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Post by daking168 on Sept 23, 2015 13:54:16 GMT -5
Unbelievable story.
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Post by FayChee on Sept 24, 2015 0:06:41 GMT -5
Hi Daking168, Thank you for your kind words. I haven't been able to come to this forum much lately and really miss everyone here. What a coincidence that today I took a train into NYC Chinatown to meet with my newly found Chinese niece. She flew in this morning and I met her for lunch. She and about 8 of her close girlfriends have tickets to see the Pope in Central Park this weekend. We walked around Chinatown and ate two lunches at two nice restaurants.....Cafe Hong Kong and Shanghai Asian Cuisine..... It was a beautiful warm fall day and perfect in every way. I love walking the same streets that my dad once did for so many years.....and whenever I pass the basement openings to the kitchen workers below, I imagine that it is how my dad worked day after day to earn the wages that built my Ancestral home in Chaoyang Li.... My best regards to all here. Fay Chee
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Post by helen on Sept 24, 2015 1:43:05 GMT -5
Hi Faychee - How are you? Nice photo - and good to meet new found relatives. Makes your research all the better.
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Post by douglaslam on Sept 24, 2015 8:04:28 GMT -5
" Hello Auntie Fay Chee. Missed you all those years" I could well imagine the exchange. It's a lovely photo of two generations of Seto.
Fay Chee and Helen, I am packing my bag for my trip to China on 2 Oct. I am leading a group of about seventeen people to a Ma / Mar village in my county or prefecture. All but one was born in China, the 87 years old patriarch of the group. We have Chinese, mixed blood and European-Australians in our midst. They are all attracted to see where that journey started perhaps a century or more ago.
I made enquiries two years ago, and have established rapport with an influential Ma villager to smooth things. The maternal side I know a little better. I am to liaise beforehand to ensure the doors are open and welcome mat is rolled out for the party's arrival. There is much sightseeing to do, hiring of a bus and homecoming dinners to arrange. i hope I am not biting off more than I can chew. Douglas
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Post by FayChee on Sept 24, 2015 21:41:26 GMT -5
Hi Helen and Douglas, Sorry I don't check in more often, but life is a little hectic right now, and all I really do is work and babysit my great granddaughter who is 6 yrs old now. Douglas, I hope you have a great trip and look forward to seeing your photos and hearing about the wonderful adventures that only you can tell so well. My Chinese niece is so kind and warm. Yes she calls me Auntie, her eyes light up when we talk, and I couldn't be happier having her in my life. Well, can't wait to see what you eat and as a matter of fact, my mouth is watering right now, just thinking about those crispy pigs.... Yummy.......... Fay Chee
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Post by lolly on Sept 25, 2015 0:06:15 GMT -5
How lovely to check back in after a bit of an absence and read how the wonderful people on this forum have helped yet another seeker of their Chinese heritage. I know how excited and overwhelmed I was with the amazing results that Douglas Lam produced for my family, and also the enthusiasm and support of other forum members with each new tidbit that was unearthed. The encouragement and willingness to provide all kinds of assistance - as Fay Chee has demonstrated yet again - makes being a part of this forum an absolute delight. Douglas, I wish you a very successful trip back to China with your group. I have no doubt that you will make it a most memorable experience for them all. I look forward to keeping up with your progress and adventures - and also look forward to catching up with you in Melbourne in February. Lolly
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Post by helen on Sept 25, 2015 4:25:35 GMT -5
Good luck for your trip back - pity I will miss you. I'm leaving 27 October, and will be away til 15 November. However, like you - will be planning a trip back with a group - in June next year - lychee season again. Will be hot - but maybe not as hot as July - when I went last. Will be staying in Zhongshan in November this year - a first for me.
