The 赵 surname

Origin of the surname

The Zhao surname comes from the Ying (嬴) surname; the progenitor of the surname was Zaofu (造父), a descendant of Boyi (伯益). Zaofu was skilled at driving chariots, and when King Mu of Zhou made his tour to the west, Zaofu drove for him; when King Yan of Xu (徐偃王) rose in revolt, Zaofu drove King Mu back, covering a thousand li in a day, and the revolt was put down. King Mu then granted him Zhaocheng (赵城; in the area of today's Hongdong (洪洞), Shanxi) as his fief, and his descendants took Zhao as their clan name.^[1][3] In the Warring States period the Zhao founded the state of Zhao; the Northern Song was founded by Zhao Kuangyin (赵匡胤), and Zhao was the imperial surname of the Song.^[3]

Coming to Taishan

The Fushi Zhao

According to Origins of Taishan's Surnames (《台山姓氏源流》) and the Fushi Zhao Genealogy (《浮石赵氏族谱》), Zhao Bitang (赵必樘), first ancestor in Guangdong of the Fushi Zhao, had served the Southern Song as Supreme Pillar of State Grand Master (上柱国大夫); at the end of the Song, when the battle at Yamen (崖门) was lost and Lu Xiufu (陆秀夫) leapt into the sea with Emperor Bing (帝昺) on his back, he too leapt into the sea and died. Before his death he entrusted his two young sons, Liangqian (良钤) and Liangcong (良聪), to Lin Xuanfu (林玄辅), a former prefect of Qiongzhou (琼州), to bring up; to escape the Yuan's searches, the two took the surname Lin and were called Danu (大奴) and Ernu (二奴). Only in the third generation, with Youtong (友通), when the Yuan had fallen and the Ming had risen, did they resume the Zhao surname. These three generations all lived at Muzhou (睦洲), Xinhui (新会).^[1][2][4] According to the genealogy, the Zhao of Xialu (霞路), Xinhui, are also of the same lineage as Fushi; the forebears of the two villages were brothers.^[4]

Zhao Zongyuan of the fourth generation, courtesy name Fuguan (复观), art name Jufu (居浮), left Muzhou with his mother, née Li (李), in his care, and with his wife, née Liu (刘), and his young son, and first moved to Shimiao Village (十庙村; today Zhaocun (赵村), Xinhui). In the 11th year of Hongwu (1378) he came to Chonglou (冲蒌), where he and a young man surnamed Ni (倪) together opened up wasteland in the west of Chonglou; later, finding the land cramped and poor, he gave the fields he had cleared to Ni, and went east to Duhu and south to Tiantou (田头), but neither was to his liking. In the 13th year of Hongwu (1380) he came to the foot of Fei'e Ridge (飞鹅岭) at Fushi and settled on the southern slope of Danao Peak (大脑峰).^[1][2] When Zongyuan arrived, the Zhong (锺), Li, Kuang (邝), Meng (蒙) and other surnames already lived at Huashan (花山), Yangkengshan (羊坑山), Mengshe (蒙社), Yuangang (圆岗) and other places at the eastern foot of Fushan (浮山); later these surnames either moved away or declined, and Fushi gradually became a place where the Zhao lived together.^[1][2]

The lines that moved out from Fushi include: Jiaoya Village (蛟牙村) in Doushan, the descendants of Jiyuan Gong (季愿公) of the 14th generation of the Linju Gong branch (林居公房); Hushan Village (虎山村) in Doushan, whose founder, Zhao Shelie (赵社烈), was the 14th-generation descendant of Zongyuan; and at Sijiu (四九), Chonglou and other places, too, descendants of Zongyuan founded villages.^[1][2]

