Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 04-06-12 21:27
中國姓氏故事 - 洪姓
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酒逢知己千杯少,---Jiu3 feng2 zhi ji3 qian bei shao3,
話不投機半句多.---Hua4 bu4 tou2 ji ban4 ju4 duo.
When drinking with an intimate friend a thousand glasses are not enough,
When talking with a disagreeable person half a sentence is too many.
A Chinese proverb
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Surname Hong (洪)
Hong means: flood; deluge.
The surname Hong is more than 3,000 years old.
The surname Hong originated in an area referred to during the Han Dynasty
(漢朝 206BC to 220AD) as the Yuzhang prefecture (豫章郡). The present day
location of Yuzhang prefecture is in Nanchang county (南昌縣, 115.9 degree
East and 28.5 degree North on the world map) of Jiangxi province (江西省
).
The mythical sovereign Shen Nong Shi (神農氏) taught people how to farm,
domesticate animals and use medical herbs. He wrote a book called "The Origin
Of Grass 本草 " a guide to help people to differential between cereals,
medical herbs and grass. I heard that the book is still being used nowadays
as a reference book by the Chinese herbalists and it is still available
in some of the Chinese book shops in China.
According to the Chinese historical records, in about 2297BC, there was
a strange phenomenon happening in China. It rained non-stop for a long,
long time and all the rivers in the land overflowed their banks. Houses
and farmlands were submerged. People and animals were drowned and the survivors
fled to the highlands. All the inhibited land was flooded. It was called
"The Deluge 大洪水" by the historians.
Gong Gong (共公), a descendant of Shen Nong Shi, was a charismatic leader
of a tribe and was adored as a sage by his people. Gong Gong and his people
were ordered by Yao Di (堯帝), the legendary chief of the united federated
tribes in ancient China, to assist Si Gun (姒鯀), who was appointed by Yao
Di as the leader in charge of waterworks, to dredge the rivers.
For nine years Si Gun and Gong Gong failed to dredge the rivers and the
water in the rivers could not flow smoothly into the sea. Yao Di had Si
Gun and Gong Gong executed for having wasted the resources and time. The
children of Gong Gong gave themselves the surname of Gong (工) in remembrance
of him and left off the word Gong or work.
Yao Zhonghua (姚重華), the son in-law of Yao Di, took over some responsibility
for the dredging rivers project; the followers of Gong Gong were the only
people who had the skill in irrigation works, so Yao Zhonghua had no choice
but to re-employ them. Ironically, the new leader in charge to carry on
with the water works was Si Wenming, (姒文命, who later founded the Xia
Dynasty 夏朝 2205BC to 1782BC) who was the son of the executed leader Si
Gun.
Water started receding after thirteen years of hard work. The water in the
rivers flowed smoothly to the sea and the land started to dry up and the
flood was over. The workers were rewarded with big stipends and awards.
In order to commemorate their beloved father, the children of Gong Gong
added the radical three dots (水) or water to the left hand side of their
surname Gong and the modified character ultimately became HONG (洪) or flood.
They argued that since their father died as the result of the big flood
they adopted Hong or flood as their surname.
The couplet of surname Hong;
源自上古,---Yuan2 zi4 shang gu3,
望族豫章.---Wang4 zu2 Yuzhang.
Surname Hong came into use as a surname during ancient time,
It began to spread from Yuzhang Prefecture.
......................................................................
Hong Xiuquan ( 1814AD to 1864AD) was a product of the Hong Clan
In 1843, Hong Xiuquan (洪秀全), at the age of 30, founded the Shang Di Hui
(上帝會), or the Association of the Worshippers of God. Within a few years
he had recruited 30,000 members. On January 11, 1851 Hong Xiuquan, Yang
Xiuqing (楊秀清), Qian Hong (錢紅), Li Xiucheng (李秀成), Wei Changhui (韋
昌輝), Chen Yucheng (陳玉成), and many others staged an uprising in Jin
Tian (金田) village in the county of Gui Ping (桂平縣) of Guangxi province
(廣西省). Hong Xiuquan changed the name of Shang Di Hui to Tai Ping (太
平 or Great Peace). The motto of Taiping was: "天下一家﹐共享太平", or "Under
the heaven we are all one family and enjoy the Great Peace."
To know more about Hong Xiuquan let us go back to his youth.
There were only about four hundred people, all Hakka, in the village of
Guan Lu Bu (祿布村) in Hua county (花縣) which was about thirty kilometers
north of the city of Guangzhou (廣州), the provincial capital of Guangdong
province (廣東省). The majority of the residents in this village had the
surname of Hong (洪). In front of the village was a large pool of muddy
water, where rains carried down all the dirt and refuse of the village and
formed a rich supply of water for fertilizing purposes. The smell from the
water was awful to those who were unaccustomed to Chinese agricultural methods.
