The Chinese have been known for keeping detail genealogy records. It is generally accepted that the longest continuous Chinese genealogy record belongs to descendants of Confucius. It is not uncommon, however, for families and clans to have genealogy records extend over a thousand years or more. Amazingly enough, many of these invaluable records survived all the countless upheavals and disasters throughout China’s history.

All the record keeping would lead one to think that doing Chinese genealogy research is as easy as falling off a log. However, I soon found that it is anything but that. Doing Chinese genealogy research while overseas, in my case, Canada, is a very frustrating process. For years I found no information predating my grandfather and his brothers, only eight characters of the generation poem (象賢希聖、學宗孔孟).

Then finally in August 1984 on a trip to Ottawa, during lunch with Uncle Paul (李希勛), one of the last living members of his generation, I decided to probe him on the family genealogy. My question came as a surprise to him as he didn’t expect any interest from the younger generation that grew up in North America. As for me it was hitting the mother lode of information. Suddenly I had information all the way back to my grandfather’s great grandfather. It was like a window suddenly pops open and I was looking at people who lived in the late 18th or early 19th century.

A year or two later, I received a copy of the family tree done by cousin Lee Can Tang (燦棠) who lived in New York. It came courtesy of cousin Lee Kwan Lam (群林) from Hong Kong, who updated it with more current information. This document had more detail and fleshed out what Uncle Paul gave me. For the first time I knew the generation that I belong to (聖) is the 24th generation. Most importantly I was able to follow the various ancestral shrines or branches within the clan and how know how people are related to each other.

Despite the progress, many blanks remained. How many characters are there in the generation poem? Who was the first ancestor? And what is the family’s place of origin? The funny thing is my first exposure to information on the first migration ancestor, Lee Dong (李棟), came from an unexpected source. I was reading a neighbour’s copy of Lei-Ow Monthly (裡謳月刊) issue 5 which had an article on the Lee’s of Xinbu (神步李氏). The article gave their migration history and their generation poem. Within the generation poem were the eight characters that I knew so well. Immediately I knew I had stumbled onto something valuable and decided to keep that particular copy of the monthly.

Then in the early 90′s I received more information from cousin Kwan Lam. This time it was a copy of our own generation poem in its entirety. Surprise! Surprise! It was identical to that of the Lee’s of Xinbu. As a bonus, I was introduced to a location called Wunbu (雲步) which I later found out was a major point in the clan’s migration history.

In the Spring of 1997 a group in my village headed by Lee Guang Sheng (光盛) decided to publish an up-to-date zupu (族譜), clan genealogy record. A little over a year later, I received a copy. It concentrate primarily on the more recent generations rather than the past. Migration history was briefly touched upon. In essence it is the same as the Lei-Ow Monthly article. Information on the ancestors was restricted to the first two migrating ancestors only, Lee Dong (李棟) his eldest son, Lee Hon (李侃). There was nothing on the first ancestor who to moved to and settled in the current village.

In the meantime I was online and searching. Not much happened until one day I came across a post in The Chinese Surname Queries. Jack Lee used his own ancestor’s migration history as an example in answering a post. Yes, Jack (李惠賢) was telling, at least to me, a very familiar story. It was quickly established that we branched off from the second generation. In the ensuing years Jack provided me with much information in my genealogy research.

Things really started to happen in 2001. First I met Chune Lee (李傳宗) who belongs to the same branch as Jack. Chune was kind enough to give me a copy of his zupu (東坑李氏族譜) which answered many questions. Soon afterwards, Simon Lee (李煥祥) wrote me that he is from the same village as Chune. However, he is from the branch of Lee Chun (李侚), Lee Dong’s third son. Now our little online group has at least one descendant from each of Lee Dong’s sons.

In early 2002 Lee Weng Onn from Malaysia wrote to me. It was quickly established that Lee Weng Onn and I belong to the same branch. Weng Onn is in possession of an extremely comprehensive zupu (雲步李氏宗譜), which was published in 1932. It comes in multi-volumes. The total number of pages is a staggering 3,825. From what I’ve seen it kept track of most, if not all, members of Lee Hon’s branch. It even has records of various descendants moving to and settling in different villages.

In mid-November Edward Lee (李國安) visited this site and discovered he and Chune are from the same village. The zupu he has is identical to Chune’s. They had made contact with each other and followed up on the linkage.