The Haiyan Zhao

The founding ancestor of the Haiyan Zhao, Zhao Chonggai, had the courtesy name Sanzhou (三州) (meaning that in his life he lived in turn at Hangzhou, Fuzhou and Guangzhou; he built the Sanzhou Study (三州书室) on Caolang Street (草朗街) in Taicheng (台城)); he was a jinshi of the 16th year of Jiading of the Southern Song (1223), in the list headed by Jiang Zhongzhen (蒋重珍), and held the rank of Grand Master for Forthright Service (奉直大夫). As the Southern Song was about to fall, he left Lin'an (临安) and went by way of Fuzhou and Nanxiong (南雄) to Guangzhou, then took a roundabout way through Enping (恩平) to Yangjiang (阳江), buying land all along the way through Hezai (河仔), Beigui (北桂) and Doumen (陡门) but settling at none of them; later he crossed the sea from Doumen to Dadan (大担), went on to Nayong (那雍), and finally founded the village at Fucheng Village (附城村; also written Fuchang Village (附场村), that is, today's Haiyanjie), early in the Yuan.^[1][2] At that time 33 households of four surnames, Chen (陈), Huang (黄), Ma (马) and Fei (费), already lived at Fucheng Village; as the Zhao clan grew, the Chen moved to Fukeng (富坑) in Shenjing (深井), and the Fei later died out. According to Origins of Taishan's Surnames, Haiyanjie then had four great surnames: Zhao, Lei (雷), Huang and Rong (容).^[1][2] The Taishan County Gazetteer of Local Lore (《台山县乡土志》) further says that the Zhao of Haiyanjie came from Zhuji Lane (珠玑巷) in Nanxiong.^[5]

According to the genealogy, Chonggai had four sons, Bixin (必锌), Bibing (必炳), Biqin (必钦) and Biliu (必鎏), and two of the branches later had no descendants. Biliu's son Chouping (畴平) was the founding ancestor of the Yangjiang branch. Bixin's line passed down through Lianglin (良霖), Yousong (友松) and Zongliang (宗谅) to Zhonghe (仲和); of Zhonghe's sons, Shitong (士通) was the founding ancestor of the West Residence (西宅), whose ancestral hall is called Zuanjiang Hall (缵江堂), and Shida (士达) was the founding ancestor of the East Residence (东宅), whose ancestral hall is called Lieguang Hall (烈光堂) (that is, the ancestor Danxuan (淡轩祖)). Dongshan Gong (东山公) of the Danxuan line had three branches, Bimei (必美), Biyi (必益) and Bida (必大); of these, Bimei's descendants moved to Hepu (合浦), Guangxi.^[1][2]

The Zhao of Shenjing, on the other hand, came from Luoding (罗定) at the end of the Qing.^[1][2]

The Tianchou Zhao

According to Origins of Taishan's Surnames, in the Southern Song the forebears of the Tianchou Zhao moved, to escape the Yuan troops, to Donghu Township, Lianjiang County (连江县东湖乡), Fujian (today Donghu Town, Lianjiang County^[16][17]; another account says Donghu neighborhood, Lianjiang County, Fuzhou Prefecture^[18]). The line came down to Bihong (必宖), courtesy name Angfu (昂甫), art name Ziqing (子清), a jinshi in the reign of Emperor Duzong of Song, who was appointed salt tax commissioner (盐课司大使) of Shuang'en (双恩), Cuodong (矬洞), Haiyan, Danshui (淡水) and other places and came from Fujian to Guangdong; he is the first-generation ancestor of the Tianchou Zhao. He lived first at Tiantou in Chixi (赤溪), and later moved to Longxi Township (龙溪乡); he is also the founder of the Longxi Zhao clan.^[1][2]

The founder of the clan, Zhao Zhongbao, often carried goods to sell in nearby villages; taking a liking to the land and water of Tianliao Village (田寮村; later renamed Tianchou Village), he moved there to settle. In the Qing, Tianchou belonged to Tianchou bao (田稠堡), the 13th tu (十三图) of Cuodong Township (矬峒乡), Xinning County (新宁县); it lies between Duhu and the Doushan market (斗山墟), and today belongs to Doushan Town. The village has the Angfu Zhao Gong Ancestral Hall (昂甫赵公祠), the founding ancestor's hall, with the hall name "Baode" (报德), which shares one origin with the "Baoben Hall" (报本堂) of Longxi Village.^[1][2]

At Tianchou there were originally a Bai (白) family living on the east side and a Luo (罗) family on the west side. Some generations after Zhongbao, the line came down to Buxiao Gong (不小公), who had five sons: Bishan (璧山), Bixi (璧溪), Bizhuang (璧庄; later moved to Xinhui), Bixuan (璧轩) and Bihuan (璧寰; later moved to Guanghai (广海)). Afterwards the Bai moved east and founded Fuhua Village (伏华村), and the Luo gradually declined, while the Zhao clan founded in turn Dongcheng Village (东成村), Xijiu Village (西就村; later renamed Longtang Village (龙塘村), and from 1907 extended to Huangmaodun (黄茅墩)) and Dongxi Village (东溪村). In the Xianfeng reign of the Qing, all the descendants of the ancestor Ningzuo (凝作祖) and some of the descendants of the two ancestors Ningjia (凝佳) and Ningcai (凝彩) moved one after another from the west side of Tianchou Village to Longtang Village. The Bixuan Zugong Ancestral Hall (璧轩祖公祠) and the Xinchou Zhao Gong Ancestral Hall (心稠赵公祠) in Tianchou Village and the Xueyu Zhao Gong Ancestral Hall (学禺赵公祠) in Longtang Village are all halls commemorating the forebears of the ancestor Ningzuo.^[1][2] Today the Tianchou Village Committee administers five natural villages: Fuhua, Changshan (长山), Dongcheng, Tianchou and Longtang.^[6]

