[Big read] Finding ancestral roots: A growing interest among Singapore’s younger generation

(Photos provided by interviewees)

Ng Yew Kang, president of the Genealogy Society Singapore (GSS), established in 2012, told Lianhe Zaobao that a growing number of Singapore-born Chinese descendants are increasingly interested in tracing their roots. This has led the society to organise its first root-seeking tour to Fujian and Quanzhou last year, with plans to conduct tours to Chaozhou and Hainan this year.

Many of the genealogy inquiries the society has received in recent years have come from younger generations in their 30s and 40s, including those who do not understand Chinese. Ng analysed, “They want to know where their ancestors came from and hear the stories behind the old photographs or letters they come across at home.” Thus, the society’s genealogy adviser, Nathan Co, formed the Facebook group “Chinese Ancestry Research”, which has amassed over 21,000 members. 

Larger-scale root-seeking tours in Singapore are often organised by clan associations and less so by individuals. In the past year, two ancestral tours were organised to Meizhou’s Dabu county (大埔) in Guangdong and Ningde’s Gutian (古田) county in Fujian, previously one of Fuzhou’s ten counties.

According to tabulations from the Dabu County Chorography (《大埔县志》) in 1929, over 3,000 people — accounting for one-fifth of the local population — left Dabu to seek greener pastures in Nanyang (meaning “Southern Ocean” in Chinese, generally referring to the Southeast Asia region). With nearly every family having someone in Nanyang, Dabu became a renowned hometown for overseas Chinese. One example is 80-year-old pawnbroker Ho Kiang Soon’s father, who came to Nanyang around the 1930s.

Between 26 January and 2 February this year, Ho, along with his two younger brothers, led a group of more than 40 people, including 26th-generation descendants of the Zhen (振) generation name and 27th-generation descendants of the Dong (东) generation name, to Shengtang village (圣塘) in Dabu. 

Although Ho has led 20 to 30 root-seeking trips for his relatives, this was the first involving three generations. He started planning for the trip last October, and chose to visit during the Chinese New Year festivities so that the younger generation could experience the festive atmosphere in the village and leave with a good impression.

The family’s response was quite positive, and one of his nieces (his cousin’s daughter), who is married and now lives in the US, even flew to Singapore to join the group before departing together. Eight children from the third generation also came along.  

Ho’s cousin, who runs a travel agency in Shenzhen, helped with the arrangements. The group flew from Singapore to Guangzhou and then to Meizhou, before taking an hour-long bus ride to Shengtang village.

This was the first time such a large group of relatives had returned to the village, which eagerly and warmly welcomed them with firecrackers. Ho’s brother, Ho Khiam Seng, is the honorary chair of the Meizhou Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (梅州市侨联) and president of the Char Yong (Dabu) Foundation. Local media outlets also reported on the event.

There are only about 20 households in Shengtang village. Most villagers work elsewhere throughout the year, but over 100 people will gather here during Chinese New Year. Knowing that Ho Kiang Soon and his family, along with cousins, nieces and nephews who live far away, would be coming this time, more than 20 tables were set up in the open space near the ancestral hall for reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve. Over 200 people welcomed Chinese New Year together — what a sight!

Although most of the younger generation do not understand Hakka, they were very curious. For example, the spectacular ancestral worship, where households prepare five animal sacrifices to present at the ancestral hall, with firecrackers set off for a whole half hour, accompanied by the clanging of gongs and drums.

In addition to Shengtang village, the group also visited nearby attractions, such as Tai’an Building (泰安楼) and Baihou Town Tourist Area (百侯名镇), as well as the ancestral homes of Cheong Fatt Tze and Lee Kuan Yew, learning about their Hakka ancestors’ gritty journey to Nanyang.

It has been at least two decades since Ho Kiang Soon’s son, 48-year-old Paul Ho Chin Fah, last visited Shengtang village. He said, “It used to be mountain roads in the past, but the conditions are much better now. Firecrackers are still set off as usual though. Us second-generation Singaporeans were unfamiliar with Shengtang village, but at least now we know that our ancestors came to Singapore from here.”

