Monday, December 19, 2011

THE NATIONAL ANCESTRAL GENERATION CHART OF THE TANS

The Tan was originated from the Ji ( 齐) surname, the descendants of Huang Di Xuan Yuan ( 轩 辕) passed down to the 58th Generation Qi Yi Weng ( 祈 义 翁). Born in East Zhau ( 东 周) (689 B.C.). Followed his father Xian Li ( 贤 礼), who was also known as Tan Xian ( 谭 贤). Escaped to Ju District ( 莒 县) during the war. Later on moved to Hong Nong ( 宏 农).

First Generation - Huang Di ( 黄 帝)

Second Generation - Chang Yi ( 昌 意)

Third Generation - Zhuan Xu ( 颛 顼)

Fourth Generation - Nu Xiu ( 女 修)

Fifth Generation - Gao Tao ( 皋 陶)

6th Generation - Bo Yi ( 伯 益)

Until the 58th Generation - Qi Yi ( 祈 义 公)

The history of Tan surname: From Huang Di until 2008 DC, a total of 4,796 years. Up till now, there are more than 1.28 million descendants living in the 18Provinces and areas in the country. In addition, there are descendants migrated to more than 50 foreign countries and places.

The Mark of Identity is the original ancestral place of all ethnic groups, that is the Hall Mark of origin of all ethnic groups. The Tan Kingdom was granted a domain in Ji boundary.

Therefore, the Group belonged to the Ji Administrative Centre. During the Han, the early ancestor Qi Yi prospered in Hong Nong. Therefore, the Tan’s middle generation originated by Qi Yi Gong.

IDENTIFICATION OF OFFICIAL NAME OF IDENTITY AND GIVEN NAME 6

Out of the seven Names of Identity mentioned above, only two, that is, Ji Jun and Hong Nong could be named as the places of origin, Central Hall. The others might be classified as Branches. But habitually, they are all mentioned as official identity. As for the branches of groups, they call it according to their traditional hall of identity. Therefore, there is no unify name of identity as stated below:-

(1) In Hu Nan area, there are roughly three Halls of Identity: Zhang Sha, Liu Yang, Xiang Tan ( 湘 潭), Heng Shan ( 衡 山) are called Hong Nong Tang (弘 农 堂). Cha Ling and its surrounding Districts are called He Nan Tang ( 河 南 堂). The other smaller Districts are called Hong Yang Tang ( 宏 阳 堂)

(2) Various Districts in Guang Dong, including Hong Kong are called Hong Yang Tang 宏 阳 堂).

(3) In South-east Asia, including Singapore, India and The Philippines are called Hong Yang Tang ( 宏 阳 堂).

(4) The Overseas Chinese in the various townships of Canada called it Tan Guang Yu Tang( 谭 光 裕 堂), However in Montreal, it is called the Central Tan Guang Yu Tang ( 堂 光 裕 总 堂)

(5) In the United States of America, most of the Overseas Chinese have joined the Zhao Lun Gong Suo ( 昭 伦 公 所), which included the Tan ( 谭), Tan ( 谈), Xu ( 许), Xie ( 谢) four surname combined. Only a handful of the areas still used the old name of Tan Jia Tang ( 谭 家 堂).

(6) The Taiwan area is the minimized shadow of Mainland China. There are more than 80% belonged to the various ancestral surname Hall Identity. Our Tan is also no exception.

In general, Ji Jun and Hong Nong are the earliest original Hall Identity (General Hall Identity). Our Tan descendants, until the Tan Kingdom then only granted the boundary of Ji. In view of the long history, we established the Ji Administrative Centre as our belief, and also our blood line Hall Mark. However, since the destruction of Tan by Ji Huan, Tan Zi escaped to Ju, the descendants dispersed to all over the place until the Han Dynasty.

Our Tan population maintained a steady growth, especially those moved to west He Nan Luo Yang ( 河 南 洛 阳) thus became the biggest ethnic group there. According to the explanation by Tai Si Surname ( 邰 思), during the Han, there was the Yin Tan He ( 尹 谭 阂) in He Nan. In general the pronunciation was the same. On record, Hong Nong boundary was in He Nan.

