Taishan surnames

The 蔡 surname

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Translated from the Chinese article, which is the one that is edited (read it in Chinese).

Cai (蔡) is one of the surnames of Taishan, living mainly around Shapu (沙浦) in Dajiang Town (大江镇). The Cai of Shapu, Taishan, honor Cai Nanyou (蔡南囿) of the Song as their first migrant ancestor; according to tradition, he came from Jianyang (建阳), Fujian, at the end of the Song.[1][2]

Origin of the surname[edit]

The Cai surname comes from the Ji (姬) surname. Shudu (叔度), a son of King Wen of Zhou, was enfeoffed at Cai (蔡); his son Cai Zhong (蔡仲) was enfeoffed at Cai again; the state of Cai was later destroyed by Chu, and its descendants took the name of the state as their surname.[3]

Coming to Taishan[edit]

According to the Cai Genealogy website (蔡氏家谱网), at the end of the Song, Cai Nanyou moved from Jianyang, Fujian, to Shapu in Taishan; his descendants multiplied and spread over more than forty villages, and the Cai of Shapu, Taishan, honor Nanyou as their first migrant ancestor.[1]

A Cai genealogy surviving in Taishan can corroborate this account. The catalogue of Cai genealogies on the website of the World Cai Clan Association (世界蔡氏宗亲总会) lists a Taishan Cai Genealogy (《蔡氏族谱》): not divided into juan, compiled by Cai Jinkan (蔡金龛) of the Qing and enlarged by Cai Yuren (蔡雨人), a manuscript copy compiled in the 34th year of Guangxu of the Qing (1908) and continued in the Republican period, being the third revision; it takes Cai Yuanding (蔡元定, posthumous name Wenjie 文节) of the Song as founding ancestor and Nanyou of the Song as first migrant ancestor, and the original is held by the Taishan Municipal Archives. The same entry also lists a mimeographed edition of 1935, titled "Shachong Cai Genealogy" (沙涌蔡氏族谱) on the center fold of the leaves and on the cover, also held by the Taishan Municipal Archives.[2]

Distribution[edit]

Shapu Village today belongs to Dajiang Town; it lies in the south of the town, adjoining the Dajiang market town (大江圩).[4] According to the Cai Genealogy website, the descendants of Nanyou Gong who have moved elsewhere or live overseas number more than forty thousand,[1] a figure for which no year of counting is given.

Ancestral halls and overseas Chinese magazines[edit]

  • Cai Great Ancestral Hall (蔡氏大宗祠): at Shapu Village, Dajiang Town; now converted into a farm-life exhibition hall.[4]

References

  1. Editorial Committee of the Cai website, "Origins of the Cai Surname", Cai Genealogy website 蔡氏网编委会：「蔡姓源流」，蔡氏家谱网
  2. "Catalogue of Cai Genealogies", in the "Cai Genealogical Records" column of the World Cai Clan Association website 「蔡氏族谱目录」，世界蔡氏宗亲总会网站「蔡氏谱碟」栏目
  3. "Cai (surname)", Chinese Wikipedia 「蔡姓」，维基百科
  4. Dajiang Town People's Government, Taishan, "Shapu Village", Taishan Municipal Government website 台山市大江镇人民政府：「沙浦村」，台山市人民政府门户网站

Last edited 2026-10-19 06:20 · Written together by this site’s users: anybody signed in can edit it, and every version is kept under History.