Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 01-12-12 23:34
易漲易退山溪水,---Yi4 zhang3 yi4 tui4 shan xi shui3,
易反易覆小人心.---Yi4 fan3 yi4 fu4 xiao3 ren2 xin.
Rising and ebbing easily is the small stream,
Changing ideas easily, is the small mind.
---------------------------------------
The 42th most common Chinese surname YE 葉 (042)
Ye means: leaf; a period; page.
The surname Ye is more than 2,300 years old.
The surname Ye originated in an area referred to during the Qin Dynasty
(秦朝 221BC to 207BC) as the Nanyang prefecture (南陽郡). The present day
location of Nanyang prefecture is the Nanyang county (南陽縣 112.5 degree
East and 33.0 degree North on the world map) in Henan province (河南省).
Zhou King Cheng (周成王 reign 1115BC to 1079BC), the second King of the
Zhou Dynasty (1134BC to 256BC), gave Mie Xiongyi (羋熊繹) the authority
to rule a region called Jingman (荊蠻 in the present day region between
the two rivers of Changjiang 長江 and Hanshui 漢水 in the two provinces
of Hunan 湖南省 and Hubei 湖北省). Zhou King Cheng also bestowed upon him
the inheritable title of Zi (子) or Viscount.
Most of the residents living in Jingman were descendants of the Miao Clan
(苗族). Mie Xiongyi came to be known as Jingman Zi (荊蠻子) or the Viscount
of Jingman. Mie Xiongyi established his capital in Zigui (秭歸 the present
day county of Zigui 秭歸縣 in Hubei province 湖北省) and he renamed his
domain as the State of Chu (楚國). From then on the official title of the
future rulers of Chu were known as Chu Zi (楚子).
Seventeen generations later, in 740BC, Mie Xiongtong (羋熊通), a descendant
of Mie Xiongyi, became the 17th ruler of the State of Chu. In 704BC, Mie
Xiongtong proclaimed that he was not the Viscount of Chu (楚子) but the
King of Chu (楚王). Mie Xiongtong titled himself Chu King Wu (楚武王) and
moved his capital Zigui to Danyang (丹陽 in the present day county of Zhijiang
枝江縣 in Hubei province). Mie Xiongtong changed his surname from MIE (羋
) adopted XIONG (熊). From then on, Xiong was the surname of all the rulers
of the State of Chu.
In 515BC, Xiong Zhen (熊軫) became the 28th ruler of Chu and ruled Chu until
489BC. In 508BC, Xiong Zhen ordered Shen Yinshu (沈尹戍), his Prime Minister
to lead a large army to invade the State of Wu (吳國 present day Wuxing
吳興 in Jiangsu province 江蘇省). The Chu forces were defeated by the Wu
and Shen Yinshu was killed in the battle.
In order to console the family of Shen Yinshu, Xiong Zhen gave Shen Yinshu's
son Shen Zhuliang (沈諸梁) the authority to rule a place called Ye (葉 in
the present day county of Ye 葉縣 in Henan province 河南省). Xiong Zhen
also bestowed upon him the inheritable title of Gong (公) or Duke. Shen
Zhuliang came to be known as Ye Gong (葉公) or the Duke of Ye. Ye Gong renamed
his domain as the State of Ye (葉國).
Xiong Zhen died in 489BC and his son Xiong Zhang (熊章) succeeded him as
the new ruler of Chu. In 479BC, Bai Gongsheng (白公勝), a prince of Chu,
gathered a band of armed followers and staged a revolt against Xiong Zhang.
Bai Gongsheng killed two officials while they were having an audience with
Xiong Zhang in the palace and Bai Gongsheng held Xiong Zhang as a hostage.
Bai Gongsheng wanted to dethrone Xiong Zhang and install his cousin Xiong
Qi (熊啟) as the ruler of Chu. Xiong Qi refused to accept the offer and Bai
Gongsheng had Xiong Qi executed.
On hearing of the rebellion against Xiong Zhang, Ye Gong congregated an
army and marched to the capital to rescue the ruler. In a battle near the
capital, Ye Gong defeated Bai Gongsheng who fled to the hills and committed
suicide there. Ye Gong was greatly honoured by Xiong Zhang for saving his
life.
In 401BC, Xiong Yi (熊疑) became the 32nd ruler of the State of Chu and
ruled Chu for twenty years and died in 381BC. Following the death of Xiong
Yi there was a power struggle among the princes and Wu Qi (吳起), the Prime
Minister was killed in the struggle. The ruler of the State of Ye was a
supporter of Wu Qi. The following year, Xiong Zang (熊臧), the new ruler
of Chu absorbed the State of Ye. The children of the incumbent Ye Gong continued
to use YE (葉) as their surname until this day.