In February 2003 another visitor, Edmund Lee of California, wrote to share his genealogy information. Yes, he is another member of Lee Dong’s descendants. His branch is that of Lee Yee (李佁) and they had settled at Jiujiang, Xinhui (新會九江). Since Chune, Edmund, and Simon are all living in the Bay area, a get together was suggested. After many email exchanges the first get together was held in March 27, 2003. Please see photo. Lawrence Jeung attended the meeting because he is researching the Lee genealogy from his grandmother side of the family.

On August 1, 2002, I received an email from David Lee (李光基) of Hong Kong. He is a descendant of Lee Shi Tao (李師道), one of Lee Dong’s first cousins. David was very kind in sharing information from his zupu and invaluable information on the life and traves of our ancestors, which is currently sitting on the back burner.

Coincidentally, Daniel Lee (李玉恆) from California contacted me on October 4, 2002 to say he is a descendant of Lee Shi Tao and there are similarities between his life and Lee Dong’s. Daniel was kind enough to send a copy of his family tree starting with the migrating ancestor to the present, covering over 30 generations and almost 900 years – most impressive.

Both David and Daniel are descend from the same branch and the same village until the 13rd generation when Daniel’s ancestor moved to Zhongshan (中山).

In 2001 Lawrence Jeung and I were in contact because his grandmother’s maiden name is Lee. There wasn’t any progress other than finding historical information on his grandmother’s uncle Lee Sinan (李是男). It was only after David had provided me with his generation name poem information and Lawrence with his keen observation noticed the same characters in the haos of Lee Sinan and other family members. We are confident Lee Sinan and his family belong to the Lee Shi Tao branch.

Setting up this site is my attempt to link up with the other clan members from my village whom I have never met or haven’t seen for years. Now I’m in contact with a much broader clan group!

In mid-June, 2002, I received a call from a friend, Watt Chow (周添活), who calls Hong Kong home. His family is from the same village as my wife, Margaret, but I was told by my father-in-law and others that they aren’t related. Anyway, he was in town visiting his parents and we agreed to meet after dinner. During the course of the evening the subject of genealogy came up. He said he came across his family’s zupu (published in 1909) and managed to secure a couple of copies. He kept one for himself and gave the other to his father, Mr. Frank Chow (周暢宏). Mr. Frank Chow told me their family belong to the branch of the third son, L (周漁隱), while Margaret’s family is from the fifth son, Feng Yin Chow (周鳳隱). He was kind enough to look it up in the zupu for me. Best of all, he even let me borrowe it. From the zupu I managed to construct the family tree from present day to the first ancestor, Feng Gang Chow (周鳳岡).

In late 2001, Tho May Seto (司徒素媚) called to say she had came across some genealogy information on the Xie family and wondered whether I would be interested. It was a hand written linear family tree by her father-in-law, Xie Ping An (謝平安), going all the way back to Nanxiong. (Another item on the back burner.)

In May 2003 Henry Chiu (趙行時) of Hong Kong a cache of genealogy information on the Zhao of Fausik or Fushe (浮石). According to the information they are direct descendants of Sung emperors. In January 2004 I finally got around to have some of the Zhao information online more than half a year after receiving them from Henry. The push come after Katherine Lum of New York contacted me. Her maternal grandfather is a Zhao and from Fausik also. Katherine also provided a treasure chest of information which I can correlate with Henry’s.

Just before 2003 came to a close I received an email from Dr. James Chin of California. As it turned out Dr. Chin is born in Fausik but migrated to the USA at an early age. He is a Zhao also but because of the American immigration policy at the time he and his family had to use a paper name which is Chin. Dr. Chin is corresponding with Henry. Hope there are mutual benefits. Wouldn’t it really be a blast if they are second or third cousins?

In mid-February Jacky Li of Hong Kong by way of Malaysia posted in the forum regarding Xinhui (新會). Subsequent email established that his family originated from Law Ka Wan, Xinhui (新會羅家灣). A quick check of my records revealed that Lee Duanfu (李端夫) once settled there. Jacky is or will be checking with his grandfather and father on their generation name poem. He may be the newest addition to the Lee Dong descendants online club.

Some other families we’ll be researching are: Mak of Xin Tsun (台山都斛下莘村麥氏), and Wong of Baisa (台山潮境白沙黃氏).

