GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF HOWELL TONG'S FAMILY

Compiled by Howell Tong

Canterbury, U.K.

2014

 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORMAT OR MECHANICAL MEANS (INCLUDING PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING, OR INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL) WITHOUT PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM HOWELL TONG OR HIS APPOINTED AGENTS.

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Dedicated to Sophia Mary Tong, Alexander Howell Tong and Jonathan Simon Tong and all my future grandchildren.

 

In this mostly bi-lingual historical record, whenever possible, the Cantonese pronunciation is adopted when names are translated into English; they are usually accompanied by the Chinese original. However, putonghua is used for standard geographical names, such as Guangdong, Anhui etc.

 

REFERENCES:

(1) 新會古井湯氏族譜

(2) 台山湯國華房族譜 (revised) 2002.

(3) 中華湯姓源流 湯錦程編著 中國文聯出版社 2006 年 ISBN 7-5059-5419-9 (esp. pp. 235-236).

 

 

I am a direct descendant of Wai Tong (湯偉). Wai  TONG, of Poon Lane (盆逕), On Yeung (安陽) Village, Henan, China, was a district officer of Yung Chau (雍州) in Northern Song Dynasty . His descendants moved to Zhu Gay Lane (珠璣巷), Tong Geoi Village （湯居村）, Cheung Fu Prefecture （祥符縣）, Kaifeng, capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960AD-1127AD). In 1127, the TONGs were forced into migration when Kaifeng was over-run by the northern tribe called the Jins (金) from north of the Great Wall. (See the above map for the migration route.) The leader of the TONG clan was Wai Tong, the father of Toong TONG (湯統). Toong settled in Sunwui (新會, Xinhui in Putonghua) in Guangdong Province. My full familial record (i.e. family tree) starts from Toong TONG, extending over 30 generations and 900 years, and listing over almost 3000 individuals.

There is a reasonable chance that the TONG clan to which Wai TONG belonged was descended directly from the Yellow Emperor of 2500 BC or earlier. One of the Yellow Emperor's great grand sons,SIT (契, XIE in Putonghua), who resided at Bo (亳), assisted the famous Great Yu (大禹）to tame the flooding of the Yellow River which was rampant at the time. (Recall the Biblical story of similar events in the West.) He was rewarded by the legendary King Shuen (舜) with the district called Shang (modern day Shang Yau, 商丘, near Kaifeng in Henan Province) south of the Yellow river, and given the name ZI (子).

King Shuen was succeeded by King Yu, who was succeeded by his son, Kai (啟), marking the beginning of the Xia Dynasty (夏朝) and the end of elected leadership.  The descendants of Sit lived in Shang for many years in the Xia Dynasty. Fourteen generations later, one of his descendants called TONG (湯, TANG in Putonghua) disposed the despot called GID (桀，JIE in Putonghua) of the Xia Dynasty (-relics of the Xia dynasty have been found by archeologists but there is no official written historical record of the dynasty) and founded the Shang Dynasty at about 1500 BC. 

 The dynastic name of Shang was derived from the district name where TONG was the chief. (Recorded Chinese history starts with the Shang Dynasty.) The founder's name was TONG (湯, pronounced as TANG in Putonghua).  (The notion of family names was not established till much later.) His descendants adopted his name as their family name.

According to the Chapter 湯氏始原 in 新會古井湯氏族譜, Wai Tong's lineage could be traced as follows.

Wai Tong (湯偉) was the 4th generation descendant of Duin 端, who was a son of Wing 榮. Wing was a minister (紫青大夫）during the reign of Hin Zhong (778-820A.D.) in the Tang Dynasty (唐憲宗). He was the 7th generation descendant of Chiu (超), who was a son of Hin 顯. Hin was a son of Zheung 璋, who was appointed governor of Hungzhou 雄州刺史 within 廣州 (equivalent to a province, formerly called Gauzhou, 交州) during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty 漢武帝 (157 BC - 87 BC). Zheung was a son of Tak Sun (德新), who was the military chief of Kaifeng during the reign of Emperor Wen in the Han Dynasty 漢文帝 (202BC-157 BC). Tak Sun later moved to what is now called the Shaanxi Province. He was a son of Lum 琳, who was a son of Yu 瑜. Yu was a son of Yan 仁. Yan was a son Nung 隆, who was a son of Cheong 昌. Cheong was a younger brother of Yin 偃. Nung changed his family name from ZI 子 to TONG, partly in memory of his ancestor TONG, the founder of the Shang Dynasty and more importantly for fear of reprisals from his uncle Yin. Yin was deprived of his dukedom. Later, Yin crowned himself King but was overthrown by the coalition of Chi, Chu and Wei 齊、楚、魏 during the Warring Period (戰國 476 BC -271 BC).   Cheong and Yin were descended from Meizi 微子, who was  an elder half-brother of the last King of the Shang Dynasty. (The Shang Dynasty lasted from 1555 BC to 1059 BC.) When the Shang Dynasty was ended by King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty (周武王), King Wu appointed Meizi as the Duke of Sung in modern-day Anhui Province.

 

湯偉乃河南安陽村盆逕人，官至雍州方伯（=地方長官)，其後裔遷至河南開封府祥符縣黨（=湯）居村珠璣巷。

 

湯氏始原:

 

...契為舜之司徒,教民有功, 封于商, 賜姓子氏. 天命既集,十三世而生癸. 癸生天乙, 是成湯. 繼而禹, 而有天下. 傳至帝乙, 乙生受. 受喪其國, 則之子不胙矣. 武王封庻兄微子於宋, 豫州盟之野, 今之應天濠州是也. 及公稽丁公, 以辟公偃. 𠍾乃自立為王. 齊楚魏從而滅之, 三分其地, 廢為庶民. 偃之弟昌. 昌生隆. 隆畏禍及與隆姓子, 而姓湯,蓋亦祖宗之德不可忘, 因以為氏焉. 隆生仁, 仁生瑜, 瑜生琳,琳生德新 德新為漢文帝河南開封太尉. 因徏宅而居晉陵. 及至漢武帝, 奄有南粵獻圖之後改交州為廣州. 帝遣璋為雄州刺史. 蓋德新之子也. 睹粵土暖氣和, 風俗淳美, 致政之後, 攷卜於蘇山坊胭脂塘. 遇大蛇, 逕謀於神, 既協其吉遂居焉. 由璋而生顯, 顯生超. 超於七世而生榮. 榮為唐憲宗青紫大夫, 名揚天下. 榮生端, 四世而生偉. 偉為宋雍州方伯....