I've a distant relative in Brunei
Oct 18, 2006 14:19:14 GMT -5
Post by David Wong on Oct 18, 2006 14:19:14 GMT -5
Shortly after my father's death, I received a pile of his personal stuff, and in it was a hand written document in Chinese, of our family's genealogy.
You see, dad was a frustrated intellect...bright, kind and intelligent, but due to the lack of opportunities given to him during his generation in Canada, he ended up working in the sawmills and forestry camps of our province. He had a knack for calligraphy which didn't really strike a chord with me during my youth... but after his death, I can see that our heritage was encouraged and preserved through his works.
Dad had travelled through China in the early 70's researching our family lineage... picking up info here and there. He had compiled a small booklet that I finally got hold of, and I initiated some spotty translation until recently.
A fellow whom I have been cyber corresponding with, Ng Poh Sing, lives in Brunei and has been responsible for some most amazing genealogy on the Huang clan. Erik, his English name, has been in constant communications with me for a number of years now, and we knew that we were related somewhere (due to our surname)... it's just that we didn't know when and where.
Well, Ng Poh Sing received a copy of my ancestral lineage... and luckily for me, he can read Chinese! He wrote back to me this week and said ..."we share a common ancestor dating back to the Tang dynasty" - it was his 112th ancestor, and my 100th. He knew this as the historic information about our earlier ancestors were identical after this person.
Cool.
I know that's quite a distant relationship... but I can't help but to think that I doubt our ancient ancestor would have realized that over a thousand years later, his direct descendants would have figured out lineage using an instantaneous communication device that separated people over thousands of miles... but tied together with the traditional Chinese lineage documentation of ancestral reverance.
I am now working on the complete English translation of the family name Wong... aka Huang, Ng, Wee, Oi, Uy, Oii, Hyuhn and some others (see my website for info on various Wong transliterations: www.generasian.ca/roots_wong.html )
I hope to visit Erik and his family in Brunei soon. You should also check out his most informative website: www.geocities.com/bx_huang/
You see, dad was a frustrated intellect...bright, kind and intelligent, but due to the lack of opportunities given to him during his generation in Canada, he ended up working in the sawmills and forestry camps of our province. He had a knack for calligraphy which didn't really strike a chord with me during my youth... but after his death, I can see that our heritage was encouraged and preserved through his works.
Dad had travelled through China in the early 70's researching our family lineage... picking up info here and there. He had compiled a small booklet that I finally got hold of, and I initiated some spotty translation until recently.
A fellow whom I have been cyber corresponding with, Ng Poh Sing, lives in Brunei and has been responsible for some most amazing genealogy on the Huang clan. Erik, his English name, has been in constant communications with me for a number of years now, and we knew that we were related somewhere (due to our surname)... it's just that we didn't know when and where.
Well, Ng Poh Sing received a copy of my ancestral lineage... and luckily for me, he can read Chinese! He wrote back to me this week and said ..."we share a common ancestor dating back to the Tang dynasty" - it was his 112th ancestor, and my 100th. He knew this as the historic information about our earlier ancestors were identical after this person.
Cool.
I know that's quite a distant relationship... but I can't help but to think that I doubt our ancient ancestor would have realized that over a thousand years later, his direct descendants would have figured out lineage using an instantaneous communication device that separated people over thousands of miles... but tied together with the traditional Chinese lineage documentation of ancestral reverance.
I am now working on the complete English translation of the family name Wong... aka Huang, Ng, Wee, Oi, Uy, Oii, Hyuhn and some others (see my website for info on various Wong transliterations: www.generasian.ca/roots_wong.html )
I hope to visit Erik and his family in Brunei soon. You should also check out his most informative website: www.geocities.com/bx_huang/