Zhujixiangrennanqian Legend
01 · Historical Records
The Zhuji Lane southward-migration legend is a form of folk literature originating in Nanxiong city of Shaoguan, Guangdong, distributed mainly in Nanxiong city, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and parts of Guangxi, and also current overseas. It tells mainly how, from the Southern Song to the early Yuan, great numbers of Han from the Central Plains, fleeing the chaos of war, travelled a long way over the Nanling to reach Zhuji Lane in Nanxiong, and how afterwards, one hundred and eighty-six surnames set out from Zhuji Lane more than a hundred and thirty times, migrating south to the Pearl River Delta to open up Lingnan and carry on Chinese civilization. First, in 1131, because of natural disaster and earthquake, the tribute student Luo Gui led thirty-three surnames and ninety-seven households, more than a thousand people, from Zhuji Lane by raft southwards; after the narrow escapes of fleeing through Lianzhou's Lizhi mountain and the breaking of the raft in the South China Sea, they at last reached such places as Langdi in Jiangmen to colonize the Pearl River Delta and merge into Lingnan, becoming the legend of China's foremost home of overseas Chinese. Second, in 1271–1273, Consort Hu, having offended the treacherous minister Jia Sidao, fled the palace and married Huang Zhuwang, a rich merchant of Zhuji Lane; the court wished to wash Zhuji Lane in blood, and the people of Zhuji Lane migrated en masse south to the Pearl River Delta. After the Meiguan ancient road was opened in the fourth year of the Kaiyuan reign of the Tang, Nanxiong became the junction of the maritime and overland Silk Roads, a convenient passage linking the Pearl River system with the Yangtze system, an important route by which Central Plains culture entered Lingnan, and the cultural umbilical cord connecting the Chinese motherland with the Lingnan region. Qu Dajun's New Tales of Guangdong of the Ming records: “the old families and great clans of our Guangdong came from Zhuji Lane in Nanxiong.” The General Gazetteer of Guangdong of the Qing says: “Zhuji is before the Shashui temple of Baochang county in Nanxiong prefecture; it is said that the great clans of Guangzhou such as the Liang and Huo all originated here.” The modern work A Record of the Southward Migration of the Clans of Zhuji Lane by Huang Cibo of Zhongshan lists “one hundred and sixty-seven clans that migrated south from Shashui Zhuji Lane of Baochang county, that is Nanxiong, to the various counties of Guangzhou”. The Zhuji Lane southward-migration legend comes from the more than seventy million descendants of Zhuji Lane who through the ages moved from the Central Plains to Zhuji Lane and then to the Pearl River Delta and overseas; passed on by word of mouth, it is deeply rooted among the folk, and some of it has been recorded in genealogies.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The most profoundly influential legends fall into three great categories. Third, after the Yuan troops took Nanxiong, the Central Plains people who had migrated south to Zhuji Lane migrated south again, putting out branches and leaves across the five continents and four oceans.
Luo Gui Leads Thirty-Three Surnames and Ninety-Seven Households South by Raft
The legend of the tribute student Luo Gui leading the people south in 1131 to colonize the Pearl River Delta.
Consort Hu Leaves the Palace and Huang Zhuwang
The legend of Consort Hu fleeing the palace to marry a rich merchant of Zhuji Lane and the court's wish to wash Zhuji Lane in blood.
Migrating South Again after the Yuan Troops Took Nanxiong
The legend of the Central Plains people migrating south again after the Yuan troops took Nanxiong and putting out branches across the five continents.
Ancestor Sacrifices and Clan Activities of the Zhuji Lane Descendants
The ancestor sacrifices and fellowship activities carried out by Zhuji descendants at home and abroad through genealogies and ancestral halls.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Later generations created many literary works with a rich local colour on this basis, deeply loved by the people.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The related legends have a stable transmitting group, with steady continuity of transmission and an age structure covering all age levels. The Zhuji Lane southward-migration legend records the history of the southward migration of Central Plains settlers and the development of the Pearl River Delta, and is of important reference value for the study of Song culture and of the mulberry-dyke-fish-pond and other agricultural farming methods and related living customs of the Pearl River Delta. The legend praises the pioneering spirit of the people of Zhuji Lane in overcoming difficulties and being inclusive and innovative, unites the strength of Zhuji descendants at home and abroad and promotes cultural identification, with relatively high social-cultural value.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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