Translation please, alter in home of wong

[jlwhedbee]

this is a photo from the ancestral home of the family of Wong Hung Yin whose father (also lived in same house) was Wong Gun or Wong Yuen. Wong Yuen came to US in 1887 and Wong Hung Yin came in 1911

Wong Hung Yin died in 1935 in Seattle WA and Wong Yuen died in China while visiting in 1936

the photo was taken about 1990. In another picture of the living room wall there Hung a 11x14 hand painted photograph of Wong Yuen and two small photographs of Wong Hung Yin and his wife Mah Shee Wong.

Can anybody tell me if the information on this photo is worth pursuing trying to find the person who took the photo to get a larger print? The person who took the photo did/does not read Chinese and did not know the possible value of the information it may have contained and did not ask what it said.

is the information family information or just some kind of Holliday blessing/

[gckimm]

Hi:

This is a photo of an ancestral altar. In place of a wooden ancestral tablet, there is a piece of red paper on which someone has handwritten the names of ancestors to be honored in the home. This kind of altar is very common in Chinese homes, especially in the south.

It is difficult to tell if the names on the altar correspond to the persons you mentioned, as all of the names on the altar are different. The column on the left refers to the 29th generation ancestor, whose name looks like Shue Yum 树钦. The column on the right refers to the 30th generation ancestor and ancestress, Pahng Foong 鹏峯 and Wong Shee 黃氏.

The surname of these people is not recorded. I wonder if Wong was the real surname of Wong Hung Yin and Wong Yuen. It would be unusual (taboo) for a Wong to marry someone of the same surname.

Greg

[jlwhedbee]

Dear Greg

I am so excited that it is family information

What do you mean it refers to the 29th and 30th generations? Is it information about those 2 families? Or is it a list of names?

If it says 29th and 30th generations that implies they have the 28 generations before.

[gckimm]

Hi:

The red paper is primarily for a religious purpose. The names written on the red paper are meant to represent the spirits of the ancestors named. Remember, according to Chinese traditional belief, the spirits of the dead reside in three places: at the grave, at the ancestral altar, and in the spirit world (or what some might call heaven).

The generation numbers refer to the generations to which the three ancestors named on the altar belong. Ancestors are normally identified by their generation numbers as well as their names; the generation numbers help to situate them on the family tree. There are no other ancestors named here.

It is possible that the ancestors honored on this altar are Wong Hung Yin and Wong Yuen, as Chinese men had more than one name. But that cannot be verified without more evidence. Or it could be an altar to more distant ancestors, for example, Wong Hung Yin's grandfather and great-grandfather.

Yes, there are 28 generations of ancestors that came before the ones whose names are inscribed. There are also unknown generations that have come after them.

Greg

[jlwhedbee]

Would the 29th and 30th generation be the oldest generation known or the most current generations deceased?

Wong Yuen’s married named was Wong Ching Lock or Wong Ting Lock.

[gckimm]

Hi:

The earliest generation is generation 1.

From the married name you gave, it does not appear that Wong Yuen is honored on this altar. My guess is that the photos you mentioned previously were substituting for the names of Wong Yuen and Wong Hung Yin on the altar and that the names refer to other ancestors.

Greg

[jlwhedbee]

Wong Yuen came to America as Wong Nguen, got his residence papers as Wong Gun Changed spelling to Wong Yuen, got married and married name was Wong Ting Lock

His brothers name was Wong Him Lock (married name)

His father was Wong Tung Ai , married name Gwing Jew or Wing Ju

His Grandfathers nam was Wong Shen Loy

His great grandfather was Wong Doon Chong

One of the sons of Wong Yuen - Wong Ngook Yin came to America and returned to china to get a wife, staid to long and his return permit was revoked. He staid in that house and in 1980 when the pictures were taken, the residents of the house would have been his grandchildren and great grandchildren probably. The person who took the pictures does not remember. But we know she went to the correct house because there was a large portrait of Wong Yuen in the living room, with the small portraits of his son Wong Hung Yin and daughter in law Mah Shee Wong to each side of the large portrait. And no other pictures of people in the livingroom.