The village school was situated on the left-hand side of the village, near
the stinky pool. Boys from the village studied their Chinese classics in
this school, with hopes of ultimately rising from their present humble status
to the highest dignities in the Empire.
In the twelfth moon of the 17th year of the reign of Emperor Jiaqing (嘉
慶皇帝), in 1813, Hong Xiuquan was born in the village of Fu Yuan Shui (福
源水村) of Hua county (花縣). Shortly after he was born the family moved
to live in Guan Lu Bu village (官祿布). He was initially named Guangyan
(廣炎 or "Brilliant fire"). When he reached manhood, he was given another
name, marking his relation to the Hong family. At the age of seven or eight,
when he went to school, he adopted the name Xiuquan, or "Elegant and Perfect"
, as his literary name.
Hong Xiuquan had two elder brothers. His eldest brother was called Hong
Renfa (洪仁發), whose mother died after giving birth to him. His father
remarried and had two more sons, Hong Renda (洪仁達) and Hong Xiuquan and
a daughter, Hong Xuanjiao (洪宣嬌). The three brothers laboured with their
father in cultivating their paddy fields. Besides the rice fields, the Hong
family also planted vegetables in a patch bordering the rice fields. The
Hongs were a self-sustaining family, possessing two buffaloes, some pigs,
dogs, and poultry, which were common in a Chinese farming establishment.
The young Hong Xiuquan developed an extraordinary capacity for study and
was sent to school when he was seven years old. For five or six years, Hong
Xiuquan attended the village school where he studied the Four Books (四書
), the Five Classics (五經) and the Thirteen Classics (十三經). He read,
by himself, the History of China and the more extraordinary books of Chinese
literature, all of which he very easily understood at the first perusal.
He soon gained the favour of his teacher as well as of his own family members
who felt proud of his talents. They hoped that he would, in the course of
time, attain the degree of Jin-shi (進士 Graduate or Scholar), or even become
a member of the Han-lin (翰林) Literary Academy, from which the highest
officers were selected by the Emperor. Although some of the schools he visited
were at a great distance, and his family's financial position was unsound,
several of his teachers gave him free tuition and rejoiced in bringing him
provisions so that he might continue his studies. Several of his relatives
even shared their clothing with him. His old father loved to talk with his
friends about the talents of his youngest son.
Due to the poverty of his family, Hong Xiuquan discontinued his studies
when he was about sixteen years old. He assisted his family labouring in
the fields, or led the buffaloes to graze upon the mountains. Everyone regretted
that Hong Xiuquan's studies had to be discontinued.
The following year, a friend invited Hong Xiuquan to study with him as a
fellow student for one year. This friend of Hong Xiuquan hoped to gain some
benefits from being associated with the talent of Hong Xiuquan. After this
period was over, relatives and friends of Hong Xiuquan, regretting that
his talents would be wasted in manual labour in the fields, engaged him
as a teacher in their own village, giving him an opportunity to continue
his literary pursuits.
Hong Xiuquan was always among the first names up on the board at the District
Examinations, yet he never succeeded in attaining the degree of Xiucai (秀
才 a graduate). In 1836, when he was twenty-three years old, Hong Xiuquan
again went to Guangzhou to sit for the public examination. Near the examination
hall he saw a man [Revs. Robert Morrison] dressed in the custom of the Ming
Dynasty (明朝 1368AD to 1644AD), without a pigtail but instead his hair
was tied in a knot upon his head. It appeared that the man could not understand
or speak Cantonese or Hakka because he employed a Chinese as his interpreter
[Priest Liang Fa 梁發 who was from Malacca, in present day Malaysia]. The
stranger was surrounded by a group of people, telling them through the interpreter
about the fulfillment of their wishes. Hong Xiuquan approached the stranger
and asked him if he could attain a literary degree. The stranger told him:
"You will attain the highest rank, but do not grieve, for grief will make
you sick. I congratulate your virtuous father." Hong Xiuquan thought it
was strange to hear that.
The next day, Hong Xiuquan again met these two men in the street. One of
them had a parcel of books consisting of nine small volumes that were a
complete set of works entitled: "Good words for extorting the age 勸世赤
7d言." When Hong Xiuquan came out from the examination hall the man gave
him the whole set of books. Hong Xiuquan took them home, and after glancing
through their contents, he placed them in his bookcase, thinking that they
were unimportant.
The following year, in 1837, Hong Xiuquan again attended the public examination
at the provincial city of Guangzhou. When the results came out, Hong Xiuquan
saw his name placed high upon the board, but afterwards it was lowered to
the bottom. Hong Xiuquan was deeply grieved, disappointed and discontented,
his ambitions dashed. Shortly afterwards, he felt very ill and had to engage
a sedan chair with two stout men to carry him back to his village and confined
himself to bed. That day was the first day of the third moon in the 17th
year of Emperor Daoguang (道光皇帝 1821AD to 1850AD).
