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Post by lachinatown on Jan 11, 2019 13:13:24 GMT -5
維燦 Wei Can is his first and middle names, Wei likely his Generation name.
(關 / Kwan) is the traditional spelling of his surname.
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Post by FayChee on Jan 11, 2019 13:26:43 GMT -5
OK, Great! Thanks Lachinatown!
Davidr8, now you know his name, Wei Can Kwan/Guan (provided by Lachinatown) and Ancestral Village, 庆临里 Qing Lin li "Li / Lay " (provided by Henry) in Kaiping City, Guangdong, China.
It's a good start! There is so much more to learn. Maybe one day you may visit your Ancestral Village and find your Ancestral Home?
Fay Chee
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Post by davidr8 on Jan 11, 2019 15:21:00 GMT -5
This is so fantastic. Thank you so very much!
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Post by gckimm on Jan 11, 2019 17:04:52 GMT -5
Hi:
Be careful about mixing Mandarin and Cantonese. In Mandarin the name would be Guan Weican but the Cantonese could be Romanized as Gwan Wai Chan.
Incidentally, the character 翁 (Cantonese yoong/Mandarin weng) is often found on grave markers with traditional inscriptions. It is a respectful term for an elderly man. More common is the character 公 (Cantonese goong/Mandarin gong), which means basically the same thing, although this latter character can also be used for ancestors who are not necessarily old.
Greg
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Post by FayChee on Jan 11, 2019 22:21:27 GMT -5
Hi Greg, Thanks for your advice....I never know which is Mandarin and which is Cantonese, so I have been combining them and hope someone with more knowledge will comment....
Fay Chee
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Post by davidr8 on Jan 14, 2019 15:11:08 GMT -5
Hi: Be careful about mixing Mandarin and Cantonese. In Mandarin the name would be Guan Weican but the Cantonese could be Romanized as Gwan Wai Chan. Incidentally, the character 翁 (Cantonese yoong/Mandarin weng) is often found on grave markers with traditional inscriptions. It is a respectful term for an elderly man. More common is the character 公 (Cantonese goong/Mandarin gong), which means basically the same thing, although this latter character can also be used for ancestors who are not necessarily old. Greg Thank you for this additional information. Would you consider what is inscribed to be a traditional inscription? (my apologies if this is an naive question)
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Post by gckimm on Jan 14, 2019 21:41:14 GMT -5
Yes, I would consider this to be a traditional inscription because of the way it is worded. For example, as I mentioned, it includes the traditional Chinese term of respect 翁, as well as information about the native place of the deceased. The opposite would be an inscription that is either totally devoid of Chinese characters or includes just the characters for the person's Chinese name. Traditional inscriptions require people who can write them or at least access to people who can write them. As ethnic Chinese families around the world become less familiar with written Chinese, Chinese characters appear less and less on grave markers. --Greg
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Post by davidr8 on Jan 15, 2019 12:48:11 GMT -5
Thank you Greg, that makes perfect sense.
I have other questions about finding information about when he came to Canada. Should I pose the question in the main forum?
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Post by davidr8 on Mar 11, 2019 15:01:31 GMT -5
Update time! I have since connected with my half brother and sister. And I discovered the record of our father's immigration into Canada
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