Chapter 44: The Yee Clan’s Ancestral Roots in Xingning, China

On Sunday, 11 October, Fang Fang, my niece-in-law in China sent me a video of the biennial Ancestor Veneration Ceremony honouring the Yee clan’s founding ancestor, who first settled in what is now Beixia Village (陂下村), Yetang Town (叶塘镇), Xingning, Meizhou, Guangdong Province, China. She was able to identify this founding ancestor as Youyuan Gong (悠远公). Beyond that, however, she could not provide further details about him or the year he first arrived in the village.

Curious to learn more about our ancestral roots, I subsequently conducted an online search. To my surprise, I discovered that this very piece of information had been preserved in the historical records of the Yee Clan Association (余氏宗亲会).

According to the clan genealogy, the history of the Yee clan in Xingning, Meizhou, Guangdong Province, can be traced back several centuries. The records recount an important migration during the early Ming Dynasty, when the family moved from Changle County (长乐县), now known as Wuhua County (五华县), to Yunzhu in Xingning (兴宁云珠). This migration marked a significant chapter in the history of the Yee clan and laid the foundation for generations to come.

The records of the Yee Clan Association (余氏宗亲会) state that the migration took place in 1391, corresponding to the 24th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (明朝洪武二十四年). The Hongwu Emperor (洪武皇帝), whose personal name was Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋), founded the Ming Dynasty in 1368 and reigned until 1398.

The genealogy identifies Youyuan Gong (悠远公), a 69th-generation ancestor, as the principal figure in this migration. He was accompanied by his younger brother, Siyuan Gong (思远公), as they left Changle County and settled in Yunzhu, in the western part of Xingning County. According to the clan records, this settlement corresponds to present-day Beixia Village (陂下村), Yetang Town (叶塘镇), Xingning, Meizhou, Guangdong Province.

Their migration represented more than a change of residence. The genealogy describes the brothers as having established the family’s roots and built their livelihood in their new home, expressed in Chinese as “开基立业” (establishing a family foundation and building a lasting legacy). Their settlement marked the beginning of a new chapter for the Yee clan in Xingning, where succeeding generations would continue the family line and preserve their ancestral heritage.

Today, these ancestral records provide a valuable link between the present generation and the family’s distant past. They preserve the names of our ancestors, the places from which they came, and the settlement where they established their roots. For descendants of the Yee clan, Beixia Village in Xingning is therefore more than a geographical location; it represents an ancestral home and a reminder of our enduring connection to our origins.

More than six centuries have passed since the migration recorded in 1391. Although generations have come and gone, the surviving genealogical accounts continue to tell the story of the Yee clan’s journey from Changle to Xingning. By studying and preserving these records, we can gain a deeper understanding of the family heritage and ensure that this history is passed on to future generations.

Ancestral home of Yee Clan at Beixia Village (陂下村), Yetang Town (叶塘镇), Xingning, Meizhou, Guangdong Province, China

**********************************************

Abstracts of the first video sent by Fang Fang show the veneration ceremony at the grave of Youyuan Gong.

Despite the erosion of the inscriptions on the tombstone, the remaining words indicate that the grave was restored in 1994, as recorded in the inscription: 一九九四年岁次甲戌仲秋修 (“Restored in the mid-autumn of 1994, the Jiaxu year”). The tomb is identified as that of the founding ancestor, Youyuan Gong (悠遠余公), also known as the 76th son, together with his two wives surnamed Wong (黃) and Lo (羅), as indicated by the inscription: 始祖悠遠余公七十六郎妣黃羅孺人三位墓.

***********************************************

A second video, sent by my China nephew, Yee Xu, records the veneration ceremony held at another ancestral grave - that of Yee Enyuan Gong (恩远公).

During the Yee Clan’s ancestral veneration ceremony on 3 October 2026, offerings and prayers were made not only at the grave of Youyuan Gong (悠远公), but also at the grave of Yee Enyuan Gong. According to online genealogical records, Enyuan Gong was a brother of Yuyuan Gong. However, owing to variations in historical clan records, it remains uncertain whether they were biological brothers or cousins.