The 李 surname

Li (李) is one of the major surnames of Taishan. Most of Taishan's Li honor Li Dong (李栋), Rentang Gong (任堂公) of the Song, as their founding ancestor; his forebears came into Guangdong from Ji'an (吉安), Jiangxi, and his descendants, by way of Zhuji Lane (珠玑巷) in Nanxiong (南雄), Guangzhou (广州), Xinhui (新会) and other places, moved one after another into what is now Taishan around the time Xinning County (新宁县) was established (1499).^[1] According to a 2015 report, the city has about 456 villages whose people are mainly surnamed Li, most of them in Taicheng (台城), Sijiu (四九), Chonglou (冲蒌) and Sanhe (三合).^[2]

Origin of the surname[edit]

The traditional account holds that the Li come from the Ying (嬴) surname, as descendants of Gao Yao (皋陶): Gao Yao's family held for generations the office of dali (大理), in charge of punishments and prisons, and took the office as their clan name, being called the Li (理) clan; at the end of the Shang, Li Zheng (理征) was killed by King Zhou (纣王) for remonstrating frankly, and his wife fled with their son Lizhen (利贞), surviving on the fruit of a tree ("木子," "tree fruit"); later they changed 理 to 李.^[3] The Li also revere Laozi (老子), Li Er (李耳), of the Spring and Autumn period as their forebear; one line of Li Er's descendants lived in Longxi (陇西), and so "Longxi" became the best-known ancestral commandery of the Li; the words "Ancestors of All Generations of the Longxi Hall" (陇西堂上历代祖先) honored in Taishan Li homes come from this.^[1] Other scholars, such as Gao Heng (高亨) and Tang Lan (唐兰), hold that Laozi's original surname was Lao (老), and that the Li surname arose from a sound change of Lao.^[3]

Coming to Guangdong and to Taishan[edit]

According to Origins of Taishan's Surnames (《台山姓氏源流》), the Li of Lingnan (岭南) take Li Lian (李联; courtesy name Songnian, 松年; 1036–1103) of the Northern Song as their first ancestor in Guangdong. In the first years of Chongning under Emperor Huizong of Song (1102), Li Lian supervised the army in his capacity as censor; he came from Fujian into Guangdong, met a typhoon while leading the navy south, and died of illness in the army the following year. Li Lian had three sons: the eldest, Lingjiang (凌江); the second, Wujiang (梧江); and the third, Huanjiang (桓江), who later went to Vietnam. Lingjiang's sons later came from Jiangxi into Guangdong and became the ancestors of the Shangshu (尚书), Wagang (瓦岗), Hetang (荷塘) and Ludong (鹿洞) lines; Wujiang had two sons, Li Dong and Li Zong (李棕).^[1]

Li Dong, art name Rentang (任堂), held office away from home in the Song. Because of military unrest in southern Jiangxi (赣南), he had his three sons, Li Kan (李侃), Li Xun (李侚) and Li Yi (李佁), take their mother, née Ta (禢氏), to Nanxiong and then to Guangzhou to escape the turmoil, lodging first at Subo Lane (素波巷), Gaodi Street (高弟街), in the city of Guangzhou, and then in Panyu (番禺); in his later years Li Dong also came south and settled in the city of Xinhui. His descendants later spread to Xinhui, Zhongshan (中山), Heshan (鹤山), Shunde (顺德), Taishan and other places. Li Dong is buried at Shigouling (石狗岭), Xinhui, and Lady Ta at Hudieshan (蝴蝶山), Jinkeng (筋坑), Taishan.^[1] Another account says Li Dong was Li Lian's eldest son,^[2] which differs from the line of descent above.