The Longxi Zhao

Longxi is a natural village under today's Longhe Village Committee (龙和村委会), Duhu Town; Longhe Village is in the southwest of Duhu Town, backing onto Nanfeng Mountain (南峰山) to the south and bordering the hills of Chixi Town.^[13] The Longxi Zhao are of the same lineage as the Tianchou Zhao: according to Origins of Taishan's Surnames, Bihong is the first-generation ancestor of the Tianchou Zhao and also the founder of the Zhao clan of Longxi Township, and the Baode Hall of the Angfu Zhao Gong Ancestral Hall in Tianchou and the Baoben Hall of Longxi Village "are kin as brothers, born of the wife and of a concubine".^[1][2] A 2023 report also says that the Longxi Zhao are of the same lineage as the Tianchou Zhao, but not of the same branch as the Fushi Zhao.^[14]

The Zhao ancestral hall in the village was built in 1860, with three halls one behind another; the altar bears the inscription "Baoben Hall" in three large characters, with portraits of the successive emperors of the Song on either side. The hall once served as the school building of Longhe School (龙和学校) and was repaired twice, in 1992 and 1997; its rear hall is now the old people's activity center and the village office, and holds the genealogy of the Duhu Zhao.^[14] The report says that the founding ancestor of the Longxi Zhao clan was Zhongbao Gong and that the Tianchou Zhao moved there from Longxi; Origins of Taishan's Surnames, on the other hand, takes Zhongbao as the founder of the Tianchou Zhao clan.^[14][1][2] The report also says that only a hundred-odd households remain in Longxi Village today, and that there are more overseas Chinese than present residents.^[14]

Distribution

The figures below are all from past counts:

• Fushi: according to the count by branch at the last jiao ceremony (建醮) held at Fushi, in 1948, the Zhao numbered 8,561 (including those overseas); when Origins of Taishan's Surnames was written, they were estimated at over ten thousand.^[1][2] A 2012 report gives Fushi as having more than 20,000 villagers.^[4]
• Haiyan: according to an incomplete count from before 1992, Chonggai's descendants numbered 3,290 households and 13,978 people, living mainly at Haiyanjie (1,093 households, 4,450 people), Xiachuan (下川; 575 households, 2,500 people), Beiji (北记) in Beidou (北陡) (200 households, 1,000 people), Zaoheshi (早禾石), Lunding (仑定), Nayong, Tiantouli (田头里), Shatou (沙头), Tangchang (塘厂), Yongning (永宁), Xingzhong Taipingli (兴中太平里), Tianxinli (田心里), Wangtou Xishaxin Village (望头西沙新村), Dakengdong (大坑东) in Shenjing, Gaodong (高洞) and other places; there were also 21 households at Zhaojiahe (赵家和) in Shangchuan (上川).^[1][2]
• Tianchou: when Origins of Taishan's Surnames was written, Tianchou Village had more than 1,000 Zhao, Longtang Village more than 300 and Dongcheng Village more than 100.^[1][2]

In the Tabian Village Committee (塔边村委会) on Xiachuan Island (下川岛), Zhao is the most common surname among the residents; local tradition holds that their ancestors were remnant subjects of the Southern Song who retreated to Xiachuan Island with the Southern Song imperial house, and Tabian Village is therefore called "the Imperial Clan Village" (皇族村).^[7]

Overseas, taking Fushi as an example: according to incomplete counts, in 1972 there were 1,011 Fushi Zhao living overseas, among them 484 in the United States, 184 in Burma, 88 in Malaysia, 80 in the Philippines, 77 in Canada and 71 in Mexico; by 1993 the number had grown to 2,078, of whom 1,443 lived in the United States (New York and San Francisco).^[1][2]