Again, thank you for coming by; enjoy your visit and come back really soon. Comments, suggestions and errata are always welcome.

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This site is devoted to the genealogy of Chinese families from an area of Guangdong, China (中國廣東)commonly known as Siyi (四邑) or four counties. The counties are Xinhui (新會), Taishan (台山), Kaiping (開平), and Enping (恩平). The families in this area have much in common besides geographic location. The great majority trace their origin to China’s central plain. Each faamily may have different reasons for leaving the Central Plains and migrated southward. The most common would be fleeing the turmoil caused by an invading nomad tribe, internal uprising or natural disaster. This southward journey happened in multiple stages and over hundreds of years. Each major unrest or disaster drove them further south until they finally settled in their current locations. In many cases this final settlement took place five to six hundred years ago.

Due to crowded living condition and lack of agrarian land the migration, however, continued. At first a small number headed to the South Pacific. Since the 1850′s an increasing large number had crossed the Pacific and Indian Oceans in search of work. This is not a true migration in that they seldom settled in their new locations due to cultural and political reasons. This, however, began to change in the latter half of the 20th century as the Western nations amended their immigration policies primarily because of the overseas Chinese’s contributions to the war effort during World War II. This coupled with events in China made many decided to have their families joined them and settled in the foreign land.

A place of great significant during this southward migration is Zhujixiang, Nanxiong (南雄珠璣巷). A vast majority of the families in the Pearl River Delta area trace their roots to there. One can say it is Pearl River Delta genealogy’s equivalent to the Americans’ Mayflower and Plymouth Rock.

The surnames we are actively researching are: Chan, Chow, Der, Kwan, Lee, Mak, Wong, and Zhao (陳周謝關李麥黃趙). So far we only have time to compile some of the information on the Chow (周), Der (謝), Lee (李), and Zhao (趙).

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Here is a little historical background. In 1126 AD (靖康元年) when the Jins (女真金人), a northern nomadic tribe who were the ancestors of the later day Manchus (滿清), invaded China. They lay siege to the capital, Kaifeng (開封) or Binliang (汴梁) as it was called then. They returned a year later and sacked the city, returned north with their captives which included the two Sung emperors and members of the royal family totalling over 3,000 people. A little over a hundred years later (1233 AD), this scene was replayed when the Mongolians conquered the Jins.

According to clan records, Lee Dong (李棟) was involved with the failed effort to relief the siege of Kaifeng. From the wordings, he was either a low ranking officer or leader of a local militia which had become common as a defence against the numerous roaming robbers and bandits (流寇). The heros of the famous novel Water Margin (水滸傳) supposingly were from this era.

After the siege, Lee Dong took his family which included his wife, their three sons, Lee Hon (李侃), Lee Chun (李侚) and Lee Yee (李佁), and his younger brother, Lee Jong (李棕) to Lau-sa Li (流沙里) in Panyu just south of Guangzhou. However, there are writing saying they went to Guangzhou’s Gao-de Li (高德里) first. They later moved to what was Gongzhou (岡州) in ancient time but is currently known as Xinxing (新與), in Xinhui county (新會). Lived in Chong-bu Hong (中步巷) which was on the town’s western edge, Lai-yee Feng district (禮儀坊). On a modern day map of Xinhui there is a Gongzhou just west of Xinhui City. Could this be one and the same?

After things somewhat settled, by that I guess they meant after the invaders had left, Lee Dong and his brother returned to Nanxiong (南雄) to tie up loose ends such as disposing real estate properties. Lee Dong died on the return trip. His brother brought his remains back and he was buried at Shek Goe Shan, Xinhui (新會石狗山).

After Lee Dong’s death, the family was on the move again. Except this time they all went their separate ways. Lee Dong’s widow went with the third son Lee Yee and the second son Lee Chun’s third son Lee Kit (李杰) to Gun-jok Hong De-hung Li, Taishan (台山德行里筋竹坑). Lee Dong’s brother, Lee Jong, and his family went to Shunde (順德) and Huengshan (香山)(later renamed Zhongshan, (中山). The second son, Lee Chun was dispatched to Dai Gong, Kaiping (開平大岡). Lee Hon, the eldest son, moved to Wunbu, Xinhui (新會雲步).

Map of Guangzhou showing the southern migration routes from Nanxiong

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However, there are more than one version of the story.