Taishan also has the line of Li Qiaomu (李乔木; courtesy name Yingchu, 楹础; art name Zhentang, 振堂; 1101–1147), Li Lian's eldest grandson. Qiaomu passed the jinshi examination in the 4th year of Jianyan of the Southern Song (1130), rose to be minister of rites and of war, and is buried in Yangjiang (阳江).^[1] According to the Doudong Li Genealogy (《斗洞李氏族谱》) recorded in the General Catalogue of Chinese Genealogies (《中国家谱总目》), Qiaomu's posthumous name was Wenzhuang (文庄), and his son Li Jiu (李玖), because his father lived in banishment in Lingnan, registered his household at Doudongdongtouli (斗洞东头里), Xinning.^[4]

According to the late-Qing Taishan County Gazetteer of Local Lore (《台山县乡土志》), the surnames that moved from Zhuji Lane in Nanxiong into Taishan include the Li of Shangdong and Xiadong (上、下洞).^[5]

Kan branch

Li Kan was posthumously granted by imperial decree the title of assistant instructor of the Imperial Academy (国子监助教) in the Song, and had one son, Li Ziran (李子然). His descendants live mainly at Haiyan (海宴), Henggang (横冈), Jipu (吉浦), Shanju (山咀), Guanghai (广海), Duhu (都斛), Xikeng (西坑), Xiangtoufen (香头坟) and other places. This branch had no generation names for the sixteen generations from its founding ancestor down; they were set in the 17th generation: "修 (Xiu) 道 (Dao) 立 (Li) 德 (De), 家 (Jia) 贤 (Xian) 希 (Xi) 圣 (Sheng), 学 (Xue) 宗 (Zong) 孔 (Kong) 孟 (Meng), 儒 (Ru) 绍 (Shao) 周 (Zhou) 程 (Cheng), 扬 (Yang) 名 (Ming) 上 (Shang) 阁 (Ge), 见 (Jian) 觉 (Jue) 太 (Tai) 平 (Ping), 和 (He) 风 (Feng) 济 (Ji) 美 (Mei), 世 (Shi) 代 (Dai) 铮 (Zheng) 荣 (Rong)".^[1]

Xun branch

Li Xun, courtesy name Yixiu (奕修), art name Kongxing (孔行), served as county magistrate of Fengcheng (丰城) and vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices (太常寺少卿), and had three sons:^[1]

• Zimao (子懋) branch: descendants live at Xuanyuantian (玄（园）田), Xicun Village (喜村), Jinzili (金紫里) on Qingyun Road (青云路) in Taicheng, and other places; from the 19th generation they use the generation names "本 (Ben) 毓 (Yu) 裔 (Yi) 联 (Lian) 英 (Ying), 金 (Jin) 枝 (Zhi) 向 (Xiang) 日 (Ri) 荣 (Rong). 奕 (Yi) 世 (Shi) 逢 (Feng) 春 (Chun) 茂 (Mao), 参 (Can) 天 (Tian) 曜 (Yao) 日 (Ri) 明 (Ming)".
• Zida (子达) branch: descendants live at Michong (密冲), Tielukeng (铁炉坑), Dushu (独树), Nancun Village (南村), Tanghu (汤湖), Niuweishan (牛尾山), Sanhe, Yuhuai (玉槐), Guanghai, Tantang (坦塘), Chonglou, Haiyan, Shalan (沙栏) and other places. The generation names used from the 13th generation, "修 (Xiu) 文 (Wen) 宏 (Hong) 道 (Dao), 宗 (Zong) 圣 (Sheng) 希 (Xi) 贤 (Xian), 乃 (Nai) 祖 (Zu) 南 (Nan) 来 (Lai), 长 (Chang) 发 (Fa) 其 (Qi) 祥 (Xiang), 济 (Ji) 美 (Mei) 多 (Duo) 士 (Shi), 奕 (Yi) 世 (Shi) 永 (Yong) 昌 (Chang)", are said to have been composed by Chen Yun (陈筠), education commissioner of Guangdong, at the request of Li Xingru (李星如), a jinshi of the Kangxi gengzi examination.
• Zijie (子杰) branch: descendants live at Dongkeng (东坑), Jinkeng, Dongbianlong (东边龙), Longzhoudi (龙舟地), Nancun Village and other places; the generation names are "华 (Hua) 维 (Wei) 继 (Ji) 孟 (Meng) 须 (Xu) 世 (Shi) 良 (Liang), 广 (Guang) 业 (Ye) 文 (Wen) 明 (Ming) 圣 (Sheng) 道 (Dao) 昌 (Chang), 德 (De) 焕 (Huan) 天 (Tian) 章 (Zhang) 日 (Ri) 启 (Qi) 耀 (Yao), 学 (Xue) 宗 (Zong) 唐 (Tang) 周 (Zhou) 粤 (Yue) 东 (Dong) 长 (Chang)".

