SUM and YEUNG Clans Ancestral Halls in Foshan

[sumone3]

Hi, I believe I have located the ancestral halls for my father's SUM ('Shen' or 沈) family line as well as my mother's YEUNG ('Yang' or 楊) clan in Foshan. My sisters and I are planning to be in the Foshan-Guangzhou area in November and hope to visit both ancestral halls. Our goal is to 1) trace our paternal and maternal lines with names, birth and death dates as far back as possible, and 2) learn more about the lives of our ancestors.

a. Does anyone know how I can contact the Sum Ancestral Hall and Yeung Clan Ancestral Hall about this information and to find out about the days and times to visit?
b. How do I find their email addresses and can I communicate with them in English?

I believe the SUM Ancestral Hall is the Shen Family Ancestral Hall 沈氏大宗祠 or Shengong Temple of Renli located in Beisha Shen Village, Lishui Town, Foshan 佛山南海沈村. The YEUNG Clan Ancestral Hall 楊氏大宗祠 is in Foshan Zhangcha Dasha Village 佛山張槎大沙. 

I also have some specific questions about my SUM and YEUNG grandfathers and their ancestors. Please let me know if it's better that I create separate threads and/or in another Forum for these questions below.

SUM ('Shen' or 沈)
My father's father was born in 1914 in Namhoi and named SUM Kweng Ho 沈炚豪. He chose the name SHIM Siew Kong (沈少光) when he emigrated to Ipoh in Malaya around 1930. He travelled once back to his village in 1947/48 with his wife and son (my father) who was about 9 years old. We believe he would have registered my father SUM Phoon Mun 沈鹏萬 also known as SUM Chee Lau 沈柱流 at the Sum Ancestral Hall at that time. My grandfather died in Ipoh in Malaysia in 2001. How do I contact the Sum Ancestral Hall 沈氏大宗祠 to see if either of them are registered and how to add their descendants?

My grandfather always told us he came from Sum Village in the Namhoi district of Foshan 佛山南海沈村. The Sum Ancestral Hall I found via a combination of Google and Baidu searches is seen in a video about the Shen Family Ancestral Hall or Shengong Temple of Renli located in Beisha Shen Village, Lishui Town, Foshan. Here is the link to the video: haokan.baidu.com/v?pd=wisenatural&vid=10581744982150873620. I also found this link for the Sum Ancestral Hall 沈氏大宗祠: you.ctrip.com/sight/foshan207/4662456.html. It says the address is "300 meters south of Dashi Stadium, Huanzhen South Road, Lishui Town". Are the two places in both the links the same Sum Ancestral Hall? How do I locate relatives of my grandfather still in the region?

YEUNG/YEONG ('Yang' or 楊)
My mother's father YEUNG Sau Nam 楊壽楠 was born around 1873 in Namhoi and emigrated to Ipoh, Malaya around 1900 where he had a large family of 22 children. He had several other names as he writes in his family book which he sent to his eldest son in Hong Kong shortly before he died in 1951. On the page about himself (attached), he alludes to being a Qing official in China that because he supported Sun-Yatsen in overthrowing the empire, must have fled to Malaya where he was subsequently awarded a medal of merit for his continued support of the revolution. Can someone please help me translate the page? I'm intrigued by this man with a colorful past and would like to learn more about his life in China. Does anyone know how I can find out if he was indeed a Qing official, what he was responsible for, his family background, and where to find his emigration or immigration records?

He wrote that his ancestor built his home in today's Foshan Zhangcha Dasha 佛山張槎大沙 which has now become the YEUNG Clan Ancestral Hall 楊氏大宗祠. Can someone tell me what helpful detail/information about the ancestral home he wrote on that page?

Thank you to everyone in advance!




 

[gckimm]

Hi and welcome:

I was fascinated by the background of your Yeung grandfather, so I had to research that first.

The information pertaining to your grandfather's background is on page 3, the three columns with the larger characters, reading from right to left.

The first column says that under the Qing dynasty, he was made an official of the fifth rank. Unfortunately, his actual title is not mentioned here, so it is difficult to know exactly what his official duties were.

The second column says that "Sun, the 'Father of Our Country,' awarded him the third-class medal of the Chinese Revolutionary Party." According to what I found on the internet, the Chinese Revolutionary Party (中華革命黨) was founded by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1914 while he was in exile in Japan during the time that Yuan Shikai was attempting to make himself emperor and turn China back into a monarchy. This party was the precursor of the Kuomintang, the Chinese Nationalist Party. The award your grandfather received was apparently something given to overseas Chinese for their support of the Chinese revolution. I think there is a photo of the medal here: www.360doc.com/content/23/0929/08/16919916_1098388049.shtml. The Chinese description says it is "very rare," but I think that means that existing medals of this sort are very rare.

The third column says that the government of the state of Perak, Malaysia, made him a justice of the peace. Did you know that?

So your grandfather was indeed a very interesting person with some notable achievements. Not a lot of information about him here but probably enough to inspire you to learn more! When I have time, I will see what else I can find to help you.

Greg

[sumone3]

Thanks, Greg! That's very helpful information and led to a bit of Google searching on my part about how one attains the Qing civil official fifth rank. I think it is related to aspiring to, preparing for, and passing a really tough government exam.

I was fascinated to learn about the 3rd Class Medal of Merit from Sun Yat-sen - thanks for the link. I must look into whether it is in the possession of my grandfather's last living offspring, my 12th uncle.

As for the Perak Justice of the Peace, that was conferred at the Perak Sultan's birthday celebrations in 1930. A Google search on my grandfather's name some years ago uncovered this in The Straits Times and Singapore Free Press digital archives. I'm so grateful for the continued conversion to digital records! Through these records, I learned of his activism in social causes that included being a part of the Perak Chinese Advisory Board to the British, the Perak Chinese Maternity Hospital, Perak Planters and Miners' Association, and others. A road in Ipoh is named after him!

I would be grateful for any additional information, Greg.

If anyone can help, I would appreciate knowing how to contact the Sum and Yeung Ancestral Halls about visiting and about learning more about my ancestors. Thanks in advance!