Trying to source info about family from Zhongshan 1900,

[laami]

I have this copy of my great X3 grandfather and I am not sure if the name is LIAO and SHENG is surname or if it is the other way around. I had my acupuncturist translate the chinese writing for me but her English isn't 100% either so could not ask too many questions. She said the page says LIAO SHENG, he was 40 years old in 1937 and was born in Gaodong, Zhongshan

He came to South Africa in 1937 as per his visa (I think it was a visa from chinese consulate in Johannesburg- see attached), and either he changed his name or the consulate did to ISMAIL AH-SING. My grandmother had the surname Ah-sing so I guess it was that from the time he came to South Africa. How do I go about finding any ancestory links?

[gckimm]

Hi laami and welcome to the Forum!

Your ancestor's surname was Liao in Mandarin and Liu in Cantonese. His personal name was Sheng in Mandarin and Sing in Cantonese. Cantonese people have a custom of addressing people in a familiar way by adding the word "Ah" to their personal name and sometimes to their surname. So other Chinese people would refer to your ancestor as "Ah Sing." For the sake of convenience, Chinese immigrants in former times often adopted surnames that were different from their actual surnames; these adopted surnames were usually derived from their personal names or their surnames or a combination of the two. In the case of your ancestor, he chose to use as an adopted surname Ah Sing--in reality, his personal name. This adopted surname was then passed on to his descendants. As you yourself have experienced, the danger is that because of this practice of using adopted surnames, some families today may be unaware of their true Chinese surname.

You ancestor was from what used to be Zhongshan (Cantonese: Chungshan) County, Guangdong Province. There are many people with the surname Liao/Liu there, so in order to learn more about his ancestors, you will need to find more information, particularly, the name of his village. If you know where he is buried, check his headstone to see if there are any Chinese characters on it. Traditionally, headstones contain a person's name and the name of his village.

Good luck!

Greg

[laami]

Thank you for the reply Greg. I don't think the headstone is still visible. Not sure where is was buried either.

I managed to find these from a distant relative as well. These came after the ones in my original post

[gckimm]

Hi laami:

Unfortunately, these documents do not give us any new genealogical information. Note that "Canton" is a general term that Cantonese people often used when asked their place of origin. It refers to the whole Cantonese region. Both Guangdong Province and Guangzhou, the provincial capital, were formerly known as Canton.

See if there are any South African immigration records that you might be able to access. And keep talking to your family members and searching for clues.

There are some interesting articles on the internet about the Chinese in South Africa. They will give you some historical context, if you haven't read them yet.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Greg

[Henry]

Laami:

Try this website for more information:

www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/South_Africa_Emigration_and_Immigration

Henry

[laami]

Sooo happy, I found out his tombstone does exist, my father never knew about it but one of his aunty's did. Long shot but can anyone translate this for me please? I know the writing is a bit faded, fingers crossed

[gckimm]

Hi again, Laami:

It is great that you were able to find the headstone. Unfortunately, the inscription does not tell us more than what we already know: "Grave of Liu Sing, a native of Chungshan, Guangdong; stone installed in the first month of the 32nd year of the Republic (1943)." He probably died not long before this time.

The Chinese inscription is the easy one to see. I have no idea what else is written on the headstone. There seems to be a lot of information underneath the Chinese inscription. It looks like the headstone is for more than one person but I can't read any of the names.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Greg

[laami]

Hi Greg

Thank you for the reply. Underneath the chinese writing it says "In loving Memory of husband and father LEO AH SING" and i think that is a date underneath that. 

Mr Henry has put me in touch with someone from the Zhongshan Bureau so I am just waiting to hear back from them as he mentioned that the village is Gaodongwo and sent me a google map link, however this name is not mentioned anywhere on Google by anyone so hoping to possibly get some info from his contact because most old villages are as I assume, not geared up with tech but I would have thought there would atleast be someone in the world that mentioned the name of village. But I have not given up yet.

[laami]