The Song (宋) Surname: From Weizi's State of Song to the Wuyi Diaspora
A Name That Outlived Every Dynasty
The Song (宋, Sòng) surname descends from 微子启 (Wēizǐ Qǐ, Weizi), a prince of the Shang royal house whose fief — the State of Song (宋国, Sòng guó), founded at Shangqiu (商丘, Shāngqiū) after the Zhou…
Wuyi Roots Trip Itinerary: A 10-Day Plan for Descendants \nThe Wuyi region of Guangdong sent over two million people overseas between 1840 and 1940 \— and every year, thousands of their descendants come back looking for the villages their families left. \nThat number inverts almost everything you expect from a place. The Five Counties \—…
In the spring of 1885, a Hakka woman of the Yuan clan (源, Yuán Shì) stood at the edge of Xiaoxiang Village (霄村) and watched her eldest son walk toward the Xijiang River (西). He was sixteen. He carried a cloth bundle containing three changes of clothing, a small pouch of ground tea leaves (擂,…
From Heshan to Nanyang: How Chinese Migrants Built Lives Across Two Worlds
Before millions of Chinese families crossed the Pacific to California’s Gold Mountain, there was another journey—older, closer, and equally transformative. The Fujian and Chaozhou diaspora followed a similar southern route, told in our companion piece.
This is the story of the people who…
F or millions of overseas Chinese whose families trace their origins to the Five Counties (Wuyi 五邑) region in Guangdong—namely Xinhui, Taishan, Kaiping, Enping, and Heshan—their ancestors’ migration was more than a physical journey. It was a saga of survival, resilience, and global identity forged from hardship and hope. A Fertile Land Shaped by Challenge…
The Hidden Epicenter of Revolution At the southern edge of China, where fertile plains meet the restless waves of the South China Sea, lies Wuyi (五邑)—a region that defied its modest size to become the unseen powerhouse behind the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Comprising Xinhui (新会), Taishan (台山), Kaiping (开平), Enping (恩平), and Heshan…
rom the bustling streets of California during the Gold Rush to the ports of Southeast Asia, Wuyi emigrants left their mark on the world. Their journeys not only transformed their lives but also fueled economic resilience and cultural preservation in their hometowns—Kaiping, Xinhui, Enping, Heshan, and Taishan. Through hard work, philanthropy, and entrepreneurial spirit, these…