Tom Genealogy

Origins and History

Southern Migrations

Historically, China, through periods of political disunity/wars, natural disaster events such as flooding, drought, and earthquakes experienced disruptions in agricultural production resulting in famine and the displacement of populations – causing successive waves of migrations of Han Chinese from the north to the south.

It was during the Tang ( 唐 , 618 -907 AD ) and the early Song ( 宋 ) comprised of the ( Northern ( 北宋 , 960 - 1127 AD ) & Southern Dynasties ( 南宋 , 1127 - 1279 AD ) Dynasties that waves of southern mass migrations of Han Chinese occurred. At the end of the Song Dynasty, it has been estimated that about half the population, 50 million Han Chinese people, may have perished in total as a result of the Mongol invasion and conquest of China. This warfare and instability pushed many Han Chinese southward. During the late Ming ( 明 ,1368 - 1644 AD ) Dynasty, Ming officials escaped from Kaifeng ( 開封 ) city in central China to Zhujixiang ( 珠璣巷 ) to avoid war and persecution. Later they moved to different places in the Pearl River Delta and became ancestors of many Cantonese locals.

China provinces

One Tom genealogy source indicates that there were members of the Tom clan living in Hunan ( 湖南 ) province during the Han Dynasty (140 BC – 220 AD). Another genealogical source reveals that southern migrations Chinese came through the provinces of Jiangxi and Zhejiang. The reference to Jiangxi province is also confirmed by another Tom clan genealogy history which states: " a scholar by the name of Hing Bon ( 興邦) aka Yiu Sang ( 裔生) lived in Sheung Tam Village ( 湘潭), Changsha City ( 長沙市) Hunan Province. In 1007 AD he moved to Jian City () in Jiangxi Province." 1 Tom Fang Ett, a direct descendant of Hing Bon, emigrated from Jiangxi province to Guangdong province. The Sheung District, ( English translation did not provide the Chinese characters ) in Shaanxi ( 陝西 )province has also identified as one of the places where the Tom Clan lived during the Han ( 漢朝 ) Dynasty ( 206 BC - 220 AD ). During the fourth and fifth centuries, deteriorating political conditions in northern China provided the impetus for the continued southward migrations. Afterwards, the Mongol invasion of northern China during the 12 th century also initiated major migrations of Chinese southward.

Zhang Jiuling (678-740 AD), a prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. Zhang is regarded as the highest official among the Cantonese of all times, ever appointed in China by the central government.

“ In A.D. 716 Zhang Jiuling, pushed the government to construct a good road that pierced the mountain barrier connecting his home region in northern Guangdong to the Yangzi River basin in neighboring Jiangxi Province. This route to Guangdong greatly facilitated immigration and the introduction of Chinese culture and technology from the north. Consequently, northern Guangdong developed rapidly and soon overtook the West River basin to become the most densely populated region of the province. By the Song dynasty, this area became the springboard for rapid colonization of the Pearl River Delta region” 2

Mei Kuan Pass was also called Qinguan Pass in history, lying 30 km away from Nanxiong County Seat, which separates Guangdong from Jiangxi Province. Meiguan Pass had been an important postal road and a military fort for centuries, well known as "the First Pass to South China". Along the ancient postal road there grow a lot of plum trees. When the plum trees in blossom in winter, there appears an ocean of white clouds with fragrant odor spreading near and far. Hence Meiguan (Pass of Plum Trees). The ancient Meiguan Gateway still stands there, reminding of the past postal road from Central China to South China. ( from Jin Huikang, Southcn.com )

Nanxiong ( Nam Hung ) ( 南雄 ) became a major city in the northern portion of Guangdong province because of its geographic location with the border to Jiangxi province and the pass through the mountains. As Nanxiong grew, a village on its outskirts, Zhujixiang ( 珠璣巷 ) (Ju Gei Hong – “Pearl Lane”), was established by a group of migrants from a region in Zhejiang near the city of Shanghai.

During the late Ming Dynasty officials escaped from Kaifeng, Henan province in Central China to Zhujixiang to avoid the war and persecution. Afterwards, they moved on to various places on the Pearl River Delta. The Meiguan postal road, which had become the artery of transportation linking South China to Central China and through which thousands of Han Chinese migrated to Lingnan Region in history, especially in the Song Dynasty.

The explanation for the movement of Chinese, including the Tom clan, from Nanxiong to the Taishan region is based upon one of the famous tales in Cantonese traditions with multiple versions – the tale of Wu Fei ( 胡妃 ).

Around 1270 AD, an imperial concubine, Wu Fei, fell into disfavor. She fled secretly from the palace, met a merchant named Huang Zhuman ( 黃貯萬 ) and became his concubine in Nanxiong. The emperor could not find her. Disclosure of Wu Fei in Nanxiong, by a disgruntled servant of this merchant, alarmed a local government official who devised a story to conceal this scandal from the emperor. Because this happened under his jurisdiction, this official would be held accountable - so he advised the emperor that there was a need to build a fort to house a garrison of soldiers to protect the local citizens from bandits and with the building of this fort – it displaced 97 families from Zhujixiang. The 97 heads of these households met, applied and received a transit pass to Xinhui. Another version says that the official asked for troops to wipe out bandits - in reality, the population Zhujixiang - to seal their lips forever. A third version says that troops were sent to slaughter the people of Zhujixiang because they hid Wu Fei and the fourth version says that troops were sent to escort Wu Fei back to the emperor. Regardless of the reason, the residents of Zhujixiang left and/or fled. They traveled by boat down the North River to Xiangshan and settled in the Pearl River Delta. The area, where there was a large concentration of the Tom clan in Xinhui, was renamed Hoiping (Kaiping), adjacent to Taishan, around 1650. This migration from Nanxiong to Xinhui accounts for approximately 100 clans that now have long established roots in the Pearl River Delta.

In reading the histories of other clan migrations, I am learning about the possible migration routes, timelines, and circumstances for members of the Tom clan, who may have been part of those migration episodes. If you know about migrations that could or did include the Tom clan, I would be very grateful for the information - thank you in advance.

1 Raymond Tom et al, "10000 miles & 100 years Journey from JIshi village to Gold Mountain " 萬里世紀之旅

2 Him Mark Lai, Becoming Chinese American: A History of Communities and Institutions, Alta Mira Press, 2004, ISBN 0-7591-0458-1

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