Have fun next weekend. Regards Helen
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Post by douglaslam on Sept 25, 2015 8:27:56 GMT -5
Hi Lolly, yes I am looking forward to going to Melbourne after well over four decades. I am most like going by train, then make my way to Dandenong either getting picked up or on my own. I am also planning to hire a car with others to do a bit of motoring to central Vic. to check out Bendigo and perhaps Ballarat. Meeting up with you and Bill for a yum cha lunch will be high on my list. Do you have anything for me to take or pass on to Suzie?
Helen, I am sure we'll meet again soon. It is a pity we could not do so in China. Douglas
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Post by Henry on Sept 25, 2015 8:51:10 GMT -5
Hi Douglas,
I wish you a fantastic trip :-)
Have you considered visiting Nanxiong, Zhujixiang (珠璣巷), Meiguan (Pass) ?
Henry
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Post by rufus on Sept 25, 2015 18:23:22 GMT -5
Fay Chee, Thanks for posting the photo and the info. It's so nice to read about the success. Your comments about walking the same streets as your dad brought back some memories of similar experiences and a smile to my face. Enjoy your time in NYC
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Post by douglaslam on Sept 26, 2015 7:16:36 GMT -5
Hi Henry, thanks for the good wishes. I am flexible with my travel plans; that's why I avail myself to guide the Mar family for their homecoming. When I was returning by train from Xi'an a few years ago, I noticed Shaoguan along the route, which is the gateway to Nanxiong. Yes, I am interested but it won't be on my forthcoming trip. I do know my clan did not stop by at Nanxiong, my ancestors went straight from Fujian to where we are today. I'll try to take my party to Hoiping for the diaolou cluster and Chikan. Duanfen is also high on my list. These places guarantee to rock their socks off. siyigenealogy.proboards.com/thread/2160/excellent-adventures-china-2014?page=2I'll go to Hoiping to see a travel agent there to see if they can tailor a tour for us with an English speaking guide. If Cantonese is the best they could do, I'd give English translation if need be. Plenty to do before my party's arrival by fast ferry from Hong Kong. Douglas Two brothers who will be in the big party going to China on a roots journey. Glenn is with his wife Jackie, Roger is with me. We are discussing a few details like how best to exchanging money. Glenn and Roger's maternal grandmother was of Irish descent. They are just two of the many nephews of the patriarch. Their family story is full of intrigues like paper daughter, victims of the White Australia Policy of the past, family separation etc. etc. It would make a good television mini series. Jackie can't go because their daughter is about to sit for an important examination.
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Post by Henry on Sept 26, 2015 22:26:04 GMT -5
Hi Douglas, Perhaps your ancestors did not travel through the Meiguan (Pass), but, apparently some members of the Lim/Lam clan did. In 2006, I took a photo of the sign outside of Zhujixiang which shows 153 clans that did - the Lim/Lam clan is among them ( bottom fourth column from left ): The Lim/Lam clan members that came through the Meiguan were from the branches originating in the north China plain Henry
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Post by douglaslam on Sept 27, 2015 8:57:20 GMT -5
Henry, I am surprised to see our Lum Sai Ho Tong 林西河堂, West of the Yellow River, has another claim by the Mao 毛 clan (far left column, seventh from top). It is not exclusively ours. It is a new lesson learned. scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/8307/lum;jsessionid=636CCB305B416D0EE2E2540712416531?sequence=1 In this article, Tin Hau, Goddess of the Sea is our patron saint because she is one of us. We all hailed from Fujian and share the same family name. We call her 姑婆, great-grandaunt, it is a great term of affection reserved for a family member. I failed to find Fung Choi Tong 風采堂 of the Yee / Yu family name. Interesting nugget of information Henry. Douglas
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Post by tyuti1668 on Sept 29, 2015 8:50:19 GMT -5
珠磯巷(Yue) /石壁村(Hakka) /甘蔗園 (Teochew) are "myths" written by some scholar... Even heard "文人多大話"? --- "Longdu" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longdu_dialect is a 100% Min-speaking area . [珠磯巷] don't had their background at all.
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