Yi branch

Li Yi was magistrate of Tiantai County (天台县) in the Song and had three sons and nine grandsons. His descendants live at Haiyan, Shalan, Hengtang (横塘), Tajiao (塔脚), Wenbian (温边), Hengjiang (横江), Chonglou, Chewanggang (车望冈), Dugang (独冈), Saoganlang (扫杆朗) and other places; the generation names are "高 (Gao) 第 (Di) 开 (Kai) 基 (Ji), 广 (Guang) 衍 (Yan) 云 (Yun) 礽 (Reng), 伟 (Wei) 烈 (Lie) 始 (Shi) 兴 (Xing), 树 (Shu) 绩 (Ji) 文 (Wen) 章 (Zhang), 家 (Jia) 国 (Guo) 宏 (Hong) 猷 (You)", with slight differences in the characters used from place to place.^[1]

Qiaomu branch

Besides Yangjiang, Yangchun (阳春), Guangzhou, Shunde, Xinhui, Kaiping (开平) and other places, Qiaomu's descendants live in Taishan mainly at Dongtoujiuli (东头旧里), Shangchong (上冲), Jiaokou (滘口), Xintian (新田), Haiyan, Toudong (头洞), Hengshuisanduoli (横水三多里), Chonglou, Duhu, Dunzhai (墩寨), Nanzha (南闸), Guangtian (广田), Guluo (古逻), Niuweishan, Nafu (那扶), Shatouchong (沙头冲), Xidun (西墩), Changtang (长塘), Taicheng, Guanghai, Shangchuan (上川), Xiachuan (下川) and other places; the generation names are "庆 (Qing) 承 (Cheng) 天 (Tian) 祐 (You), 奕 (Yi) 世 (Shi) 永 (Yong) 昌 (Chang). 济 (Ji) 美 (Mei) 多 (Duo) 士 (Shi), 冠 (Guan) 冕 (Mian) 兆 (Zhao) 芳 (Fang). 优 (You) 游 (You) 列 (Lie) 国 (Guo), 仁 (Ren) 泽 (Ze) 孔 (Kong) 长 (Chang)".^[1]

The Hakka Li of Chixi

The Hakka of Chixi (赤溪) also include the Li surname. The General Catalogue of Chinese Genealogies lists the Generational Register of Ancestor Hongchun of Chixi (《赤溪鸿春祖世代传统簿》; 1950 manuscript), which records its founding ancestor, Li Sheng (李胜; courtesy name Chongchang, 崇昌), whose descendants are scattered in Chixi and other places.^[4] The surnames long settled in Daxiang Village (大巷村), Tiantou (田头), Chixi Town, are Zeng (曾), Li and Luo (罗); the Li among them are Hakka who came one after another from other parts of Xinning County.^[6]

Distribution[edit]

By the estimate of Origins of Taishan's Surnames (vol. 1), Taishan's Li numbered over 100,000 by the late 1990s, the living members of the clan then being of about the 25th to the 32nd generations.^[1] According to the 2015 report, the city has about 456 villages whose people are mainly surnamed Li, most of them in Taicheng, Sijiu, Chonglou and Sanhe, 83 of them in Taicheng; the area around Caolang Street (草朗街) in Taicheng was once a place where the Li lived together, and some say the Li of this area mostly came from Shencun Village (莘村), Duhu.^[2] All these are old figures.

Ancestral halls and overseas Chinese magazines[edit]