Paul described the trip as a very different family gathering. Many family members only meet a few times a year, each time for just a few hours. They were able to grow closer after spending several days together during the trip.

Ho Kiang Soon reflected, “More than half of our children and grandchildren are setting foot on their ancestral ground for the first time. To them, this is not just a vacation but a profound cultural immersion and emotional experience. They get to see for themselves the quaint charm of their ancestral home, experiencing the rich local flavour and genuine warmth of the people.” 

He hopes that this root-seeking trip not only brings Singapore and Shengtang closer but also gives each family member an additional sense of longing and belonging, encouraging future generations living far away to frequently return to their ancestral hometowns.

In contrast with Ho Kiang Soon’s familiarity, 55-year-old media professional Yew Wang Kooi first explored the route himself before organising a visit for a group of over 20 peers to Cunwei village, Fengdu town, Gutian county in Fujian’s Ningde city.

Yew’s grandfather previously returned to his hometown twice, but after his business failed after World War II, no one in the family ever went back again. Yew’s close cousin never had the chance to visit their ancestral home in Gutian before passing away a few years ago. Yew hoped to fulfil his late cousin’s wish of connecting with their ancestral roots.

Last March, after several twists and turns, he got in touch with his aunt, Yu Ngoo Moi, who lives there. He first made a trip to Cunwei village on his own to ensure it was the right location, then returned to Singapore to organise the root-seeking trip. 

The trip was planned for 8 to 14 April 2024, and his 86-year-old aunt, the only surviving child of Yew’s grandfather, was the best witness to his grandfather’s recollections. Those who joined the trip were mostly Yew’s peers; ten from Malaysia, eight from Singapore, and four from Canada. The three groups departed from their respective countries and gathered in Gutian to travel to Cuiwei village together.

Yew recounted, “Firecrackers were set off as soon as the bus reached and red banners were hung in the village as well. Officials from the village party branch even treated us to a sumptuous meal of local delicacies.” The local Fuzhou cuisine is different from that in Singapore and Malaysia. Portions are huge and the plating is not fancy, but the dishes use locally sourced, organic and natural ingredients, resulting in healthy and delicious flavours. 

They also toured the nearby historical building wu dong cuo si (五栋厝四, traditional courtyard compounds), and Linshui Palace (临水宫), as well as mushroom farms and processing plants. Gutian is China’s largest producer of edible fungi, with white fungus output accounting for over 90% of the country’s total, a fact that made the Yews very proud.

It was only after Yew (22nd generation) and his relatives visited the ancestral tombs during this root-seeking trip that they discovered that You Youbiao (16th generation) and his eldest son You Guangliang (17th generation) were jinshis (进士, the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in imperial China) during the Yongzheng Emperor’s reign. The latter was even an official of the eighth rank (正八品官). The wu dong cuo si historical building is a typical eastern Fujian traditional courtyard compound left behind by You Guangliang. It consists of five compounds, and Yew Wang Kooi’s branch of the family descends from the second compound.

Thus, You Bangren (20th generation; Yew Wang Kooi’s grandfather) enjoyed a prosperous life, collecting rent from the numerous fields and shophouses he owned. During a cholera outbreak, the family sent You Bangren to Gutian to be vaccinated, but he was unable to return as Cunwei village was later locked down. He then boarded a ship with a pastor who was recruiting agricultural workers and travelled to Sitiawan, Malaysia (around 1903). From there, he put down roots in Sitiawan and made a living brewing soy sauce.

Yew Wang Kooi said, “Returning to my ancestral hometown was such an eye-opening experience. I am honoured to find out that I come from a family of scholars. The trip solved many mysteries for us and we learned how our ancestors had travelled from Gutian to Sitiawan. Furthermore, I learned that the middle character in our names has a genealogical significance, and there are still many people in the village who share the same name structure as me, Yew Wang X.” 

Upon learning that the villagers were compiling a genealogy and renovating the ancestral tombs, Yew and his relatives immediately contributed 30,000 RMB (US$4,137). Yew plans to return to his ancestral home again during the Qingming Festival, and when the time is right, bring the younger generation along. He hopes that they will continue to uphold the tradition of honouring their ancestors during the Qingming Festival.