Those ancestors started the ethnic in Hong Nong are the He Nan Yin Tan He. Therefore, naturally Hong Nong has become the official identity surname of our Tan. But, unfortunately during Kang Xi 38 years in the Qing Dynasty changed to Hong Yang Administrative Centre due to superstition.

IDENTIFICATION OF OFFICIAL NAME OF IDENTITY AND GIVEN NAME 5

Yi Yang ( 益 阳), Hong Nong, Hong Yan, were recorded as the residential land of the various ancestors by the Taiwan Tan Hong Yang Hall List. It listed Yin Yang as their original place. It clearly stated in the original ethnic group list that [The Tan original source was Yi Yang] .

The second list listed Guang Ping District ( 广 平), Hong Nong Jun, stating clearly that according to Shao Lun history: [The Tan granted a boundary in Tan Kingdom, ethnic source J Jun, identity surname Hong Nong.

On 38 year of Kang Xi ( 康 熙) changed to Hong Yang because of superstition. Again, the following places appeared in the List: Sha Tuo Village ( 沙 陀 村), Cha Yuan ( 茶 园) , Du Shui South Village ( 都 水 南 村) (in Dong Guang District of Guang Dong Province). Hai Feng District ( 海 丰), Lu Feng District ( 陆 丰) [All within the Guangdong Province], Taiwan ( 台 湾).

It clearly stated that our ancestors followed Zhu Tai Zu Hong Wu ( 朱 太 祖 洪 武) crossed the rivers to the south and parked and settled down in Sha Tuo Village until You Zhong Gong from the year Cheng Hua ( 有 仲 公 自 成 化 年 间) moved and settled down in Hai Feng District and Lu Feng District, a total of 450 years. The son of You Zhong Gong Kai Xuan Gong ( 开 选 公) (The pioneer who came to Taiwan in the 57th year of Qian Long until 64th year of Republic of China, a total history of 180 years.

They produced descendants as much as 480 people. They scattered around in Taiwan Xin Zhu ( 新 竹), Miao Su ( 苗 粟), Gao Xiong ( 高 雄), Ping Dong ( 屏 东), Weng Lian ( 蓊 连) . Another clique who came to Taiwan early was Jun Qian Gong ( 俊 千 公), his descendants exceeded more than one thousand people. They also scattered in all Districts in Taiwan. They have yet to compile an Ethnic list.

He Nan: The Cha Ling Shi Chuang ( 茶 陵 石 床) ancient City Tan Ethnic List and Generation System chart carried the explanation.

IDENTIFICATION OF OFFICIAL NAME OF IDENTITY AND GIVEN NAME 4

The Tan Official Identity. There are: Ji Jun ( 齐 郡), Hong Nong ( 弘 农), Hong Yang ( 宏 阳), Yi Yang ( 益 阳), Hong Yang (He Nan) ( 弘 阳 ( 河 南), Guang Yu ( 光 裕) a total of seven. Herewith a brief description of the thesis and the related surname of identity appeared in the Ethnic Group List attached as below:-

Ji Jun : Surname of common people (Song Edition) recorded: Tan, Ji Jun
Hong Nong : Prepared Tan by Dong Zuo Bin ( 董 作 宾) recorded: Destruction of Tan-no source.

Descendants used Kingdom’s name as surname.
Ji Jun : Zhong Yuan ( 中 原) thesis record: Tan (谭), Cha ( 查), Tan ( 覃), Fu ( 富), Yan( 晏) five surname all from Ji Jun

Ji Jun: Hong Nong: Li Kui Di ( 李 魁 弟) Combined Edition of Ethnic Group Surname stated: [Ji Jun, Hong Nong listed together on the Tan, after Zhuan Xu, There was a Tan Kingdom named Tan Zi during the Zhou Dynasty, situated in Ping Yin District of Ji.]

Ji Jun: Hong Nong: {The Taiwan Social Region Surname Identity} edited by the Taiwan Province Thesis Association, remarked: “2, Jun Identity Collection: Jun Hao was the early originated place of the various ancestral surnames. That is the identity of roots for surnames of the ethnic groups”.

