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Post by ceramicman on Aug 17, 2014 12:27:30 GMT -5
Hello,
I was wondering if someone might be able to help me translate the tombstone of my great-grandparents. They are buried in a cemetery outside of Ying-ko, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The only characters I'm able to read are their names: Liao Shen-hsi and Liao Hsu-chao (don't know her maiden name; maybe it's on the headstone?) Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Post by laohuaqiao on Aug 17, 2014 18:03:55 GMT -5
Repaired in 73rd year of the Republic of China (1984)
They are from Qingxi 清溪 town or location in Taiwan or mainland China.
Her maiden name could have been Xu/Hsu 許 and given name Zhao 招. Zhao 招 means to call for, to invite, it's common in families certainly regions or groups wanting to have a son to name a girl Zhaodi 招娣， to bring a younger brother. 佳城 means a fine fortress is a euphemism for a tomb.
Last line (tomb) erected by males of 6 great chambers( meaning they had 6 sons?)
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Post by ceramicman on Aug 17, 2014 19:00:01 GMT -5
Thank you so much for your reply. I wonder if Qingxi is in Taiwan or China. My guess is it would be somewhere in Fukien, since that's where I've always been told our family is originally from. Thanks again for your help though.
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Post by tyuti1668 on Aug 18, 2014 6:55:37 GMT -5
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Post by philiptancl on Aug 18, 2014 9:03:43 GMT -5
Ceramicman,
From the posting by tyuti1668 what I understand Qing Xi (清溪) is old name for Anxi (安溪). Anxi is the county next to mine, Yongchun (永春). Anxi would be "Ann Kooi" in the local dialect (as would be referred to by us in Malaysia) as Yongchun would be "Eng Choon". If that is so, I have the reference book for all the surnames in Anxi (安溪姓氏志). It contains information on the number of residences in the each of the villages for the various surnames (as per December 2004), the branches for each surname, the branch zupu and their dates of updating, the generation names for some of the branches and a bit of history on the arrival of the branch progenitor. Your surname Liao (廖) is the 12th most common surname in Anxi while that for your great grandmother Xu ( 許) is the 9th most common. If you want the pages relating to the two surnames, I can either post them here or email to you. However they are in Chinese which I am not able to read.
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Post by lachinatown on Aug 18, 2014 10:19:14 GMT -5
Wow. Interesting.
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Post by ceramicman on Aug 18, 2014 15:38:50 GMT -5
Philiptancl,
Thank you for you input. I think you may be on to something. I have read that many of the people in Ying-ko, San-hsia, and other places around Taipei have roots in Anxi County. I know that my family came over to Taiwan sometime in the 18th century, and from what I understand, were always landlords and taught at the local shufang (private school). If you could send me those pages, I would be really grateful. My email address is jjroth1991@aol.com. Thanks again.
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Post by philiptancl on Aug 19, 2014 1:43:14 GMT -5
Hi Ceramicman, I suppose you should have received my email by now containing the attachments regarding the surnames Liao (廖) and Xu ( 許) taken from my reference book for all the surnames in Anxi (安溪姓氏志). There should be 10 pages for surname Liao (廖) and 9 pages for surname Xu (許). From what I could make out there are three separate clans of Liao (廖) in Anxi (安溪) as compared to the most populous surname Chen/Tan (陳) having 40 separate clans. So it would be relatively easier for Ceramicman to pinpoint his ancestral clan if his ancestry should actually originate from there. Unless there is interest to see what are contained in those pages, and a request is made, I will not post them on this Forum. However I am posting some pictures below taken from the reference book. Probably of interest are the portraits of the progenitor for one of the clan 廖儼 and his wife 黃鳳娘, their graves, various ancestral Liao ancestral halls and the cover of a Liao zupu entitle “清溪上苑廖氏族譜” updated in 1999. You will find “清溪” are mentioned for some of the pictures. Based upon my own ancestral experience, I would agree with your observation that people from the same ancestral village/place in China would tend to settle at the same location when they ventured out to a foreign land in the times of old. My grandfather pioneered a place in Malaysia. Subsequently others who came after him (be they of the same or of other surnames), initially to work for him before branching out on their own, were all from the ancestral place Xiao Hu (小姑) (now known as Hu Shan 姑山) from Yongchun County (永春縣), Fujian Province (福建省). This could form a parallel genealogy search for some when trying to determine the ancestral village in China.   Philip |
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Post by Doug 周 on Aug 19, 2014 8:52:39 GMT -5
...Unless there is interest to see what are contained in those pages, and a request is made, ... Philip, Can you show us a sample page of what you sent? |
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Post by lachinatown on Aug 19, 2014 9:34:49 GMT -5
Hi Ceramicman, You will find “清溪” are mentioned for some of the pictures. Based upon my own ancestral experience, I would agree with your observation that people from the same ancestral village/place in China would tend to settle at the same location when they ventured out to a foreign land in the times of old. Philip Very good Philip. And Taiwan is located closest to Fujian. |
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Post by philiptancl on Aug 20, 2014 4:04:09 GMT -5
At the request of Doug 周 I am posting samples of what are contained in the reference book for all the surnames in Anxi (安溪姓氏志). I too have the surname references for Yongchun County (永春县姓氏志), Dehua County (德化县姓氏志) and Hui’an County, Series 1 (惠安姓氏志,第一辑). The first image below is the map of Anxi County taken from the reference book showing the various places within it. So having 安溪 quoted on the gravestone would present quite a challenge in locating the ancestral place itself. However other information, as exemplified for the pages relating to the surname Liao (廖) shown below, could provide further clues. Shown are the numbers of people with the surname in the various villages in Anxi, names of the various Liao clans, their generation names, their zupus and their year of updates. Hopefully these could coincide with some information one might have known beforehand.     Philip |
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Post by lachinatown on Aug 20, 2014 8:40:32 GMT -5
Excellent Philip.
The map is very nice. Clear and sharp that one can read. It would be great if we can index the map so that we can search easily.
Do you have other maps you can post?
Thanks.
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Post by ceramicman on Aug 20, 2014 18:02:40 GMT -5
Philip thank you so much for all your help. Do you think you might be able to resend your email to me? I don't think it went through. Jjroth1991@aol.com.
Thanks,
John
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Post by philiptancl on Aug 20, 2014 20:40:16 GMT -5
John,
I have resent the email to you. Please acknowledge email upon receipt.
Lachinatown,
I suppose we can start a section for maps for various counties with each thread for one specific county if there is any interest. I have a few similar maps that can be posted. Those that are appear as a dot on such map with a name can have wider details showing villages therein. This can be added to the corresponding thread. Also can be shown are the places in China and other oversea places that a particular surname from that place had migrated to.
Philip
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