tong Wars</a>.</p>

<p>According to a <a href="https://santacruzsportshistory.com/facilities/santa-cruz-sports-facilities-through-the-years/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">blog post</a> containing much later text from the school student newspaper,</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Hi Tow Tong Men’s Honor Society was organized in 1910. The first initiation ceremonies were adopted embracing the sentiments of Confucius, Jesus and other world leaders to emphasize the thought that leadership ability carries with it the responsibility to serve.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>What does "Hi Tow" mean? Are several readings possible?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-18T02:23:06.913Z
Well first let me leave this here: Tong = 堂. Tow should be 道, presumably.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-18T04:34:18.643Z
My best guess would be 氣道堂 (not to be confused with 合氣道 or Aikido). The combination of /hiː/ is not possible in standard Cantonese, and none of the words with finals such as /aːi/ or /ɐi/ would make sense with 道. Perhaps this could be a dialectal reading? Nanning Cantonese for example has /hi³³/, and Meixian Hakka has /hi⁵³/.
Toby Mak
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-19T08:49:11.077Z
Given that the fraternity was founded and manned by non-Chinese (based on the photos and member ship lists Internet search turns up), I don't think it "translates" to anything "valid" in Chinese. It could be just something that sounded "Chinese" to the founders.
imrek
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-25T04:24:00.103Z
Another way to find its meaning is to ask the author of blog post who know the original source.
OmniBus
<translation><cantonese><history><transliteration>
The name of the California high school fraternity, Hi Tow Tong
# The name of the California high school fraternity, Hi Tow Tong

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-17)

[Honor societies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_society) and fraternities are a fixture in U.S. colleges. Most often they use Greek letters for their names, and some have names in English. However, the men's honor society of Santa Cruz High School (Santa Cruz, California) is called "Hi Tow Tong".

The word "Tong" is well explained as a neighborhood hall or benevolent association. In light of the origins of most of the Chinese in California at the time, I suspect, but am not sure, that the spelling is a Wade-Giles spelling of Cantonese. There are lots of other local tongs (not high school clubs) listed in Wikipedia's article on the [Tong Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong_Wars).

According to a [blog post](https://santacruzsportshistory.com/facilities/santa-cruz-sports-facilities-through-the-years/) containing much later text from the school student newspaper,

> Hi Tow Tong Men’s Honor Society was organized in 1910. The first initiation ceremonies were adopted embracing the sentiments of Confucius, Jesus and other world leaders to emphasize the thought that leadership ability carries with it the responsibility to serve.

What does "Hi Tow" mean? Are several readings possible?

**Tags:** translation, cantonese, history, transliteration

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Well first let me leave this here: Tong = 堂. Tow should be 道, presumably.  
> **username_2**: My best guess would be 氣道堂 (not to be confused with 合氣道 or Aikido). The combination of /hiː/ is not possible in standard Cantonese, and none of the words with finals such as /aːi/ or /ɐi/ would make sense with 道. Perhaps this could be a dialectal reading? Nanning Cantonese for example has /hi³³/, and Meixian Hakka has /hi⁵³/.  
> **username_3**: Given that the fraternity was founded and manned by non-Chinese (based on the photos and member ship lists Internet search turns up), I don't think it "translates" to anything "valid" in Chinese. It could be just something that sounded "Chinese" to the founders.  
> **username_4**: Another way to find its meaning is to ask the author of blog post who know the original source.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2019-08-24. Score: 1

My guess is it's probably 諧道堂 [haai4 dou6 tong4] 'Society of the Harmonious Tao', but I have nothing to back that up.


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### Answer by username_6 on 2019-08-18. Score: 1

"tow tong" means "道堂", without doubt. e.g.:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/eoQxt.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/eoQxt.png)

[堂 (u+5802)](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E5%A0%82) should be interpreted as "association"

[道 (u+9053)](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E9%81%93) means "tao", the proper way.

about the first character "hi", my best guess is, in sequence:

[凱 (u+51f1)](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E5%87%B1) roughy means "victory", that "hi tow tong" would be "the association of the tao of victory"

second is [開 (u+958b)](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E9%96%8B) roughy means beginning, that "hi tow tong" would be "the association of the tao of beginning"

have fun :)

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: "Hi" may be  Cantonese 繫 /hai6 / : connect  
> **username_6**: em . . . possible :), better than 開  
> **username_0**: "with doubt" or "without doubt"?  
> **username_6**: ahhhhh. . . . a typo :(  

---

