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Post by Ah Gin on Apr 28, 2012 16:45:59 GMT -5
Imurak, My advice is that, you do persist in tracing your roots. I think you owe it to folks who come after you, ie, in search of roots is not so much as for oneself only. I understand why members of the family (however distant) may be reluctant or even suspicious of our motivation in tracing our roots. Thing is, "in search of roots" sometimes can turn up strange or even painful stories (at least to one's family or own experience). I guess we just have to work that one through, to remind ourselves that history is history and not our personal doing per se. When I started my search, I never expected to discover so much nor the positive reception by my relatives -- some distant, some blood related. The search allowed me to now to have good clan contact all over the world, including of course my ancestral home and SF, where I discovered my Big Mother's grave, family members, Clan Memorial Hall etc. Interesting thing is, I discovered my Big Mother's grave by accident, when I participated in a Ching Ming outing organised by my Clan.
I wish you luck in your search.
Regards, Ah Gin
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Post by FayChee on Apr 29, 2012 3:02:50 GMT -5
Thank you Ah Gin. I do have several phone numbers of relatives I may try calling
Fay Chee
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Post by FayChee on Apr 29, 2012 3:32:07 GMT -5
Are there any other Seto/Szeto online from Da Jin Village? Has anyone heard of it? Any pictures of it?
China, Guangdong, Kaiping City, Da Jin village committee, Chao Yang village.
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Post by helen on Apr 29, 2012 4:00:31 GMT -5
It is normal for people to be suspicious of the contact - after so long. My Mother's own sisters did not offer to take me to where my Grandparents ashes were - the family need to know your first, and then decide for them selves that you are not a threat. Let them know what you have found out - share photos of your own family first. Once they have received information from you, with no demands, then they will feel comfortable with you.
It was only after my second visit, a year gap between visits, that my Uncle and Aunties were relaxed enough to take me to my Grandparents - we shared a Bai Sarn with them last year.
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Post by FayChee on Apr 29, 2012 4:31:38 GMT -5
Thanks Helen, I will take it slow and just say Hi, offer my contact information and maybe tell them about myself. I googled my village 'Da Jin village committee' in Chaoyang, but didn't find anything. I will try again on Google Earth or Maps.
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Post by douglaslam on Apr 29, 2012 7:00:47 GMT -5
Linda / Imurak,
It's good to see you making a re-appearance and getting ahead with your search. Did you know you got me interested in your father's village hence your ancestral village too?
I am due for five weeks leave in early November, I can make it even longer with long service leave added on. I have every intention of paying your village a visit and take photos for all to see. My wife's cousin ( from Hong Kong) has a unit and a car in Hoiping. I hope I can link up with him in November, and do some serious sightseeing and eating. BTW my wife is from Hoiping, that would make you and her Hoiping or Sze Yup compatriots.
Just to whet your appetite, Hoiping is now a bustling provincial town You'll find everything so affordable, a good hotel room can be had from US$20 up, $40 would get you a very, very good one, depending on the season and rating. Hoiping is popularly called qiao xiang 僑 鄉 or kiu heung in Cantonese, which means village (or town) to overseas Chinese. Kiu heung is also a homonym for 橋 鄉, which means a town of bridges. There are many bridges spanning the river that runs through the town. Hoiping is often referred to by these two endearing names.
See it for yourself soon. It is very much your ancestral town. Douglas
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Post by laohuaqiao on Apr 29, 2012 8:16:25 GMT -5
Linda, Dajin Village Committee is a local government administration consisting of a group of villages with the offices in Dajincun or Dajin Village. To look for the village in Google maps, copy and paste this search text "中国 广东省 江门 开平市 大津村" and see the search result in Map View (not Satellite because of mismatch between Map and Satellite views).
Your father's village Chaoyang is not labeled anywhere in Google maps, but with the help of other Chinese mapping websites I'm able to locate it.
Still in Map View of Dajincun in Google maps, if you zoom in enough you'll see from Dajincun along a straight line southwest, 2 villages: Qilong and Daxing. Chaoyang is midway between Qilong and Daxing.
