Ancestral hall interior in a Taishan village, where generations of the Lei clan have honored their ancestors since Fu Gong's arrival in 1273

The Ma （马） Surname: From Fubo General to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Ma surname (马, "horse") is one of the rare Chinese surnames derived not from a place or a clan but from an official military title — and the martial character encoded in that single character has shaped one of China's most resilient lineages for over two thousand years. During the Warring States period (475–221…

July 17, 20260Comments

BySteven

The Yunhuan Lou diaolou in Zili Village, Kaiping — one of the fortified towers built with remittance money from overseas Chinese, now a UNESCO World Heritage site and key stop on Yang roots tours.

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Yang （杨） Surname: 3,000 Years from Zhou Dynasty Royalty to the Wuyi Diaspora

A Name That Carried Across the Pacific The Yang surname (杨, Yáng) is the 6th most common surname in China, carried by approximately 40 million people worldwide. It traces its origin to the court of King Wu of Zhou (周武王, Zhōu Wǔ Wáng) in the 11th century BCE, making it one of the oldest continuously…

July 15, 20260Comments

BySteven

An open Chinese clan genealogy book from the World Digital Library collection, representing the centuries-old tradition of recording every male birth, marriage, and migration across generations — the foundation of diaspora roots research.

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Zhao (赵) Surname: 3,100 Years from Imperial China to the Wuyi Diaspora

Every Chinese person who has ever learned to read has memorized the same four characters: 赵钱孙李 — Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li. These are the opening words of the Hundred Family Surnames (百家姓, Bǎijiāxìng), the most famous roster of Chinese names in history, compiled during the Song Dynasty (宋朝, Sòng Cháo, 960-1279 CE). For a millennium,…

July 14, 20260Comments

BySteven

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Lin (林) Surname: 3,100 Years from Shang Dynasty Loyalty to the Wuyi Diaspora

A Heart Cut Open: The Birth of the Lin Surname In the final years of the Shang dynasty, around 1100 BCE, a minister named Bi Gan (比干) walked into the palace of King Zhou (纣王) knowing he would not walk out. King Zhou was a tyrant — the last ruler of a dying dynasty, notorious…

July 13, 20260Comments

BySteven

The historic gateway of Zhuji Lane in Nanxiong, Guangdong — the narrow alley through which 33 surnames including Zhou migrated south during the Southern Song Dynasty.

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Zhou (周) Surname: Three Thousand Years from China’s Longest Dynasty to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Longest Dynasty The Zhou (周) Dynasty ruled China for nearly eight hundred years — longer than the Roman Empire, longer than any European royal house, longer than most civilizations last at all. From 1046 BCE to 256 BCE, the Zhou kings held the Mandate of Heaven (天命, Tiānmìng), the divine right to rule that…

July 10, 20260Comments

BySteven

Chinese Surnames Surname Archive

The Liang (梁) Surname: 2,700 Years from Zhou Dynasty State to Wuyi Diaspora

The Liang (梁) Surname: 2,700 Years from Zhou Dynasty State to Wuyi Diaspora In 770 BCE, King Ping of Zhou enfeoffed a loyal nobleman named Kangbo as the ruler of a small territory in present-day Shaanxi province. He named it the State of Liang (梁国, Liáng Guó). For 129 years, the state endured — a…

July 7, 20260Comments

BySteven

Statues depicting farewell at Guanghai Port with traditional Chinese junks, displayed at Taishan Overseas Chinese Culture Museum

Migration Routes Port Towns

Guanghai: Taishan’s Historic Port Town and Its Maritime Diaspora

Guanghai: Taishan's Historic Port Town and Its Maritime Diaspora The Fortress by the Sea The year was 1387. The Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of the Ming dynasty, looked at his coastline and saw vulnerability. Japanese pirates — wokou (倭寇, wōkòu) — had been raiding settlements from Shandong to Guangdong. His answer was the largest…

July 6, 20260Comments

BySteven

Migration History Museums

Inside the Taishan Overseas Chinese Museum: What 150 Years of Qiaopi Letters Reveal About Love and Distance

Between 1840 and 1949, the Wuyi region sent over two million people overseas — and for a century, the only thread connecting them to home was paper. The qiaopi (侨批, qiáopī) — remittance letter — doubled as financial transaction and intimate family document: a few silver dollars folded inside a few sentences. Money and love…

July 4, 20260Comments

BySteven

Labor Migration Wuyi Diaspora

What Wuyi Workers Built: A Labor Migration Atlas

Between 1840 and 1940, the Siyi (四邑, Four Counties) region of Guangdong sent over two million laborers overseas — the largest sustained labor migration in modern Chinese history. These were not explorers or merchants. They were farmers, woodcutters, and village men who walked from counties like Taishan (台山) and Kaiping (开平) to the departure piers…

July 3, 20260Comments

BySteven

Kaiping diaolou in Zili Village, fortified watchtowers built with overseas remittance money, combining Chinese and European architectural styles

diaspora Primary Sources Wuyi History

Reading Qiaopi: What Remittance Letters Reveal About Wuyi Families

A guide to reading qiaopi — the remittance letters that sustained Wuyi families for a century. Five representative letters with full translations and analysis, revealing the formula, the feeling, and the family dynamics encoded in every silver letter.

June 29, 20260Comments

BySteven

Taishan Energy Economy: What...

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Tag: Qiaopi

Taishan Energy Economy: What...

The Dual Corridor Era: What T...

JUNO: The World’s Large...

Taishanese Phrases: 30 Things...

Duanfen, Taishan: The Emigran...

The Ma （马） Surname: From Fubo General to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Yang （杨） Surname: 3,000 Years from Zhou Dynasty Royalty to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Zhao (赵) Surname: 3,100 Years from Imperial China to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Lin (林) Surname: 3,100 Years from Shang Dynasty Loyalty to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Zhou (周) Surname: Three Thousand Years from China’s Longest Dynasty to the Wuyi Diaspora

The Liang (梁) Surname: 2,700 Years from Zhou Dynasty State to Wuyi Diaspora

Guanghai: Taishan’s Historic Port Town and Its Maritime Diaspora

Inside the Taishan Overseas Chinese Museum: What 150 Years of Qiaopi Letters Reveal About Love and Distance

What Wuyi Workers Built: A Labor Migration Atlas

Reading Qiaopi: What Remittance Letters Reveal About Wuyi Families

Taishan Energy Economy: What...

The Dual Corridor Era: What T...

JUNO: The World’s Large...

Taishanese Phrases: 30 Things...

Duanfen, Taishan: The Emigran...

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