The Wan (Pinyin: Yin) Family Ancestral Home, Hehou Li, Jiangmen, Wuyi, Guangdong

Photograph of myself, Wan Heng Kei, my elder sister, Wan Lai Meng, my 85 years old father, Wan Kam Tai and my younger sister, Wan Lai Ling taken at the unoccupied Wan Family Ancestral Home, No. 57, Hehou Li, Jiangmen, Wuyi, Guangdong.

The Yin (尹) or Wan (Guangdong) surname
Yin (Chinese:) or Wan (Cantonese) 尹; pinyin: Yīn; was originally a pictogram of a royal headdress. It was first used in 2,597 BC by the son of Shao Hao (one of 5 kings in the "pre-China" Five Kings era), who took on the surname and became the Duke of Yin (a village in northeast China). In 1,783 BC, the Shang Dynasty created the Position of Yin (equivalent to First Minister, most-favored Minister, or Lord Protector). Lord Yi Chi of the Hua tribe helped orchestrate a near-bloodless coup bringing the Shang Dynasty to power, was rewarded with this title, and changed his name to Yi Yin (伊尹). In 800 BC, Bo Jifu, a renowned judge during the reign of Zhou Xuan Wang, also held this position, and changed his name to Yin Jifu. During the era of the Imperial Examination System, three other magistrates took on the surname Yin (尹) to denote their Imperial rank and royally-favored status. Yin settlements in China can be found south-west of Tonghui in Gansu Province, as well as in the Pearl River Delta.

The Yins are/were exempt from China's One-child Policy due to the rarity of their surname and reverence for their historical role.

Chinese : from the name of Yin City, in present-day Shanxi province, or from a status name of a government official. A grandson of the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc) was granted Yin City and in due course his descendants adopted the name of the city as their surname. Additionally, throughout the Shang (1766–1122 bc) and Zhou (1122–221 bc) dynasties, there existed a high government position called Yin. Many descendants of Yin officials adopted the status name Yin as their surname.

My Ancestors from The Wan Family originated from our Ancestral Home at No. 57, Hehou Li, Jiangmen City. This Ancestral Home was almost 200 years old. My siblings , my cousins and myself were the 23rd Generation whereas my father, Wan Kam Tai was the 22nd Generation. A copy of the Wan Family Ancestral Heirloom from 1st Generation until present is still available.

According to the Wan family heirloom, the 1st generation started during the Ming Dynasty. Although my father was born in Klang, Selangor, Malaysia; he returned to the Ancestral Home in 1930 together with my paternal grandfather, grandmother, my father elder sister, younger brother, younger sister and my father. Thereafter, my paternal grandfather returned to Malaya to work for my grand-uncle but passed away the following year of tuberculosis. My father and his sublings spent their childhood and education at Jiangmen until 1938 until the Japanese invaded Guangzhou. Due to the Japanese war attrocities against China, my father and his younger brother returned to the then Malaya to avoid the Japanese but not for long as by December 1941, the Japanese has begun their invasion of British Malaya.

According to my father, when he was staying and studying at Jiangmen in the 1930s, there were about 80 houses within Hehou Li and all these houses were exclusively owned the Wan or Yin Clans but some of the houses were rented out to others families. However, during our last visit in March 2009, there was only about 3 (Three) Wan Families left. Some of the houses were demolished into apartments, hotels. One of the still remaining Wan Family was the present neighbour at 56, Hehou Lane. The elderly Mr. Wan of House No. 56 was 2 years younger than my father and he was my father's school mate. He belongs to the same 23rd generation as myself or my siblings.
During the latter years of the 19th Century and until the 1950s, most of the Wans from Hehou Li have migrated to Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, America, etc. This include my paternal grandmother and my father younger sister (Auntie) who migrated to Malaya (via Hong Kong) in 1951 just after the Chinese Communists took over the country.


2) GONGKENG TEMPLE AND SPARROW FLOWERS

Photograph of my Jiangmen relative, Mrs. Mai Qiming, my younger sister, Lai Ling and elder sister, Lai Ling taken at the Bamboo Groove, Gongkeng Temple.


Photographs of Sparrow Flowers taken from Gongkeng Temple, Xiaopenglai Hill, Tangxia Town, Xinhui. Jiangmen,

The Sparrow Flowers is one of Jiangmen's precious plants. Every year around April, strings of blossoming Sparrow flowers hang all over the branches. Every blossom has a "head', 'tail'. 'mouth' and 'eyes'. When breezes sweep by, the 'wings' flap on and on just like millions of sparrows that are about to fly.
Gongkeng Temple which is situated at Peng Lai Mountain (Pinyin: Xiaopenglai Hill) of Tangxia Town, Xinhui - about 13 kms south of Jiangmen City is the best place to watch this beautiful sight. It is well covered by green woods with small stream runs through Gongkeng, making it a famous tourist site within Jiangmen.
On the hill of Gongkeng, there is an ancient temple, TIANCHENG TEMPLE (also named Gongkeng Temple) which was built during the last years of the Song Dynasty. On the left of the temple is the "Rock of Dragon Head". There is water running out from the rock all the year round. The water is cool and sweet, called "Dragon Fountain Water". Beside the rock is the three-storey Yiyun Tower. From here, you can get a full view of the scenic spot within Gongkeng Temple. There is a long winding path leading up the hill. The path is sheltered by big trees and sparrow flower vines. Along the path, you can see fantastic scenic spots, such as Guanyin Rock, Yading Rock, Tagong Pavilion, Wangjiang Pavilion, Immortal's footprint, etc.
Around Gongkeng Temple grows an extraordinary kind of creeping and climbing plant - the vine of Gongkeng Sparrow Flower. It is called the 'exotic flower of South China'. The wine stems, which twine around the big trees, hanging like swings and ribbons. The vine blossoms during the Qingming Festial for about a month.
The flowers looks like a sparrow, and almost the same size. Clusters of flowers hang on the vines like thousands of sparrows nestling in the tees. Each creamy colour flower has one receptacle and four petals. The receptacle is like the head of the sparrow, with two black spots like the eyes on two sides. The petal in the middle looks like the body of a sparrow, and the two petals on the sides look like two wings. The petal underneath stretches like the tail. The styles and stigmas inside are like the internal organs. If the flower is scratches, it will shed a small amount of red juice - just like the blood of the sparrow. One or two hours after the flowers are plucked down from the tree, the colour becomes brown, just like the colour of the feather of a real sparrow.

HK Wan (Email: hengkei@gmail.com)

April 2009