Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 01-12-12 07:12
防人之心不可無,---Fang2 ren2 zhi xin bu4 ke3 wu2,
欺人之心不可有.---Qi ren2 zhi xin bu4 ke3 you3.
One must have a cautious mind,
But not a deceiving one.
-----------------------------------------
The 41st most common Chinese surname SU 蘇 (041)
Su means: revive from unconsciousness.
The surname Su is about 2,600 years old.
The surname Su originated in an area referred to during the Han Dynasty
(漢朝 206BC to 220AD) as the Wugong prefecture (武功郡). The present day
location of Wugong prefecture is in the east of Mei county (郿縣 107.8 degree
East and 34.2 degree North on the world map) of Shaanxi province (陜西省
).
Lu Zhong (陸終), an eighth generation descendant of Huang Di (黃帝) or the
Yellow Emperor, had six sons and the eldest one was Fan (樊). During the
Xia Dynasty (夏朝 2205BC to 1766BC) Fan was given the authority to rule
a district called Kunwu (昆吾 located in the east of present day city of
Xuchang 徐昌of Henan province 河南省).The offspring of Fan adopted KUNWU
as their surname.
Many generations later, when Zhou King Wu (周武王) founded the Zhou Dynasty
(周朝 1134BC to 256BC) he employed Kunwu Fensheng (昆-吾忿生), a descendant
of Fan, as a Si Kou (司寇), equivalent to today's Judiciary officer. Kunwu
Fensheng proved that he was an excellent judge and Zhou King Wu gave him
the authority to rule a district called Su (蘇 present day in the regions
of Jiyuan 濟原 and Wen 溫counties in Henan province). Kunwu Fensheng adopted
SU as his surname and renamed his domain the State of Su (蘇國). Kunwu Fensheng
came to be known Su Fensheng ( 蘇忿生).
During the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋時代 722BC to 481BC) the State
of Su was subjugated by the northern nomadic tribe of Di (狄). The descendants
of Su Fensheng continued to use SU as their surname and they fled west in
groups to the present day province of Shaanxi (陜西省). Some of them settled
down in the Prefectures of Fufeng (扶風郡) and Lantian (藍田郡), but the
majority of them in Wugong Prefecture (武功郡) where it was recorded as
the place of the origin of surname Su.
This couplet is about the father and his two sons
三蘇望族,---San SU wang4 zu2,
五風功臣.---Wu3 feng gong chen2.
The Su clan was proud of having produced three prominent persons who were
a father and two sons. and they wrote beautiful prose and were considered
the best during that time.
...............................................................
Prominent persons produced by the SU clan
(1) Su Xun (蘇洵 1006AD to 1066AD)
Su Xun was born in Mei Shan (眉山 present day Mei Shan county 眉山縣 of
Sichuan province 四川省) during the Song Dynasty (宋朝 960AD to 1279AD).
People called him and his two sons Su Dong Po (蘇東坡 1036AD to 1101AD)
and Su San (蘇轍 1039AD to 1112AD) the Three Su (三蘇). They wrote beautiful
prose and were considered the best during that time.
There is a saying about them:
一門父子三詞客---Yi men2 fu4 zi3 san ci2 ke3
One family has three poets.
And
蘇文生, 喫菜根;---Su wen2 sheng, chi cai4 gen;
蘇文熟, 喫羊肉.---Su wen2 shou2, chi yang2 rou4.
If words by the Sus are raw then you eat the vegetable roots,
If the words by the Sus are cooked then you eat goat meat (cooked mutton).
Father and sons were brilliant scholars. They wrote beautiful prose and
were considered the best during that time. Su Dong Po said about his prose,
吾文如萬斛泉源,---Wu2 wen2 ru2 wan4 hu quan yuan,
不擇地皆可出.---Bu4 ze2 di4 jie ke3 chu.
My words are like the spring water coming out from thousands of decalitres),
They come out anywhere they like to come out, indiscriminately.
And Su Dongpo also said that:
發奮識遍天下字,---Fa fen4 shi2 bian4 tian xia4 zi4,
立志讀盡人間書.---Li4 zhi4 du2 jin4 ren2 jian shu.
I want to recognize all the words in the world,
and determine to read all the books written by the people.
..........................................................
(2) Su Wu (蘇武 ? to 60BC)
北海牧羊不屈志---Beihai mu4 yang2 bu4 qu zhi4.
Even though I am shepherding in the North Sea I would not yield.
Su Wu Was born in Duling (杜陵 in the southeast of Xian city 西安市 of Shaanxi
province 陜西省) during the Han Dynasty (漢朝 206BC to 220AD). He father
Su Jian (蘇建) was a general. Su Wu was employed as a butler attending to
Emperor Wu Di Liu Che (武皇帝劉徹 140BC to 87BC). In 100BC Emperor Wu Di
sent Su Wu as an Ambassador to Xiongnu (匈奴 present day outer Mongolia).
Su Wu and his entourage brought a lot of presents to Danyu (單于), the ruler
of Xiongnu. Su Wu and his entourage were well received. However, Danyu refused
to allow Su Wu to return to his country. The Xiongnu ruler cajoled him to
surrender but Su Wu refused. He was then sent to Beihai (北海 in present
day Siberia) to shepherd the goats.
After shepherding goats for 19 years in the desolate place, finally, in
81BC, he released and sent back to his country, the Han Dynasty.
....................................................................
(3) Su Manshu (蘇曼殊 1884AD to 1918AD)
Su Manshu was born in Japan. His father was Chinese and his mother was a
Japanese woman. His ancestral home was in the present day Zhongshan county
(中山縣) of Guangdong province (廣東省). He was a scholar and excelled in
calligraphy. His penmanship of a poem is currently hanging in a Buddhist
temple in the island of Zhoushan (舟山) of Zhejiang province (浙江省). This
is the poem,
乾坤容我靜,---Qian2 kun rong2 wo3 jing4,
名利任人忙.---Ming2 li4 ren4 ren2 mang2
Heaven and earth permit me to live in peace,
Let other people to be busy in obtaining fame and gain.
Posted to Overseas Chinese Forum at asiawind.com
By CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
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