During this period, lasting about forty days, Hong Xiuquan had a succession
of dreams or visions. In these visions he often met a middle-aged man whom
he called elder brother who instructed him on how to act. This elder brother
went wandering with him to the uttermost regions in search of evil spirits.
Together they slew and exterminated the evil spirits. After Hong Xiuquan
had tired himself out by fighting, jumping about, singing, and exhorting,
he would lay down and sleep. Hong Xiuquan's two brothers kept his bedroom
door shut and kept constant watch because they did not want him running
out of the house. While he was asleep, people would come and look at him.
The news about his condition spread far and wide. Soon, the whole district
knew that he was a madman.
Hong Xiuquan often said that he was an appointed Emperor of China and he
was highly gratified whenever someone called him the Emperor of China. When
undesirable persons came to see him, he rebuked them and called them demons.
All day long he sang, wept and exhorted.
Hong Xiuquan's relatives engaged several physicians to cure his disease.
They gave him medicines, but to no avail. One day, his father noticed a
slip of paper in a crack of the doorpost, upon which were written the following
characters in red:
"The noble principles of the Heavenly King, The Sovereign King Quan."
His father took the paper and showed it to the other members of the family,
but they could not understand the meaning of these seven characters. However,
from that time onwards, Hong Xiuquan gradually regained his health. When
he was fully recovered he had become a different person. Many of his friends
and relatives came and visited him. They wanted to know and to hear from
his own mouth what he had experienced during his disease. Hong Xiuquan related
to them, without reservation, all that he could remember of his extraordinary
visions. All his friends and relatives could say was that it was very strange
indeed.
In 1843, Hong Xiuquan again attended the public examination at Guangzhou
city, the fourth time. For the fourth time he failed the examination. He
stayed at home and read the volumes of "Good words for extorting the age".
He began to preach the gospel of God to the villagers. He and his cousin
brother Feng Yunshan (馮雲山) learned from and worked for a Cantonese priest,
Zhu Jiutao (朱九濤), who had organized a society called Shangdi Jiao (上
帝教) or the Society of God. Zhu Jiutao died and Hong Xiuquan was chosen
the leader of the society.
Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan went to preach the gospel of God, at the village
of Ci Gu (賜谷村) in Gui county (貴縣) of Guangxi province (廣西省). They
stayed with Huang Shengjun (黃盛均) who was a distance cousin brother of
Hong Xiuquan. While preaching there, Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan founded
the Bai Shangdi Hui (拜上帝會) or the Association of the Worshippers of
God. Hong Xiuquan proclaimed that God was the Father, Jesus was the older
son of God and he was the younger son of God, the younger brother of Jesus.
There were many Hakkas living in this region. The Hakkas migrated here from
the provinces of Guangdong (廣東省) and Fujian (福建省) during the reign
of the Emperors of Kang Xi (康熙皇帝1662AD to 1722AD) and Qian Long (乾隆
皇帝1736AD to 1795AD).
The soil in the areas, like Meizhou (梅州 the present day Mei Xian 梅縣
), Xunzhou (循州), Tingzhou (汀州) and other regions where the Hakkas lived,
was not fertile. There were lots of hills but few fields for cultivation.
There were more people but less land. Hence they wanted to leave their homes
and went looking for new fields. They went west and ended up settling in
many counties in the eastern part of Guangxi province.
Again, another wave of Hakka migration to this region occurred after the
Opium War (1840AD). Many Hakkas, living in Meizhou, Tingzhou and other areas,
lost their lands to the landlords, gentry and corrupted officials who constituted
less than one percent of the population. The Hakkas left the region and
went to live in Guangxi province. Many of them travelled by boats along
the Xi Jiang (西江) up to Cang Wu (蒼梧), Ping Nan (平南), Gui Ping (桂平
), Gui Xian (貴縣), Shi Long (石龍), Teng Xian (藤縣), Bo Bai (博白), Lu
Chuan (陸川) and other places.
In the seventh month of 1844, Feng Yunshan went to Gui Ping and Hong Xiuquan
went to preach in the eastern part of the province where there were many
Hakkas lived. Hong Xiuquan went preaching the gospel from a Hakka village
to another Hakka village for three years. There were a few thousand Hakka
believers joined the Association of the Worshippers of God.