The couplet of surname Ye:
源自楚國,---Yuan2 zi4 Chu Guo,
望出南陽.---Wang4 chu nanyang.
Surname YE was originated from the State of Chu,
And its clan began to proliferate from Nanyang Prefecture.
Famous historical persons produced by the Ye clan are:
(1) Ye Jianying (葉劍英 1897 to 1986)
This is the couplet that Mao Zedong (毛澤東) presented to Ye Jianying.
諸葛一生唯謹慎,---Zhuge [*A] yi sheng wei2 jin3 shen4,
呂端大事不糊塗.---Lu Duan [**B] da4 shi4 bu4 hu2 tu2.
Zhuge's whole life was but prudent,
Lu Duan was never muddled in undertaking important matter.
[*A] Zhuge, whose full name was Zhuge Liang (諸葛亮 181AD to 234AD), was
the Prime Minister of the Shu Han Kingdom (蜀漢 221AD to 263AD) during the
Three Kingdoms Period (三國時代 220AD to 265AD).
[**B] Lu Duan was a high official who lived during the Song Dynasty (宋朝
960AD to 1279AD).
Ye Jianying was born in Yanyang village (雁洋鄉) of Meixian (梅縣) in Guangdong
province (廣東省). His father was a businessman. After graduated from Yunnan
Military Academy (雲南武堂), Ye Jianying was appointed a district magistrate
in Guangdong province. In 1922, he joined the Kuomintang Party (KMT 國民
黨) and became an instructor at Whampoa Military Academy (黃埔軍校) in 1923.
The following year he joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP 中國共產黨
). He commanded a division during the Northern Expedition against the Warlords.
He participated in the Nanchang Uprising (南昌起義) in 1928. After the collapse
of the uprising he went to Moscow for two years and return to China in 1930.
He then went to Ruijin (瑞金), the capital of the Chinese Soviet Republic,
in Jingxi province (江西省), to join up with Mao Zedong and Zhu De (朱淂
). He took part in the Long March. He helped Mao Zedong in establishing
the People's Republic of China (PRC 中華人民共和國 1949AD to ???).
(2) 葉亞來 (Ye Yalai 1837 - 1885)
Yap Ah Loy, the founder of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, was born
on 14th of March 1837, in a Hakka family, in the village of Zhoutianxiang
(周田鄉) near a town called Danshuizhen (淡水鎮) in the county of Hui Yang
(惠陽縣) of Guangdong province (廣東省). He was named Yap Te Loy (葉德來
), but people called him Ah Loy. Eventually he was known as Yap Ah Loy.
His parents had five children; three boys and two girls. Yap Ah Loy was
the Lao Da (老大 the eldest).
When Yap Ah Loy was five years old his father sent him to study in the village
school. At school he studied the Three-Character Classic (三字經) and Thousand-
Character Classic. However, due to poverty, two years later his father could
not afford to send him to school. In order to lessen the burden of feeding
the five children his father got him a job as a cowherd to look after the
neighbour's buffalo. At that time Yap Ah Loy was eight years old.
In 1840, there was the Opium War which was fought in Guangdong province.
Yap Ah Loy was only three years old. The Taiping Heavenly Revolution was
in 1851 and Yap Ah Loy was fourteen years old. When he was 17 Yap Ah Loy
heard that the Malay States in the Malay Peninsular required labour force
to develop the land. Yap Ah Loy asked his parents permission to go to Nanyang.
When the contractors came to Zhoutianxiang village to recruit workers to
work in Nanyang Yap Ah Loy signed up, not knowing that he had signed away
his freedom for two years. Under the conditions of the contract he had to
work for the contractors for two years without any pay, but food, shelter
and clothing were provided. The contractors would pay for his passage to
get to Nanyang and he would be free to embark upon his own undertakings after
he had given two years of free labour to his contractors - indentured labourer
or Mai Zhi Zai (賣豬仔). The parents of Yap Ah Loy received twenty silver-coin
dollars from the contractors. Yap Ah Loy's parents were happy to receive
the payment but sad to see Lao Da (the eldest) leaving home.
On the day of leaving home, Yap Ah Loy said goodbye to his parents, younger
brothers and sisters. Shouldering a bundle of his old clothes, Yap Ah Loy
walked to the assembling place in the town of Danshuizhen.
The contractors took Yap Ah Loy and many others from the region to Hong
Kong,
which became a British colony and from there Yap Ah Loy embarked on a British
steamer and set sailed to a strange land, Nanyang.
After sailing for several weeks Yap Ah Loy arrived in a strange country.
The contractors arranged Yap Ah Loy to work in Malacca (麻六甲) which was
one of the British Strait Settlements; the other two were Singapore and
Penang. Yap Ah Loy was assigned to plant pepper corns. Thus Yap Ah Loy began
his new life as an indentured worker in a foreign country. Life was harsh
but Yap Ah Loy was tough and strong. However, it was estimated that there
were about four thousand Chinese in Malacca. There were many Hakkas among
the Chinese so Yap Ah Loy was able to maintain his Chinese way of life in
a new land.