The attachment listed within the Hong Nong Jun, there were Tan ( 谭), Yang ( 杨), Diao ( 刁), Mu ( 牧) 12 surnames. Under the Ji Jun, there were Tan Yin ( 因), 掎Qi ( 杞), Tan ( 覃), Yu Wen ( 宇 文) etc. 74 surnames.

Ji Jun, Hong Nong, Hong Yang, stated by the Hong Kong Tan Surname record: Originally, The Tan Kingdom was granted a domain in Ji area, thus the original of the group was Ji Jun. During the Han period, the ancestors ethnic was Hong Nong, named Hong Nong Jun.

The Hong Nong boundary was at present He Nan Luo Yang west until Shan District. Also the ancient Nan Yang Administrative City west side as well as Shan Xi ( 陕 西) Commercial District. The Hong Nong Administrative Centre was at the present Ling Bao District ( 灵 宝 县) south, that is the Qin/Han Valley ( 秦 函 谷) closed areas. Therefore the descendants treated Hong Nong as their administrative centre until Kang Xi 38 years of Qing, changed to Hong Yang Administrative Centre because of superstition.

The ethnic group list recorded and it was known that the list was put into use until now

IDENTIFICATION OF OFFICIAL NAME OF IDENTITY AND GIVEN NAME 3

But among all those reported, there was no report by the surname of Si ( 姒) recorded after the period of Xia Yu ( 夏 禹). But as early as the period of Qian Long ( 乾 隆), large number of Tan clans was moving from Lu Feng ( 陆 丰), Dong Guan ( 东 莞) in Guangdong, to Xin Zhu ( 新 竹), Miao Su (苗 粟), Hua Lian ( 花 莲) and Gao Xiong ( 高 雄) in Taiwan.

These Tan descendants have been there for over 180 years, with a population of more than 1,000 people. The List of names drafted by the Tans, Tan Hong Yang Tang Ethnic Book ( 谭 弘 阳 堂 族 谱) is also as old.

Even according to the Zheng Qiao Tong Ethnic ( 郑 樵 通 志 氏 族) history record: Si ( 姒 氏), the surname of Bo Gun ( 伯 鲧). King Yao ( 尧) awarded Gun to be Chong Bo ( 崇 伯), whereas his son Yu was awarded by Shun ( 舜) to be the King of Xia ( 夏) until Jie ( 杰).

However, the history of Tan was started in the Zhou Dynasty as recorded by the well-known scholar quoting the Odes included Tan Gong Wei Si ( 谭 公 维 私). In his citation, Zhu Zi Er Ya ( 朱 字 尔 雅) stated: The husband of sisters called Si, because at that time Tan Gong was staying with the Zhuang Jiang (庄 姜) Sisters.

The Odes Xiao Ya Da Tong ( 小 雅 大 东) then wrote a poem for Tan Master. Basing on the above facts, our Tan was lightly to have some connections with the Palace in the Zhou Dynasty. In addition, because Xia Yu continued until Jie then only he was destroyed.

After that, it did not prosper. Years have passed by. It will be difficult to get back what was left behind. The Ten Thousand Year Entire List was prepared by Ling Di Zhi ( 凌 迪 知) . Su Ping Zhong of Ming when summarized the family of Tan did not mention where was the location of the Tan.

However, our Tan ancestors, when preparing the Tan Ethnic Group List included the Ming Scholar Tan Yu Rui who corrected the Cha Ling Tan Family Chart by Li Dong Yang, the Ming Palace official Zhang Le Magistrate Tan Nan Chong ( 谭 南 昌), Senior official of Ming Gao Ming Cang ( 高 明 仓) also went through the list.

Most of the lists corrected mentioned where the lists of Tan groups were from. Therefore, when compared the two, it was obvious that the List prepared by Su Ping Zhong was not realistic, when it was mentioned that the original surname of Tan was Si ( 姒), a descendant of Xia Yu. It is unbelievable.

