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Post by geoff on Mar 31, 2012 13:50:13 GMT -5
Hello, Could someone please translate the chinese characters on my grandfather's headstone. He was born WONG Suey Ling aka William Suey LING, born in Melbourne Australia....his father was from Bak Shek village, Jungseng, China. thank you Geoff from Sydney Attachments:
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Post by laohuaqiao on Apr 1, 2012 13:52:24 GMT -5
It says:
黃瑞麟公之墓
Tomb of Wong Suey Ling Gong
Gong is a title for an elderly man
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Post by geoff on Apr 1, 2012 14:18:14 GMT -5
thank you laohuaqiao
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Post by geoff on Apr 4, 2012 15:01:13 GMT -5
Hi laohuaqiao,
Which are the characters for his name? I'd like to c&p them to gf's fam hist.
thanks
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Post by lachinatown on Apr 4, 2012 15:16:18 GMT -5
黃瑞麟 is the Chinese name (left to right)
Wong Suey Ling
or
瑞 [rui] = auspicious; lucky.
麟 [lin] = female unicorn.
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Post by geoff on Apr 4, 2012 16:19:45 GMT -5
Hi laohuaqiao,
Thanks.
Female unicorn?......but grandfather was a male....lol
Could it have meant something different when he was born in 1877?. His father was born in cantonese village.
or Could the Sydney Australia based stonemason have received incorrect chinese characters of gf's chinese name, in 1936?
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Post by lachinatown on Apr 4, 2012 16:43:08 GMT -5
Hi geoff,
It was not laohuaqiao who posted, but me. That is the female unicorn character. The male unicorn character has different right part to it (spells differently in English). And that is what it reads on the headstone. It also match the English "ling".
Hope this helps.
lachinatown
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Post by geoff on Apr 5, 2012 15:06:00 GMT -5
Hi lachinatown,
Sorry for the mix up in names. Thank you for your replies. I've copied & pasted your first reply & will become part of grandfather's family history.
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dong
Member
Posts: 8
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Post by dong on May 21, 2012 19:51:33 GMT -5
After more than a year, we have found my grandfathers grave, and managed to get a photo of it.  His background: The 1923 ships manifest lists him (Bing Wing) and his 'brother' : Bing Wing, 15 yrs old - Mother: Chin Shee, Tai Sham, Sun Ning, China Bing Den - 13 years old - Mother: Chin Shao, Tai Sham, Sun Ning, China When he settled in Massachusetts, he was using the name Gee Wo Dong, and the American nickname of 'Donald.' Perhaps a native speaker can shed some light on the name change, and also any other clues from the inscription on the stones. As soon as I figure out how to attach a pic I will post the photo. |
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dong
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Posts: 8
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Post by dong on May 21, 2012 19:54:26 GMT -5
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Post by laohuaqiao on May 22, 2012 7:41:05 GMT -5
Dong,
From the tombstone your grandparents came from Guangdong province 廣東省, Taishan county (now a city), 台山縣 Shangge Heung 上閣鄉 Dasan Cun (village) 大三村
Grandfather's name 曾紀和
Grandmother's name 陳玉桃
Shangge Heung (Sheung Kok in Cantonese) is in the town of Doushan 斗山 in Taishan. The last name Dong is from Taishanese dialect, normally Tsang in Cantonese and Ceng in Mandarin. The current Hong Kong Financial Secretary, aka God of Fortune as people called him, Harvard educated John Tsang has ancestral roots from the same region.
Since there are many Chan/Chen villages in Shangge and nearby Liucun Heungs, the fact your grandmother was a Chan is not surprising.
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dong
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Post by dong on May 22, 2012 20:39:32 GMT -5
Hello, laohuaqiao, Thank you so much for that information! My g'grandmothers name on the ships manifest was Chin Shee. (Bing Wing's mother) and Wing Ben's mother was listed as Chin Shao. Would these have been their full names? (Surname + given name) If it isn't too much trouble, could you tell me the complete translation of the stone inscriptions? Many thanks! |
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dong
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Posts: 8
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Post by dong on May 22, 2012 22:48:21 GMT -5
*Correction: Wing Ben = Bing Den
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Post by laohuaqiao on May 23, 2012 1:37:28 GMT -5
Dong,
The two lines down the right and left edge gave the location:
Guangdong province, Taishan county
Shangge heung, Dasan Cun
The large character in the middle is the surname Dong. Below it are the words 之墓 meaning "tomb of".
The only other words are 夫人, below your grandmother's name, which is a term of address for a married woman, and 翁 below your grandfather's name, which is a term of address for an old man.
Chin Shi literally means "surname Chin". In the past married Chinese woman's full name was never recorded, only her maiden surname. Chin Shi has the meaning as nee Chin.
Why was Bing Den's mother was given as Chin Shao? Perhaps she was a second wife or concubine of your ggf. The only word that I can think of that sounds like "shao" is 嫂 (sao in Mandarin, sou in Cantonese and thlao in Taishanese), which refers to a younger married woman.
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dong
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Post by dong on May 23, 2012 21:49:44 GMT -5
laohuaqiao, Thank you very much for your assistance; this has been a great help - more than you know. I've no idea why Bing Den's mother was listed as Chin Shao. We do know both the boys were related (they looked very much alike), but we are not sure at all that they were actually brothers. While Bing Den was called 'Uncle Tom', Wing never once, in his entire life, mentioned a brother or ever called him such. As usual, when trying to reconstruct the past, answers often lead to more mysteries. It makes me happy, however, to be able to learn something about these family members, and I now have enough information to inquire in Boston with the Chinese Historical Society there that is very helpful to descendants of immigrants; even the part-Anglo children. These ancestors deserve to be remembered and honored for their place in our lives, and especially when we know they went through many hardships in their lifetimes. Thank you. |
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