Culture and overseas Chinese magazines

• Fushi Village: named in 2009 to the second group of Historical and Cultural Villages of Guangdong Province^[4]; according to the Doushan Town government website, Fushi Village has also been named a Historical and Cultural Village of China, a Chinese Traditional Village and more.^[8] According to the count by the Taishan local historian Cai Feng (蔡锋), between 1380 and 1905 Fushi produced 6 civil juren, 5 military juren, 10 gongsheng, 67 xiucai, 90 jiansheng (监生) and 11 wusheng (武生).^[4]
• Fushi Piaose (浮石飘色): Fushi's traditional folk parade art, entered in June 2008 on the second national list of intangible cultural heritage. The parade was originally held each year on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month; in the mid-1980s it was moved to the 6th day of the 1st lunar month.^[9]
• Fushan Monthly (《浮山月报》): Fushi's emigrant magazine; Fushi has also compiled the Fushi Gazetteer (《浮石志》).^[1]
• Ancestral halls: in Haiyan, Zuanjiang Hall of the West Residence and Lieguang Hall of the East Residence; in Tianchou, the Angfu Zhao Gong Ancestral Hall (Baode Hall), the Bixuan Zugong Ancestral Hall and the Xinchou Zhao Gong Ancestral Hall; and in Longtang Village, the Xueyu Zhao Gong Ancestral Hall.^[1][2]

Genealogies

• Fushi Zhao Genealogy, 24 juan plus 1 introductory juan: one entry in a genealogy catalogue gives Zhao Boxun (赵伯勋) as chief editor, and records its ancestral forebear as Zhao Yuanfen of the Song, its first ancestor in Guangdong as Zhao Bitang, and its first ancestor at Fushi, Xinning, as Zhao Zongyuan of the Ming, with clan members scattered at Fushi and in Taiwan, Hong Kong and elsewhere; another entry gives Zhao Zongtan (赵宗坛) as chief compiler.^[10][11] The same catalogue also has a 1966 edition.^[12] According to a report, the front of the genealogy carries portraits of the successive emperors of the Song, a general map of Yashan (崖山), a picture of the Ciyuan Hall (慈元殿) and more.^[4]
• Baoben Hall Zhao Genealogy (《报本堂赵氏族谱》), 5 juan: the genealogy catalogue records it as compiled by Zhao Yinghua (赵英华) and others, with the title Qingxi Zhao Baoben Hall Family Genealogy (《清溪赵氏报本堂家谱》) at the head of the text, the blocks cut in the 31st year of Guangxu of the Qing (1905) and held by Baoben Hall, and a copy held by the Sun Yat-sen Library of Guangdong Province; it takes Zhao Bihong of the Song as the first migrant ancestor and Zhao Zhongzhuo (赵仲卓) of the Ming as the ancestor of the line, and below Zhongzhuo the line divides into three branches, Shihong (士洪), Shifu (士黼) and Shilong (士隆).^[19] Another entry is titled Qingxi Baoben Hall Zhao Family Genealogy (《清溪报本堂赵氏家谱》), 5 volumes, compiled by Zhao Yinghua and Zhao Changrong (赵常荣), 32nd year of Guangxu (1906), and records that Bihong moved at the end of the Yuan to Qingxi Village (清溪村), Chongjin (冲金), Xinhui (now part of Taishan).^[20] Baoben Hall is the hall name of the Longxi Zhao ancestral hall.^[14]

People

• Zhao Tianxi (赵天锡), of Fushi, juren of the 17th year of Guangxu of the Qing (1891), who did not wish to take office; he taught in turn at the Ningyang (宁阳), Ruhai (溽海), Hefeng (和风) and other academies and founded the Fushi School (浮石学堂); he compiled the Ningyang Poetry Collection (《宁阳诗存》), the Ningyang Prose Collection (《宁阳文存》), the Ningyang Learning Collection (《宁阳学存》) and the Ningyang Miscellany (《宁阳杂存》), and was chief compiler of the Guangxu-era Xinning County Gazetteer (《新宁县志》).^[1][4]
• Zhao Zongtan, of Fushi, a diplomat with a juren degree, once deputy consul general at the Consulate General in Canada; to raise funds for the buildings of the Taishan County Middle School (台山县立中学; today Taishan No. 1 Middle School (台山一中)), he went to cities across Canada to collect donations, then returned to China to oversee the building of the school; he later became the school's first principal and head of the Taishan County Education Bureau, and was awarded the Order of the Golden Grain, Fifth Class (五等嘉禾勋章).^[1][4]
• Zhao Chonghuo (赵崇活; Zhao Bin, 赵彬), once consul in Jakarta and Makassar and first secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Sudan.^[1]