Secondly, (5) After Peng Hu, it was mentioned that “We were a big family 500 years ago”, we are not very concerned about what he wrote. But he was quite serious. He later used the Chun Qiu style to write: Another explanation was very unrealistic when he mentioned that Peng Hu was the founder of Southern Barbarian Man Yi (蛮 夷), his personal background was full of legendry.

According to the Jin Record ( 晋 记): Wu Ling Zhang Sha Lu Jiang Jun Yi ( 武 陵 长 沙 庐 江 郡 夷) all appeared after Peng Hu. They all lived together in the five rivers.


It is to be noted that such speculation was baseless. However, we would just listen with what is written down. In general, the reports as what were stated in (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) above with special emphasis and with proofs by each of them, but (1), (2), (4) and (5) have yet to have on-the-spot investigation and relics by archaeological studies as evidence.

Otherwise, these cannot be taken as confirmation. Item (3) said “that the ancestors of Tan and Shang ( 商) have the similar surname, surname Zi, the old Kingdom of Shang”. This had been proven with the exploration of Cheng Zi Ya ( 城 子 崖) which confirmed with solid relics as proofs, that the Big Events List of Chun Qiu ( 春 秋 大 事 表) by Gu Dong Gao ( 顾 栋 高) listing the surnames of viscounts in the various Kingdoms as well as the existence and destruction list which recorded Tan as with surname Zi.

On the source of surname it can be taken as acceptable to clarify various other records. Such confirmation of the facts had made our Tan Ethnic group feel proud and happy.

IDENTIFICATION OF OFFICIAL NAME OF IDENTITY AND GIVEN NAME 2

Established a Kingdom in the Shandong area named “Tan Li City”. The location was recognized by the Zhou and awarded Peng Hu there but later destroyed by the Ji, and Tan Zi escaped to Ju. Frankly speaking, Items (4) and (5) stated above were not worth arguing, but to avoid our Tan Ethnic Group mistaken the fact, we wish to specifically clarify as follows:- “

‘We were a big family 500 years ago’ touched on originally the surname of Tan was Si after the Da Yu, basically it was based on ‘The Su Ping Zhong ( 苏 平 仲) in Ming remarked on the Tan Ancestral Record:’. Facts recorded in [Surname Zuan ( 姓 纂)] and [Surname List ( 姓 谱] are records proving the meaning [Surname Tan followed name of Kingdom], but not the original surname of the Tan.

It is to be noted that our Tan Group is the largest ethnic grouping in Hua Nan ( 华 南), which included Hua Nan East as well as the Tan Overseas Chinese with a total of more than 300,000 people.

In addition, they are all recorded in their respective Ethnic Group List, like ancestor Zhong Lin Gong ( 锺 麟 公) Cha Ling Shi Chuang ( 茶 陵 石 床) ancient city the Tan ethnic list , the ancestor Si Tong Gong {Liu Yang Tan Ethnic Group List Preface} and the Hong Kong (Tan’s record), [Guangdong Tan’s Master List] etc, most of them

(1) Surname Ji ( 姬 姓) occupied the centre stage.

(2) Surname YING ( 赢 姓) comes next.

According to [The Tan History] which explained the source and how the Surname Tan was established: [Tan series came from the Ji Surname, the descendants of Xuan Yuan Huang Di ( 轩 辕 黄 帝). Until it was awarded a Kingdom Tan by the Zhou, but when it was started, there is no evidence to prove.]

Since after Zhuan Xu, as reported in the Chun Qiu Jing Zhuan ( 春 秋 经 传) , it appeared in more than one hundred Kingdoms. But the descendants of Huang Di were so numerous, it was difficult to trace so far back. Therefore one reported after Zhuan Xu, the descendant of Huang Di, until the great grandson of Zhuan Xu, Bo Yi, they were only awarded the surname YING because of achievements.

The other record stated that after Huang Di Shao Hao, from Di Ku ( 帝 喾), then Ji ( 稷) till Zhou, they still carried the surname Ji. At the beginning, they received a share of offerings from Zhou, those receiving allowances from the Kingdom Tan, they were called Ji Xiao Gong ( 姬 孝 公).

