I was recently asked by an acquaintance, "Where are you origin? You have an oriental look and feature". More often than not, people we meet out of country are surprised that we can speak several languages and got confused about our origins. As a ex-colony of the Great Britain, there were many immigrants from other colonies who settled down in this country, we now call home, to seek new hope for life.
My ancestors originated from TeowChew (ChaoZhou), China. However, I could not understand a word of the dialect nor I can converse with it. Since it was not an emphasis in my family unit, I don't know much about the clan's rules/perceptions and lifestyle (not likely a must to adhere to in the modern lifestyle). Curiosity brought me back to China to understand how and where my ancestors sailed south to where we call home now.
I was fortunate enough to have a relative, a museum curator specializing in history of overseas Chinese, as my guide in understanding my family tree. My trustworthy guide in GuangZhou led me for several high speed railway rides the moment we met, moving northeast along the coast.
We first reach ChaoZhou City where the clan was named after. The city was once infested with crocodiles, and there was this government official back in Tang Dynasty, named HanYu( 韩愈), who developed this city. He had done so much for the people that the people decided to name the river beside the city as Han River (韩江) and the hill opposite the city as the Han Hill(韩山). To relate it closely to overseas Chinese in Malaysia, our TeowChew Associations (setup to help our own clan members once stepped foot in Southeast Asia) are all named as HanJiang(韩江) Association. During the cultural revolution, the city walls were all demolished and left unattended. After decades, the government now acknowledges the historical value and had them all restored. Now, not all type of vehicles are allowed to enter the city, as the width of the roads were all preserved as it was, not fit for the new age commercial vehicles. TeowChew claims to have their very own specialties when it comes to food, among them includes clear soup flat noodles(粿条汤), preserved Chayote, glutinous rice snacks, etc. Most of the meals involves glutinous rice which requires some effort to digest, which brings in the tea the TeowChews like, the kungfu tea. Not that there's some martial arts involved, but tea drinking itself is an art in ChaoZhou. Kungfu tea features a small teapot, a cup used to serve tea evenly and 3 teacups. The knowledge and effort to serve tea contributed to its name. The tea is always served to the eldest 3 then follow by the subsequent 3 and the cycle continues.
After a brief stay over in ChaoZhou, we headed to ShanTou(Swatow) City, among the first 5 cities announced as Special Economic Zone since the reformation and opening of China's economy. ShanTou being a coastal city served as an important port for the southern region of China since the days of the emperors. The city is known for their red headed ships used for trading and sailing since Qing Dynasty. We stopped by a village where most residential were build irregularly around the MaTzu temple. The villagers practices the same as the Taiwanese in worshiping MaTzu for protection out in the open ocean. Pardon my manners, but the description of MaTzu at the temple sounds like a Poseidon in the east. This village is where my ancestors boarded a red headed ship and sailed his way towards then, Nanyang (Southeast Asia).
Back in GuangZhou, I decided to explore the city on my own, mindlessly. I stumbled across the Museum of the Western Han Dynasty Mausoleum of the Nanyue King. It was from a kingdom that I personally never heard of (not like I know history much). Somehow, I spent my entire afternoon inside the museum, almost missing my dinner appointment.
Though it was short trip, I did have a better overview of some lifestyle and perceptions of my ancestors.
*Disclaimer: My trip was not recent.