The first is that one of the emperor’s concubines, Wu Fei, went missing. A country-wide search was mounted. Nanxiong being so far away from the capital that rumours preceded the royal edict. One of these rumours triggered the exodus. What was the rumour? It was that the emperor had find out the whereabouts of Wu Fei. She was hiding in Nanxiong and the angry emperor’s army was on its way to recapture her and slaughter the entire town for giving her shelter.

Another was that in 1272 Wu Fei, one of the emperor’s concubines, sneaked out of the palace to escape from being prosecuted by Jia Si-tao (賈似道), the prime minister. Once outside, she by chance, met Wong Chu Man (黃貯萬), a merchant, by the water in Hangzhou (杭州). Together they returned to Wong’s hometown, Nanxiong and lived in Zhuji Lane. Before long, Jia Si-tao got wind of her whereabout and dispatched his private guards to massacre the entire population living on Zhuji Lane. This precipitated an exodus. Meanwhile, Wu Fei, in her effort to save the others, drowned herself in a well.

The third version has more detail than the other two. In September 1272 Jia Si-tao was in charge of making an official offering at the temple. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Jia visited the Gain-Ling Palace (景靈宮). It started to rain heavily just as he was ready to leave. So Jia decided to wait it out. However, he did ordered Wu Fei’s brother Wu Hin Ju (胡顯祖) to return to the imperial palace first with the ceremonial utensils and the royal carriage.

The emperor inquired about Jia. Wu replied that Jia would be delayed. Jia took this as meddling by the emperor and became extremely upset, enough for him to resign. To pacify Jia and to get him to retract his resignation, Wu was dismissed and his sister, Wu Fei, was forced to leave the palace and become a nun.

Wu Fei’s son also left the palace and moved to Zhuji Lane in Nanxiong. Some time later because the Queen was childless and Wu Fei’s son was named heir-designated to the throne. As the birth-mother of the heir-designated Wu Fay would be living in the palace once again.

A royal garrison was dispatched to escort her back. However, it was mistakenly rumoured that the garrison was to search and kill Wu Fei and the residents in the neighbourhood. Out of fear for their lives, the residents of Zhuji Lane fled southward into the Pearl River Delta, Guangzhou (廣州).

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Nanxiong (南雄) county lies in the northeast part of Guangdong province. It has 24 towns and a population of 440,000. Historically, Nanxiong connected Guangdong and Jiangxi which made it the key junction between northern and southern China. It was a marketplace and the central point in the exchange of goods and cultures between Central China and the outpost Guangdong.

As with all ancient towns, there are many places of historic interest. We, however, are primarily interested in Zhuji Lane (珠璣巷). It lies in the Meiguan ancient post road (梅關古驛道), nine kilometers from the northern part of Nanxiong county.

Zhuji Lane was first called Jingzong Lane (敬宗巷). The change came about during the Tang Dynasty (唐朝). According to folklore, seven generations of the Zhang Chang (張昌) family lived together in Jingzong Lane. The Imperial court in 825AD bestowed upon them a1 pearl lace for this filial obedience. The following year, the emperor died and his official clan temple title (宗廟諡) was Jingzong. In ancient China it was a common or rather imperative practice to avoid using the same characters as the names and titles of the emperors. Thus Jingzong Lane was changed to Zhuji Lane for this purpose and also to commemorate the honour received by the Zhang Chang family. Zhuji Lane is 1,500 meters long and 4 meters wide. It is paved with cobble stone. There are village houses and memorial temples on each side of the road. Shops are connected with each other, winding straight but orderly, uneven and protruding but naturally. Along this lane in addition to ancient buildings and ruins are bridges, pond and river.

Because of its geographic location, Zhuji Lane became very prosperous during the Tang and Song dynasties. It was a true melting pot where north met south and people with different surnames became neighbours. At the end of the Song Dynasty (宋朝), Zhuji Lane residents migrated southward to the Pearl (Zhujiang) River delta ( 珠江三角洲) to avoid the invading Mongolian army. It was an exodus because a total of 134 surnames and thousands of people were involved. They helped to spread the more advanced Central Plain culture and production techniques to the then still relatively uninhabited southern frontier. The city of Guangzhou has a Zhuji Road (珠璣路) which is supposingly named to commemorate many of the city residents’ place of origin.

1 Source: History Subordinate to Nanxiong county

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