On a new window, go to Google maps, this time in Satellite view, and search for the coordinates "22.1334, 112.569". This is Chaoyang village. Dajincun has the coordinates "22.138, 112.574"
Even though resolution of this satellite image is not high enough to see the individual houses, different features of Chaoyang, typical for a village in this region, are discernible. The houses are located in the square area. To the north, west and south of the houses is a darker area of planted trees to shield the residences from the elements and perhaps also source of firewood for cooking (many village folks still prefer to use firewood for cooking). The brighter white strip on the northeast edge of the houses is the cement-paved yard where harvested crops are dried. On other side of the yard is a man-made pond and beyond the pond are the farmlands.
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Post by FayChee on Apr 29, 2012 20:27:36 GMT -5
Laohuaqiao, your directions for finding Dajincun were excellent and I found everything that you mentioned. I have a question that may sound extremely dense to you, but here it is....when I want to tell another American Chinese person what Village my dad is from, would I say that he is from Dajincun in Chaoyang, Guangdong China or Chaoyang, Dajin Village?
Douglas, I am so envious of your trip in November and if I had the courage to quit my job, then I would definitely hop on a plane and go there too. The problem is that I do not have anyone to cover my position and can only take off 5 days at a time (over a weekend). Can you email me so that I can ask you more questions about your itinery?
Linda
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Post by laohuaqiao on Apr 29, 2012 23:54:03 GMT -5
Linda, The current formal bureaucratic hierarchy is China Guangdong Jiangmen City Kaiping City Chishui Zhen (Chishui Township) Da Jin village committee(Dajin Administrative Village may make more sense) Chao Yang village
Chaoyang as part of Dajin is a relatively recent government shuffle. Dajin is the larger jurisdiction.
To a Chinese American who came from Siyi area years ago, saying Chaoyang in Dajin would probably meaningless. Saying Chaoyang in Chishui Town in Kaiping in Guangdong would be more meaningful.
To an old-timer from Kaiping or someone who's familiar with Kaiping prior to 1949, it's more important to say your father was a Seto from Chaoyang village in Chung Wo Heung in Kaiping. Heung is no longer important in the Chinese government structure. But, it is still important in the rural culture (and in the genealogical history) because generally all villagers sharing the same surname within the same heung/sub-heung descended from a common ancestor. There were at least 29 villages with the Seto surname in what was then Chung Wo Heung (Zhonghe). There are many Setos in Kaiping, saying Seto from Chung Wo Heung identifies the particular Seto clan.
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Post by douglaslam on Apr 30, 2012 7:07:50 GMT -5
Linda, I have no itinerary just yet. Most of the time, I go to places on impulse. I'll make known my travel plans in China on this board when the time comes.
I am keen to return to Hoiping. It isn't far, only two hours or so from my own village by bus. I have to go back to my travelogue to find out. But I do need other members to help with the name in Chinese. I can work out the Chaoyang bit.
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Post by FayChee on Apr 30, 2012 9:51:42 GMT -5
OK Douglas, I guess I got excited hearing about your trip and November is pretty far off. Can't wait for your posts and photos! Linda
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Post by FayChee on Apr 30, 2012 9:53:14 GMT -5
laohuaqiao That is exactly what I needed to know. I will print it out and carry it with me. Thanks a million. Linda
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Post by guoliang on May 1, 2012 4:24:30 GMT -5
hi, i am Steven (司徒国良), i am interested with this thread as this is my surname i was told that my grandfather came from Kaiping, and now we settle our family in Indonesia. and i am really curious about our surname's history as all other people never heard about 2 characters surname . i wonder if all of people with this surname are my relatives. just FYI: on august 2012 my whole big family would like to visit our hometown, Kaiping. ;D ;D
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Post by Doug 周 on May 1, 2012 10:48:18 GMT -5
...I will print it out and carry it with me.... Correct me if I am wrong. I thought that one needs to have address information printed in Chinese to get around in China.
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Post by laohuaqiao on May 1, 2012 15:59:24 GMT -5
Doug, I think Linda meant if she should run into a Chinese American and the topic of where her father came from were to come up, what should she say. For my parents' generation, they always ask a person 's family name and immediately ask which heung the person is from. As I learn more about Taishan, I've found myself beginning to ask that too. ;D
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