• Rentang Ancestral Hall (任堂祖祠): on Zhengshi Street (正市街), Taicheng; later the site of the city's No. 1 Kindergarten. In 1922 Li Gunchen (李衮宸), Li Dianbin (李典宾) and others organized the Li Clan Society (李氏学会) and compiled and printed the Li Clan Monthly Mirror (《李族月镜》), and in the same year opened the Jingxiu School (敬修学校) in the ancestral hall.^[2]
• Li Grand Ancestral Hall (李氏大宗祠): at 28 Caolang Street, Taicheng; work began in March 1927 and it was completed in April 1928. In the center hangs a plaque reading "Longxi Hall" (陇西堂), and it houses the spirit tablets of the founding ancestor of the Li of Lingnan and of the founding ancestors of each branch in Taishan. Once completed, it served as the school building of Jingxiu Junior Middle School (敬修初级中学). The school closed in the early 1950s; the building was returned to the Li in 1984, the school reopened in 1986, moved to a new campus on Taihai Road (台海路) in 2008, and the next year was renamed Taishan Jingxiu Vocational School (台山市敬修职校). The restoration of the grand ancestral hall was completed in November 2011.^[2]
• Tomb of Li Songnian (李松年墓): about 2 km west of Fucaojing (甫草迳), Guanghai Town; tradition holds it is the tomb of Li Lian, the first ancestor in Guangdong. The tomb was first built in the 2nd year of Chongning of the Northern Song (1103) and rebuilt in the 18th year of Guangxu of the Qing (1892); its inscription reads "Tomb of Li Gong, taboo name Lian Weng, art name Songnian, Censor Supervising the Army in Lingnan under the Song" (宋任岭南监军御史讳联翁号松年李公墓).^[1]
• Jingxiu Monthly (《敬修月报》): the Li clan magazine; Li Rongxi (李荣熙), author of the chapter on the Li in Origins of Taishan's Surnames, was once its editor-in-chief.^[1]

Genealogies[edit]

The Taishan Li genealogies recorded in the General Catalogue of Chinese Genealogies are:^[4]

• Doudong Li Genealogy, compiled by Li Jingcheng (李景承) of the Qing; a late-Qing handwritten copy.
• Family Records of Li Wenzhuang Gong (《李文庄公家乘》), 46 juan, compiled by Li Erong (李萼荣) and others of the Qing; woodblock edition of the 28th year of Guangxu of the Qing (1902).
• Dongkeng Li Genealogy (《东坑李氏族谱》), 3 juan, compiled by Li Ganpu (李干谱) and Li Runtian (李润田); letterpress edition, 1931. It records the founding ancestor Li Dong, who moved to Xinning in the Song, and the first migrant ancestor Li Yang (李养), who moved again to Dongkeng in the Ming.
• Branch Genealogy of the Longxi Li Clan (《陇西李氏族支谱》), compiled by Li Chengxun (李成逊) and others; woodblock edition, 1935.
• Li Family Genealogy of Taitang Village (《太塘村李氏家谱》), handwritten copy, also titled Li Family Genealogy of the Long-Settled Li of Datang Village, Michong Bao, Xinchang District, Taishan County, Guangdong Province (《世居广东省台山县新昌区密冲堡大塘村李氏家谱》).
• Li Family Genealogy of Gaoling, Taishan, Guangdong (《广东台山高岭李氏家谱》), manuscript; first migrant ancestor Li Zhao'ao (李兆鳌).
• Li Genealogy of Yongshengli, Chonglou Town, Taishan, Guangdong Province (《广东省台山市冲蒌镇永盛里李氏族谱》), compiled by Li Xiayu (李夏瑜); letterpress edition, 2000.

People[edit]

• Li Qiaomu (1101–1147), jinshi of the 4th year of Jianyan of the Southern Song; rose to be minister of rites and of war; honored as founding ancestor by the Qiaomu branch and the Doudong Li.^[1]
• Li Xingqu (李星衢) (1879–1955), of Changhe Village (昌和村), Bangang (板岗), Taicheng; a Chinese merchant in Hong Kong who founded the Hong Nin Bank (康年银行) and proposed building the Li Grand Ancestral Hall. During the great Taishan famine of 1943 he raised money to buy rice and ship it home for famine relief.^[2]
• Li Shinan (李是男), art name Gongxia (公侠), an overseas Chinese in the United States who followed Sun Yat-sen in the revolution. Origins of Taishan's Surnames gives two accounts of his birth year, 1881 and 1886; he died in 1937.^[1]
• Li Shufen (李树芬) (1887–1966), whose ancestral home was Xiangtoufen Village, Taicheng; a surgeon, once superintendent of the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital (养和医院).^[2]
• Li Jiaren (李嘉人) (1914–1979), once vice governor of Guangdong Province and president of Sun Yat-sen University.^[1]
• Li Ling (李凌) (born 1913), musician; once director of the Central Philharmonic Orchestra and president of the China Conservatory of Music.^[1]
• Li Zhuowen (李灼文) (1926–1992), Hong Kong industrialist, who in 1978 completed the first garment factory on the mainland to process materials supplied from outside.^[2]