Agustin Chinco

Agustin Chinco, of Chinchew, China, was a rice merchant. "His baptismal record suggests that he was an educated man, as already indicated, for the name of his town proved a puzzle till a present-day Dominican missionary from Amoy explained that it appeared to be the combined names for Chinchew in both the common and literary Chinese, in each case with the syllable denoting the town left off. Apparently when questioned from what town he came, Chinco was careful not to repeat the word town, but gave its name only in the literary language, and when that was not understood, he would repeat it in the local dialect. The priest, not understanding the significance of either in that form, wrote down the two together as a single word. Knowledge of the literary Chinese, or Mandarin, as it is generally called, marked the educated man, and education in China meant social position."

Source: Craig, Austin. "Lineage, Life and Labors of Jose Rizal". Manila: Philippine Education Company, 1913. http://bit.ly/N3Y6X7