In 1847, Hong Xiuquan and his cousin brother Hong Rengan (洪仁玕) went to
Guangzhou to learn Christianity from an American Baptist Missionary. According
to a letter dated October 6th, 1852, Canton, from the American Baptist Missionary
Rev. I J Roberts:
"Some time in 1846, or the year following, two Chinese gentlemen came to
my house in Canton [Guangzhou] professing a desire to be taught the Christian
religion. One of them soon returned home, but the others continued with
us for two months or more, during which time he studied the scripture and
received instruction, and maintained a blameless deportment. That one seems
to be this HUNG SAWCHUEN (Hong Xiuquan) the chief; and the narrator was
perhaps the gentleman who came with him, but soon returned home. When the
chief first came to us he presented a paper written by himself, giving a
minute account of having received the book of which his friend speaks in
his narrative; of his being taken sick, during which he professed to see
a vision, and gave the details of what he saw, which he said confirmed him
in the belief of what he read in the book. And he told something in the
account of his vision which I confess I was then at a loss, and still am,
to know whence he got them without a more extensive knowledge of the scriptures.
He requested to be baptized, but left for Kwangsi [Guangxi] before we were
fully satisfied of his fitness; but what had come of him I knew not until
now."
Rev. I J Roberts of the American Baptist Missionary in Guangzou gave a report
on the description of Hong Xiuquan:
"He is a man of ordinary appearance, about five feet four or five inches
high; well built, round faced, regular featured, rather handsome, about
middle age, and gentlemanly in his manners."
In 1848, Hong Xiuquan was arrested by the Qing Authority because his followers
were smashing statues in the temple. He was soon released.
On 11th January, 1851AD in Jin Tian village (金田村), Hong Xiuquan gathered
a few thousands disciples of the Association of the Worshippers of God,
mostly poor peasants from the Hakkas as well as from the tribes of Miao
(苗族) and Yao (瑤). He organized them into an army called the Taiping (Great
Peace). In order to bind together to the movement they burned their homes.
Movable goods were made common property. This kind of communism system gained
the support from the Hakkas who lived in grinding poverty. Within a short
period the movement had swelled to about ten thousand. Hong Xiuquan proclaimed
that he was Tian Wang (天王 Heavenly King). He told his followers he was
chosen at God's command for a special mission: to destroy the demons on
earth (鋤妖鏟奸 Chu Yao Chan Jian) and establish the Kingdom of God (天國
Tian Guo). They should overthrow the present Qing Dynasty (清朝朝) and
the existing political system and create a new social order: the Kingdom
of God.
The Taiping revolutionists cut off their pigtails - a sign of enslavement
to the Manzhou (滿州) - and instead kept long hair and wrapped their heads
with a piece of red cloth. Since they let their hair grow on their foreheads,
which under the rules of the Qing Authority required to be shaven, the
Imperial government's documents call them the "Chang Tou Fa Ni Zei" (長頭
髮逆賊 or "Long Hairs Rebels"). Hong Xuanjiao (洪宣嬌), the younger sister
of Hong Xiuquan, organized a female army called "big foot soldiers" because
their feet were not bound. The Qing Authority called them "大腳蠻婆 or
the savage big foot women" soldiers. Hong Xuanjiao and her subalterns went
around to unbind women's feet and the tradition of foot-binding was forbidden.
The Taiping Army marched northward and occupied Yong An (永安) in Mengshan
county (蒙山縣) of Guangxi province (廣西省). From Guangxi they marched
through the provinces of Hunan (湖南省), Hubei (湖北省), Jiangxi (江西省
) and Anhui (安徽省). They marched eastward along the Yangtze River and
captured Nanjing (南京) in March 1853. Nanjing was renamed the Heavenly
City (天京) and became the capital of the Heavenly Kingdom. Hong Xiuquan
was installed as Tian Wang (天王) or King of the Heavenly Kingdom.
At an early stage, Christianity influenced the Taiping. Hong Xiuquan proclaimed
that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ and the second son of God.
Many parts of the "constitution" or laws set up by the Taiping had a Christian-
Judeo flavour. That was the main reason that Zeng Kuofan (曾國藩), another
Hakka from Hunan province, decided to throw his weight behind the Manzhou
government, fearful that the Taiping might wipe out Confucianism.
These were the Ten Commandments of the Taiping:
(1) Thou shalt worship God.
(2) Thou shalt not worship evil spirits.
(3) Thou shalt not mention God's name superfluously.
(4) Thou shalt worship God and praise him on the seventh day of a week.
(5) Thou shalt have filial piety.
(6) Thou shalt not kill or harm people.
(7) Thou shalt not commit adultery and treachery.
(8) Thou shalt not steal and rob.
(9) Thou shalt not lie.
(10) Thou shalt not covet.
The Christian missionaries were struck by the heterodox aspects of the Christianity
professed by the Taiping. Ironically, the Christian countries of the Western
Powers assisted in helping the Manzhou crush the Taiping revolution.
Hong Xiuquan dispatched an expedition force northward to capture the Manzhou
capital, Beijing (北京). This northern expedition force marched to the
vicinity of Tianjin (天津), where they were defeated.
Eventually the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was crushed by the Qing Dynasty
in 1864AD
Note:
Surname Hong is the 99th most common Chinese surnames in the world
Posted to asiawind.com
By CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
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