Re: Genealogy of the He Clan

[CHUNG Yoon-Ngan <chungyn@mozart.joinet.net.au>]

On Tue, 9 Mar 1999, Albert Yeo wrote:

> Dear Mr. Chung,
> Thank you for your prompt reply.  I do not have any information about the He
> clan and would really appreciate if you could put me down as one who eagerly
> awaits your information.  I only have minimal Mandarin so reading Chinese
> books is out for me.  Thank you again for your contribution to the Hakkas.
> 
> Regards,
> Yen

Hello Yen, 

This is the history of your surname HO in Hakka or HE2 in Mandarin Pinyin.
I have revised it and it is more in detail. I have discovered that people
would like to know more, if possible in full detail, about their surnames.
At the moment I am trying to recompile all the 500 surnames that I have
finished.

Please do not hesitate to comment or ask if you have encounter any
difficulty to understand your surname.

Sincerely
Yoon-Ngan.


Surname No.21 HE2.
He2 means : what; when; which; who; why.
Surname He2 is about 2200 years old.

Abstract: Surname He2 was originated in an area which was called the 
          Lu2 Jiang Prefecture during the Han4 Dynasty (206BC to 220AD).
          The present day location of Lu2 Jiang Prefecture 
          is in Lu2 Jiang county in the province of Anhui.

  In 1115BC Ji Song4 was crowned as Zhou King Cheng2 (reigned 1115BC to 
1078BC), the second King of the Zhou Dynasty (1134BC to 256BC). In 
1106BC Zhou King Cheng2 delegated authority to his younger brother called 
Tang2 Shu Yu2 to rule a district called Tang2 which was renamed as  
Jin4 (present day Yi4 Cheng2 county in Shanxi province). Zhou King Cheng2 
also bestowed upon his brother the title of Hou2 (Marsquis) which was 
inheritable. The son of Tang2 Shu Yu2 called Zi3 Xie4 succeeded him and 
inherited the title Hou2 and renamed Jin4 as the State of Jin4 and he was 
known as Jin4 Hou2.

 Jin4 Hou2 appointed one of his sons called Bi4 Wan4 to administer a city 
called Han3 Yuan2 (present day southeast of He2 Jin county in Shanxi 
province near the Yellow River). Bi4 Wan4 renamed the city as the State 
of Han3 which was absorbed by the State of Jin4 in 757BC. The offspring 
of Bi4 Wan4 adopted HAN3 as their surname.

   During the Spring and Autumn Period (722BC to 481BC) in 453BC one of 
the descendants of Bi4 Wan4 became a very powerful general in the Jin4 
Court. His name was Han3 Qian4. General Han3 Qian4 formed an alliance 
with two of the most powerful families in the State of Jin4: the Zhao4 
family and the Wei4 family. Together they plotted and carved up the 
State of Jin4 into three domains. They were the domains of Zhao4, Wei4 
and Han3. General Han3 Qian4 established his capital in Yang2 Di2 
(present day Yu3 county in Shanxi province).

   However the division of the State of Jin4 triggered a chaotic 
situation in the land. Wars broke out among the States. The historians 
referred to this period as the Warring States Period (453BC to 221BC).

  In 403BC Zhou King Wei Lie4 (reigned 425BC to 402BC) officially 
recognized Han3 as a State which was officially known as the State of 
Han3. In 376BC Han3 Ai was installed as the ruler of Han3 (ruled 
376BC to 374BC). The following year he conquered and annexed the 
powerful State of Zheng4 (present day Xin Zheng4 county in Henan 
province). He shifted his capital from Yang2 Di2 to Xin Zheng4. 

  In 238BC Han3 An became the ruler of Han3. The ruler of the State of 
Qin2 (present day Feng Xiang2 county in Shaanxi province) was Ying2 
Zheng4 and he wanted to unite the land into one big empire. The only way 
to achieve his ambition was by force. He began to use force and started 
to conquer othe States.  

   In 230BC Ying2 Zheng4 ordered one of his generals called Nei4 Shi3 
Sheng4 to invade Han3. But Han3 An surrendered without a fight. The Qin2 
troops occupied the State and Han3 An became the prisoner of Qin2. State 
of Han3 was incorporated into the Prefecture of Ying2 Chuan in the 
province of Henan.
    
  However, some of the offspring of Han3 An refused to surrender and 
fled south. The Qin2 authority was going after them. They arrived at the 
river called Huai2 Shui3 in Anhui province. While they were on the 
boat crossing the river to the other side the soldiers of Qin2 were checking 
the boat passengers. An officer asked the surname of a descendant of 
Han3 An called Han3 Zhen. It was freezing cold at that time and Han3 Zhen 
was shivering with cold. In order not to reveal his identity Han3 Zhen 
was either in fear or cold with chatterring teeth he pointed at the 
river and answered just one word "Han3" which sounded like "He2" to 
the officer as the words Han3 and He2 were having the same pronunciation 
in the local dialect. So the Qin2 officer registered Han3 Zhen surname as 
He2 which meant river. Since the mistake had been made Han3 Zhen now 
became He2 Zhen. In order to remember this incident Han3 Zhen adopted HE2 
as his surname by deleting the three dots or water on the right side of 
the word He2 and replaced it by the character of Ren2 which meant man and 
ultimately it became the present surname He2. He2 Zhen settled down in 
the county of Lu2 Jiang in Anhui province.

CHUNG Yoon-Ngan		chungyn@mozart.joinet.net.au
http://www.joinet.net.au/~chungyn
Copyright 1999. All rights reserved.