The blood, the flesh and the bones of our
ancestors contain a tiny amount of the wind, the sand, the water and the earth
of their motherland. I believe that
these very tiny bits of elements are also passed on to us. So, at times, we
think of our ancestors and their home
land, thus to seek our roots.
In 1995, Feng Zhuang compiled a genealogy of
the 19th ancestor of Xin Hui District, Feng Jang Yuan. From ancestor, Wan Zhong
up to the year of 1995, there were 22 generations, covering 715 years
(1244-1959). All the names of the ancestors were listed. It is indeed a very
valuable document of our clan.
A few years ago, I obtained the genealogy of
the Fengs, living in the Shi Lan Village in the Tai Shan District, from Feng Wa
Han. It is the genealogy of his family. In it, there are records of Feng Ba - the king of North Yin, Feng Ye - the
ancestor, who led the Fengs moved from Korea to the South and all the names of
the ancestors in Guangdong Province. There are also stories of the illustrious
past of the Fengs. It is a treasure found.
I tried for years to connect the two
genealogies. Each one of them listed only the names of the direct descendants
of each clan.
One day, Feng Zhuang showed me an article he
found in the Fengs Association of Hong Kong. It is clearly recorded that ancestor of the 20th
generation in Guangdong Province, Feng
Wei Yi, had five sons. One of them, Chao Gang, had two sons, namely Wan
Gian and Wan Zhong- who moved to stay in Ji Gu Village in the Xin Hui District
later. Wan Zhong is the first ancestor of our branch.
Eureka !
The link of the two genealogies is found. The root of our clan is now
traced back to AD437, generation by generation.
Here are the highlights of our history:-
1. In Xin Hui District, from ancestor
Wan Zhong to date (1244 - 1993).
2. In Guangdong Province, from
ancestor Feng Ye to ancestor Wan Zhong
(437-1244)
3. Before ancestor Feng Ye,
ancestor Feng Ba was King of North Yin (409 - 436).
4. Bi Wan was knighted as Marques
of Wei and was granted a place known as
Feng City, as his feud. His descendants
later adopted Feng as their surname. Hence, the beginning of the Fengs.
5. The 15th son of Zhou Wan Wang,
Qi Gong Gao, who was knighted by Zhou Wu Wang as lord of Bi Country. He adopted
Bi as his surname and was known as Bi
Gong Gao. (BC 1122)
6. Zhou Wan Wang was named Qi Fat.
So, the Suriname was Qi. (BC 1122 and before)
All the materials are obtained from the
history books, the periodicals and genealogies of the Fengs. Some of the
records are so old and in poor conditions. Errors, if any , are regretted. New
information and corrections, if any, are welcome.
Thanks are given to cousin Jia Xian, who had kindly written a preface
and contributed an article on “ Which Descendants of Feng Jang Yuan First
Came to Malaysia”. They help to make this genealogy to be more
readable. Thanks are also given to my 6th
sister King Yee, who had designed the cover and to my wife Jin Bi, for
proof read the drafts.
Feng Ru Qiau (Foong Swee Khow)
43rd generation in Guangdong Province
(22nd generation in Xin Hui)