Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 12-31-06 08:08
A brief history of Meixian (梅縣)
Before the Qin Dynasty (秦朝 221BC to 207BC), people living in the region
of what we now call Meixian were the tribes of Qu (曲族), Yue (越族), Yao
(瑤族), and Yu (畬族). In 221BC, Ying Zheng (嬴政), the King of the State
of Qin (秦國 in the present day province of Shaanxi 陝西省) subjugated all
the other States in the land, what we now call China and established the
Qin Dynasty (秦朝 221BC to 207BC). Ying Zheng proclaimed that he was the
First Emperor of a thousand Emperors of the Qin Empire (秦始皇帝). The total
population within his empire was about 20 million, with the bulk of the
population in the present day provinces of Shaanxi (陜西省) and Gansu (甘
肅省), in the regions along the two large rivers of Huanghe (黃河 or The
Yellow River) and Changjiang (長江 or The Yangtze River).
http://yn.chung.id.au/QinEmpire.jpg
[The compliment of the Education Department of Hong Kong.]
In 214BC, the First Emperor dispatched an army of 500,000, under the command
of Tu Sui (屠睢), to the southern part of his empire. The troops were divided
into five army corps of 100,000 each. One army was sent to Fan Yu (番禺
in present day south of Guangzhou city 廣州市 Guangdong province 廣東省),
one to Tan Cheng (鐔城 near present day Gui Lin city 桂林市 in Guangxi province
廣西省), one to the present day northenern part of Vietnam, which was then
called Xiang Prefecture (象郡), one to the present day Nan Chang city in
Jiangxi province (南昌市, 江西省) and one to Yu Gan (餘干) near the Po Yang
Hu (鄱陽湖) in the northern part of Jiangxi. province. In 207BC, the Qin
Empire collapsed and the half a million Qin troops did not go back to the
north but settled permanently in the south. Some of the troops were stationed
in the present day of Meixian and they lived there for good and established
their families.
During the period of North and South Dynasties Period (南北朝 420AD to 589AD)
, the present day Mei Zhou (梅州) or Mei Xian (梅縣) was called Cheng Xiang
(程鄉). During the Tang Dynasty there was a scholar, who, while passing
through Chengxiang, composed a poem and a part of which was like this "泣
向寒梅近北枝 Plum trees are usually grown in cold weather". At the end of
the Tang Dynasty, Chengxiang was changed to Jingzhou (敬州). Since time
immemorial there were a lot of plums growing in this area. During the Southern
Song Dynasty (南宋 1127AD to 1279AD) there was an official by the name of
Yang Wanli (楊萬里), who went there to see the plum blossoms (梅花開方),
and composed a poem:
一路詩載十里梅,---Yi lu4 shi zai4 shi2 li3 mei2,
下臨溪水恰齊開;---Xia4 lin2 xi shui3 qia4 qi2 kai;
此行便是無官事,---Ci3 xing2 bian4 shi4 wu2 guan shi4,
只為梅花也合來.---Zhi wei2 mei2 hua ye3 he2 lai2.
Then the name Jingzhou was changed to Meizhou (梅州). The river flowing
near Meizhou was named Meijiang (梅江).
During the Dynasties of Jin (晉朝 265AD to 420AD), North and South (南北
朝 420AD to 589AD), Tang (唐朝 618AD to 907AD), Song (宋朝 960AD to 1279AD),
Yuan (元朝1208AD to 1368AD), Ming (明朝 1368AD to 1644AD) and Qing (清朝
1644AD to 1912AD), many northerners relocated themselves to this region
to escape wars, natural calamities. This is what we now known as the Five
Big Migrations of the Hakka people. They brought along with them their language,
culture and customs from their homelands in the north. They intermarried
with the local tribes, who were eventually Sinicized by these new settlers.
Their offspring came to be known as the modern Hakkas.
The following are the results from analyzing the genealogies of 115 families.
(1) There were 15 surnames from the province of Shaanxi (陜西省):
Yang (楊), Song (宋), Ma (馬), and twelve others.
(2) 13 surnames from Gansu province (甘肅省):
Jiang (姜), Cheng (程), Li (李), Qin (秦) and nine others.
(3) 16 surnames from Hebei province (河北省):
Chang (長), Shen (申), Wei (魏), Zou (鄒) and twelve others
(4) 13 from Shandong province (山東省)
Kong (孔), Sun (孫), Zeng (曾), Xu (徐) and nine others.
(5) 16 surnames from Shanxi province (山西省)
Wang (王), Tang (唐), Gu (古), Yan (閻), and twelve others.
(6) 9 surnames from Jiangsu province (江蘇省)
Wu (吳), Liu (劉), Tao (陶), Zhu (朱) and five others.
(7) Only one surname Xia (夏) from Zhejiang province (浙江省).
(8) Only two surnames Gong (龔) and Su (蘇) from Hunan province (湖南省)
(9) Only two surnames Huang (黃) and Xiong (熊) from Hubei province (湖北
省).
(10) He (何) was the only surname from Anhui province (安徽省).
(11) Luo (羅) was the only surname from Jiangxi province (江西省).
A good example about these relocations of surnames was the surname of Li
(李)
The area of the origin of surname Li was officially recorded in Longxi Prefecture
(隴西郡) which is in present day county of Linyao (臨洮縣) of Gansu province
(甘肅省), about 100 kilometers west of the city of Lanzhou (蘭州市). During
the North Dynasty (北朝) during the period of Nan Bei Dynasties (南北朝
420AD to 589AD), Li Gang (李崗) was delegated to administer the ancient
state of Tang (古唐國) in Shanxi province. He was known as The Duke of the
State of Tang (唐國公). His descendant called Li Yuan (李淵) founded the
Tang Dynasty (唐朝 618AD to 907AD). At the end of the Tang Dynasty an offspring
of Li Gang called Li Meng (李孟) fled the turbulent north and relocated
his family from Chang An (長安), the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and later
he and his family relocated to Bian Liang (汴梁 the present day city of
Kaifeng 開封市), in Henan province. The offspring of Li Meng migrated to
Ning Hua Shi Bi (寧化石壁 the cradle of Fujianese Hakkas) in Fujian province
福建省).
Li Meng begot Li Zhu (李珠) who had five sons namely; Jin De (金德), Mu
De (木德), Shui De (水德), Huo De (火德) and Tu De (土德). Mu De had two
wives and Huo De had four wives. The offspring of Li Zhu relocated themselves
to other parts in Fujian province, Guangdong province (廣東省), Jiangxi
province (江西省), Guizhou province (貴州省), Taiwan province (台灣省) and
Nanyang (南洋 Malaysia and Singapore). Most of the descendants by the six
wives of Li Mu De and Li Huo De stayed behind in Meixian.
Nowadays, there are Meixian Hakkas in 60 countries around the world. The
1987 census revealed this total population count::
(1) Meixian (梅縣 including Meijiang 梅江 area)= 748,900
(2) Xingning Xian (興寧縣)......................................= 954,300
(3) Wuhua Xian (五華縣).........................................= 917,500
(4) Dapu Xian (大埔縣)............................................= 457,800
(5) Fengshun Xian (豐順縣)....................................= 541,700
(6) Pingyuan Xian (平遠縣)......................................= 219,600
(7) Jiao Ling Xian (蕉嶺縣)........................................= 202,500
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
..................................................Total......= 4,041,300
There are estimated 1.6 million Overseas Meixian Hakkas.
There are about 330,000 Meixian Hakkas in Hong Kong and Aomen (澳門 Macau) and about half a million Meixian Hakka in Taiwan.
CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
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