While the Ho and Yew families organised large-scale root-seeking trips, 55-year-old chief operating officer (COO) of a medical device manufacturing company Chua Kay Liang travelled alone to Chenghai district, Shantou city in Guangdong to trace his roots, armed with just portraits of his great-grandparents. While the journey led to a dead end, it was not entirely fruitless.

Two decades ago, Chua’s fifth uncle gave him portraits of his great-grandparents that were stored in a wooden chest. Yellowed and musty, these portraits were brought to Singapore from Chenghai by his grandmother.

Chua sent the portraits to China to be restored and the returned images were a sight to behold. He said, “Great-grandfather’s piercing gaze exuded authority, and he was depicted wearing a small cap and sophisticated clothing, suggesting that he was from a wealthy family — perhaps even an influential high-ranking official. My father wanted to write their names beside the portraits, but despite our inquiries, we were unable to find their names.”

In 2012, he saw a brief history of the Singapore (Ji Yang) Cai Clan Association in a newspaper, and noticed that his grandfather, Cai Huichen (蔡惠臣), was one of the founders of the association after the war. This sparked his desire to trace his roots. After several years of inquiries, he discovered that his grandfather was possibly from the “Chenghai West Gate Ancestral Hall of the Virtuous” (澄海西门名贤祠).

In 2018, when he completed his work on hand, Chua embarked on a “needle in a haystack” journey to find his roots. After arriving in Chenghai, he used his fairly fluent Teochew dialect to inquire at the community centre with the elderly playing mahjong; the locked-up Shuqiang School; and the port community. He finally found a breakthrough with the keywords si ma tuo che (四马拖车, lit. “four horses pulling a carriage”).

He shared, “My mother had said that my grandmother travelled back to Tangshan via a ‘four-horse carriage’. A helpful employee at the port community heard me mention this and said that si ma tuo che is a renowned architectural style of the Chaoshan area, resembling a carriage pulled by four horses. It’s located right behind Shuqiang School. He confirmed that my ancestral home was in the West Gate area, where prominent families once resided. He then connected me with the president of the Chenghai Cai Clan Association (澄海区蔡氏总会), who also serves as president of the West Gate Cai Clan (西门蔡氏).”

The once-glorious mansion with the si ma tuo che architecture style has since been divided into several uses, such as selling calligraphy and paintings, and cultivating bonsai. Inside the ancestral hall inscribed “Cai Clan Ancestral Hall of the Virtuous” (蔡氏名贤家庙), a group of elders were clueless about the information Chua provided. The genealogy did not contain the Hui (惠) or Chen (臣) generation names of Chua’s grandfather, and it is impossible to trace back to earlier times.

Despite the disappointment, Chua at least found the ancestral hall, and offered incense to his ancestors. He mused, “In the past, we never understood why our elders kept wanting to make a trip back to China. Now that I’m at a certain age, I start to have thoughts about returning to my roots. If there’s a chance, I’ll bring my children — at least they would be aware of their roots in China and not forget where they came from.” Before he went to Shenzhen for a business trip last year, he returned to his ancestral home again, discovering that a new ancestral hall had already been built there. 

There are many cases like Chua’s, where individuals only achieve part of their goals or where the trails would run cold. But there is always something to gain from the process of finding one’s roots, such as a new understanding of one’s ancestors’ journey. 

GSS president Ng Yew Kang said, “Some people are unfamiliar with their ancestral home in China or they may even have a limited understanding of Chinese. We have a broad network of contacts in China, and offer consultation and help to guide those who hope to trace their roots.” Additionally, those interested can also inquire at relevant organisations and clan associations. 

The two interviewees who organised root-seeking trips for their families revealed that the cost per person is between S$1,500 (US$1,125) and S$2,000. Ho Kiang Soon recommended engaging Singaporean or local travel agencies to make the travel arrangements because it could be pretty challenging without the help of local relatives. 

Yew Wang Kooi also mentioned that the biggest challenge is sparking the interest of the younger generation and encouraging them to join the trip. Due to differences in upbringing and education, some relatives may not have the desire to trace their roots. 

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “祖孙三代中国寻根 不一样的家族聚会”.

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