Chinese Ancestory a Brief Understanding

edmondsallan - good morning everyone. I slept thro the alarm clock this morning.!! When it goes off it makes a screaming noise like a train engine about to explode .( right by my ear ) I was awakened by a vigorous shaking , thumping & shoving --- from a dream ( about money - I just won the lotto !!!!!!) by a beautiful girl I married .a long , long time ago . She was Yelling repetively " are you dead !!!!! Are you dead !!!- Wakey - Wakey !!! ( *** push- shove - thump thump !!!!! " ) --- I yelled out " YES -YES " . My partner, in crime " the Cat " was also doing her bit to wake me up. by lying right across my face in a suffocating manner . I tell you reader " their is going to have to be some changes around here !!! " OK. in my last journal in the studying of the " Philippines we sailed from ,Fuzhou - on the east coast of China to the Island of Cebu in the Philippines. Why, because the Filipino family I am researching are descendants of ( 3 ) nationalities. - Filipino - Spanish & Chinese. The latter being the reason for me to try
( I said Try !!! ) to understand - when - why - where - & how a certain name was given . Even " Roots "-- " & Ancestry .com ' and many other genealogy web sites , have very little info. Some have small books to assist . They usually only contain , chinese who migrated to their countries . and many ' anglo sized ' their names. Why don't we just touch on what I found out " the hard way ".
I found the further you go the harder it gets . Of interest to you all. Yes -- we have two - " Edmonds " who married Chinese women in our ancestry ." *** " Edmonds, our cussies " seem to have a way with them ,especially with the female inhabitants , right around the world !!! " That could be another story .??? (*** " not allowed _ ha ha ! so us males will still keep our secret charms "
" Chinese " names usually consist of Two ( 2 ) or Three ( 3 )main parts . Each part has a meaning , they are a lesson in Chinese History, where they came from originally ,the family name , their given name , sometimes whether they are a married female , and sometimes their occupation . A families name , is a families Pride & Honour -- and among the Chinese, has some very strict codes .
Chinese Surnames go back to the " Chinese Emperor -- Fu Xi " started in 2,852 BC. Why ? The same old up to date story - To collect Taxes -
In China , once married , usually a symbol/ addition - is added to their name - Example -- the male's famiy name - " Wong " when married, his wife would generally add ( Shee / Shih / See . = " Wong Shee "
Her honourable family name or maiden name is also , in general, added
also .If her maiden ancestral name was , ( say ) " Fu Yue " Her married name , could read " Wong Fu Shee ) in most cases the Male & Female , use the name of the place they came from ( usually ancestral & abreviated . )" Mrs Wong Fu Shee " could be or also be - or added - ( say ) "Tan"
Their name could then become " Wong Fu Tan Shee " the addition of the Tan to the name , means his / her ancesters came originally from the Chinese Province / State /- etc' of " Tan " during the " Zhou " Dynasty . I un covered much more, Tried to learn and understand a great amount of it. Even though I eventually got back to 1384 AD with the name I was researching , I also learn't how it came about , their honorable history, how they travelled from Northern China to the East coast of China to the Sea port of " Fuzhou " then onto the " Cebu " Philippines. Being a bit of a head - full of saw dust - , for all my efforts I was unable to prove every step within a generation , of this families travel plan. I followed & huntered with the best instincts a Genealogists can muster . " Boy -o Boy - did I Hunt" I had a paper nightmare with all my notes . Although I now have a better understanding , of how chinese ancestry un folds in the layers of time . In a grading out of 10 - I class myself as ( 2 - ** minus ) However I did succeed in Learning & knowing about most of " Chinese / Filipino " name I was researching . Of interest to you all , and up to the present day in official " Filipino records " The Chinese / Filipino marriages & their descendants are known as " Mestizo Sangley's " .
The Philippines is home to several " Mestizo Sangley " billionares with their ancestry going way back into BC. Their is also a middle class , ( not like our Kiwi standards) yet of reasonable size .
Well over 50 Percent of the Filipino people ,live below the poverty line. Like many people who have migrated from one country to another in this world of ours ,those that migrated , send money & goods back to their relations to assist them to live. Many of them to repay the monies raised , usually by their extended family . Those that remained , yet gave their assistance , know the debt will be honoured. Many of our NZ Filipino , hard working families , and many of their women have married Kiwis of all races, while getting ahead in life , still send Monies & goods back to their families. Some times their families back home put a portion of that money , a side. This to get ready for / or to assist the next family member . They follow in the same traditions , that has been around in our world for centuries . That is " If you look after your greater family & assist your close family to survive & live happily , you will gather great spiritual personal strength -mana - and your own family will do well- From such wonderful thought & actions , mother nature will care for you from the beginning to the end . To me this ' Chinese " way of thinking , seems very familier . I know our Maori race have a simular belief. I wonder if they originated from China ? , are they the missing link ? Another story ???? I wonder . - regards - edmondsallan