Soon after, the two years was over and Yap Ah Loy was free from the slave
bondage. In 1854 Yap Ah Loy went to work in a place called Durian Tunggal
(榴鏈冬加), about ten kilometers north of Malacca. He was employed by a
man to dig a pond to rear fish. Yap Ah Loy did not like this kind of job.
So he resigned after four months and went to Jasin (加山) and worked as
a shop assistant in a grocery shop which belonged to a distance relative
called Yap Ng (葉五) who came from the same village as Yap Ah Loy.
In 1856 Yap Ah Loy went with Yap Foo (葉福), who was the younger brother
of Yap Ng, to work as a cook in a tin mine at a place called Lubok China
(蘆骨). For three years Yap Ah Loy worked as a cook and had managed to save
a bit of money. Using the saving as his capital Yap Ah Loy began to become
a businessman. His new enterprise was to transport life pigs and tin ore
to Sungei Udang (雙溪烏戎) to sell.
In the early of 1800s there were already many Hakkas in undertaking tin
mining in the Malay States of Perak, Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Malacca.
It was estimated that in 1847 there were about four thousand and six hundred
Chinese in the two tin mining areas of Lubok China (蘆骨 in Negri Sembilan)
and Sungei Udang (雙溪烏戎in Malacca). In Malacca, in 1850, there were about
four thousand Chinese working in the tin mines. In 1857 there were 87 indentured
workers went to work in the first tin mine in the area of Kuala Lumpur.
Within two months 70 of them died of tropical diseases. That was the horrible
page for the indentured workers (豬仔).
In 1859, Yap Ah Loy arrived in Seremban (芙蓉). He became a friend of Liu
Renguang (劉壬光) and Yap Shiji (葉石繼). Yap Ah Loy was appointed the second
in command of the security forces in Sungei Udang. The Kapitan China in
Sungei Udang was Sheng Mingli (盛明利). In August 1860, due to a dispute
over the right of mining tin in Sungei Udang two Malay Chiefs went to war
with each other. Sheng Mingli was killed in the battle and Liu Renguang
was wounded. When he recovered Liu Renguang went to work for Qiu Xius (邱
秀), the Kapitan China of Kuala Lumpur.
When peace returned to Sungei Udang, Yap Shiji was appointed the Kapitan
China of Sungei Udang. Due to his commitment to his enterprise, shortly
after, Yap Shiji resigned his position as the Kapitan China and Yap Ah Loy
was appointed as his successor as the Kapitan China of Sungei Udang.
In 1861, Liu Ren Guang became the commander of the security forces in Kual
Lumpur. Qiu Xiu died in 1862 and Liu Renguang succeeded him as the Kapitan
China of Kuala Lumpur.
In 1863, Liu Renguang invited Yap Ah Loy to Kuala Lumpur to help him to
administer his two tin-mines in Kuala Lumpur and the import and export business
in Klang (巴生). In 1869 Liu Renguang died of illness and Yap Ah Loy was
officially appointed by the Sultan of Selangor as the third Kapitan China
of Kuala Lumpur.
(3) Ye Shi (葉適 1150AD to 1223AD)
He was born in the present day city of Wenzhou (溫州市) in Zhejiang province
(浙江省) during the Song Dynasty (宋朝 960AD to 1279AD). He passed the Imperial
Examinations during the reign of Emperor Xiao Zong Zhao Juan (孝宗皇帝趙
眷 1163AD to 1189AD) and became a Jin Shi (進士 or Imperial Graduate). He
was appointed as a high official. Several years later he was made a lecture
of the Imperial College. He had written many books.
.............................................................
A Mandarin and also sung in Cantonese
Ye Qianwen - Wan Feng (Evening Breeze)
(From the movie Shanghai Blue 上海之夜')
晚風 - 歌手 - 葉倩文
In Mandarin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HdcjUrenyA&feature=related
Cantonese version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jn9zfB6WEg&feature=related
晚風中 有你我的夢
風中借來一點時間緊緊擁
擁的那個夢 像一陣風 像一陣風
悠悠愛在風中輕輕送
我心的愛 是否你心的夢
可否借一條橋讓我倆相通
在這借來的橋中 明天的我 明天的你
會不會再像那天相擁
今晚的風 和明天的夢
到底在你心裡有多少影蹤
可否這個晚上 借來時間 借來晚風
把我的愛送到你心中
啊... 啊... 啊......
Posted to Overseas Chinese Forum at asiawind.com
By CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
|
|
The Asiawind forums are provided to you by
InTechTra Inc.