They would receive the share if they have the same surname as the senior officials of the Palace. Such description was near to what are to be described later on. However, Liu Yang Mr. Tan Si Tong ( 谭 嗣 同) strongly believed what was reported earlier.

Since the liberation of Mainland China, those Tan Descendants moved to Taiwan, including those from the various Provinces in the country regional army, scholars and educationists, workers and businessmen with a total of not less than 8,000 people. [According to the Taiwan Regional Population statistics on surname as dated June, 1978, the total Tan population was 9,688 people. Folio number listed as 107.]

IDENTIFICATION OF OFFICIAL NAME OF IDENTITY AND GIVEN NAME 1

The origin of Surname
Surname is the relationship of blood-line. Written records said: [Surname, created by mankind. Because of its creation, it had become the surname. To follow the female]. Zuo Zhuan ( 左 传) Lu Yin Gong ( 鲁 隐 公) 8th year recorded: [The King exercised kindness because of the birth she was given the land which had been blessed and named it under her surname].

Because of the relationship between her and the land, her surname was placed on top and the name below. The surname and the name combined became the surname and the name. Three years prior to this, there was a difference between the surname and the name. The surname was used to differentiate marriage and the name for prosperity and kindness.

Since the abolishment of feudal system ( 封 建 制 度) by Qin, the application of surname and name had since been combined into one. Then everybody was using the name as surname. On the question of official name, it was at time mixed together to make it as the mark of official identity.

In actual fact, there are two different meanings. Jun ( 郡) meant the name of the Regional Administrative Centre during the Qin Han era. Official name was the name of the place where their ancestors started to prosper. Name of identity was when people of different surname shifted to another place and the name of the place where majority of the people lived.

Each and every group felt that their identity would be carried on for long time. So, they put the identity surname ( 堂 号) on top of their names to signify they did not forget their roots.

The source of our Tan Surname, there are five different explanations as recorded in our official documents: (1) Surname Ji (齐), (2) Surname YING ( 赢), (3) Surname Zi (子) , (4) Surname Si (姒), (5) After Peng Hu ( 盘 瓠), apart from (1), (2), (3), the explanation had been mentioned in detail in the Investigations of the Tan Series. We now explain separately items (4) and (5): (4) Surname Si ( 姒) – recorded in the ten thousand surname list.

The Su Ping Zhong ( 苏 平 仲) in Ming remarked on the Tan Ancestral Record: [Originally, Tan was surname Si, a Viscount. Their distributed land is situated between the present Ji Nan and Li City. It was actually the attachment of Ji. During the Chun Qiu 39 year, 14th year of King Zhou Zhuang, 10th year of Lu Zhuang Gong, it was destroyed by Ji Huan Gong.

Eventually Tan escaped to Ju. Since Tan was destroyed by Ji, the descendants started using the name of the Kingdom as their surname.] And in the [Huang Di Thousand Family Names] written by Chen Ren De ( 陈 仁 德) from Tai Nan ( 台 南): Tan, surname Si, after Xia Hou Shi ( 夏 後 氏), and after Peng Hu, pronounced as Tan ( 谈), identity Ji Jun.

Recently, in the 3rd series of [We were a big family 500 years ago] written by Peng Kwai Fang ( 彭 桂 芳) The family name of the Tan in Hu Nan was very outstanding. This signified the remarks by Su Ping Zhong of Ming, originally the Surname of Tan was Si, the descendants of Xi Yu ( 夏 禹).

(5) There are three versions mentioned after Peng Hu :-

(1) Ji Jiu Zhang ( 急 就 章) recorded: there was this Tan Ping Ding during the Han, they were families with Surname Tan in Ba Nan (巴 南), descendants of Peng Hu.

(2) Collective Ten Thousand Surname: the big surname in Ba Nan was the Tan. After Peng Hu, their name went outside Hong Nong.

(3) “The Yan Huang Shi Ti blood line and land connection” written by Zhang Shao Xi ( 张 绍 熙) of Taiwan: