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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Things remained relatively unchanged until the Three Kingdom period (三國時代). In 222 AD, one of the Kingdoms, Wu (吳), established Wuyee County (武夷縣) which approximately where present Xinhui is situated. The name was changed to Xinyee (新夷) in 280 AD. Sine the word yee (夷) means barbarians then it is not difficult to conclude this part of China was not exactly civilized. In actual fact the northerner, the inhabitants north of the Yangtze, commonly referred the inhabitants across the river and beyond as Southern Barbarians (南蠻子).

The name Xinhui (新會) first appeared in 420 when Xinhui Quon (新會郡) which initially contained three and later increased to twelve counties was established. It covered a large area including the entire present Xinhui, Taishan (台山), Heshan (鶴山), Kaiping (開平), Shunde (順德), southeast portion of both Xinxing (新興) and Gaoming (高明), eastern portion of Enping (恩平), northeastern and eastern portions of Zhongshan (中山).

The next major change came in 590 AD when it and six other counties were placed under the jurisdiction of Feng Zhou (封州). The next year it was renamed E Zhou ((允州)) which two years later was changed to Gong Zhou (岡州). Gong Zhou was also the name of town where the Xinhui administration was located. Many historians believe it is located at the southwest corner of present day Xinxing. During the ensuring 130 years, there were many flip-flops on Gong Zhou. Finally, Gong Zhou was abolished and the land was divided into two counties, Xinhui and Yeening (義寧), under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou (廣州). Xinhui’s boundaries were finally established and remained unchanged until 1152.

From 1152-1732 the following counties were established by partitioned land from Xinhui. The first, in 1152, to be established was Huengshan (香山) which was renamed in the 20th century to Zhongshan (中山). It is the birthday place of the father of modern China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Following the Chinese tradition of not using the country’s chief executive’s (prime minister) personal name but the county of origin. Thus to the Chinese he is generally known as Sun Zhongshan (孫中山). Three other counties were established in fairly rapid fashion: Shunde (1452), Enping (1478) and Xinning (新寧)(1499). The final two partitions took place during the Qing Dynasty (清朝), Kaiping (1649) and Heshan (1732).

Xinhui will always be remembered as where, Yamen (崖門), the army of the Southern Sung Dynasty (南宋), in 1279, made its last stand against the invading all-conquering Mongolian army. The prime minister, Luk Shiufu (陸秀夫), determining that both himself and the emperor should never be captured, strapped the eight year-old child onto his back and jumped off the cliff into the water below.

The story doesn’t end here. Legend has it that days later a monk found the body of a young boy in a yellow robe (traditionally yellow is the colour reserved for the royal family) floating in the open sea. The body was sheltered by birds. After collecting the body and upon close examination the monk discovered the royal seal (玉璽) which confirmed the body was that of the boy emperor. Quietly the monk buried the body and it wasn’t till years later before words of this grave got out. Now each Qing Ming (清明) the Chiu (Zhao) Association in Hong Kong visits grave and pays its respect. The legend and photo of the grave are provided by Henry Chiu.

Another legend is that this child emperor hung his robe on a lychee tree before the fatal event. From then onward, lychees from the area all have a green strip and the sweetest (掛綠荔枝).

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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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Can anyone help me identify the two villages that my grandparents came from? My grandparents Wong came from Jung Seng, Dong Guan, Yu Tien village, Doong Fong branch. My other set of grandparents, the Woos, came from Kwang Tung Province, Toishan, Sai Sarm Bow, Wang Jo Cheung.
I have seen a map of Jung Seng, but unfortunately, I can’t read Chinese. I have a general idea of where the village is, but I would like to get more specific.
Thank you!

Zengcheng

Dongguan 1

Dongguan 2

Wong Tong

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