Chinanews.com, Foshan, December 15th, title: Folks in Shunde, New Zealand looking for relatives

　　Author Sun Qiuxia

　　The 12th Shunde Promise Conference will be held in Shunde, Foshan from December 16th to 17th. As a regular visitor of the Shunde Promise Conference, Ye Yihe, president of the Shunde Association of New Zealand, who is in his seventies, will participate online this year.

Not long ago, with the help of the Overseas Chinese Federation of Shunde District and Shunde Friendship Association Abroad, Ye Yihe not only found his relatives, but also found his ancestral home in Shunde.

　　Shunde is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese in Guangdong. There are more than 500 years of recorded history of overseas Chinese in Shunde.

Since the Ming Dynasty, the ancestors of Shunde traveled across the sea to make a living and develop in foreign countries.

Today, there are more than 300,000 overseas Chinese living overseas in the district, and more than 200,000 Hong Kong and Macao compatriots from Shunde.

　　"My grandfather went from Shunde to Cambodia to make a living in his early years. My father and I were both born in Cambodia. Later we went to live in Vietnam and Thailand, and finally settled in New Zealand." Ye Yihe recalled in an online interview recently. When he was born, his grandfather He has passed away, so he has never been clear where his ancestral home is in Shunde.

The stuffed dace that his father often made at home reminded him and his brothers and sisters of Shunde and left them nostalgic.

　　Ye Yihe told the reporter that he had heard from his father that his uncle's daughter was a Chinese astronomer.

In 2016, Ye Yihe returned to Shunde to try to find relatives when he participated in the 10th Shunde Promise Conference, but he didn't know where to start.

　　On the occasion of the Spring Festival in 2021, the Shunde Friendship Association Abroad invited teachers and students from 10 towns and streets in Shunde to write Spring Festival couplets to send blessings to overseas Chinese and Hong Kong and Macao compatriots in their hometowns.

Tang Yuhai, Secretary-General of the Shunde Friendship Association Overseas, told reporters that when he asked about Ye Yihe's ancestral home, he learned that Ye Yihe didn't know about it, and at the same time he also had the idea of ​​looking for his relatives and ancestors, so he asked about his family situation carefully and started Help him find his loved ones.

The picture shows the photo of Ye Yihe's family with three generations living together (Ye Yihe is the second from the left in the back row) Photo provided by the interviewee

　　Since three generations of Ye Yihe's family lived overseas all year round, and the elders who knew his family's situation had passed away, this journey to find relatives was extremely difficult.

"We first contacted a member unit in Shunde that specializes in genealogy restoration, and wanted to find some clues through the Ye's ancestral hall and genealogy in Shunde. Later, we found out that Ye Shuhua, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an astronomer from Shunde, who is in his 90s, is very likely to be Ye. A family member that Yihe has never met," Tang Yuhai said.

　　According to this important clue, Tang Yuhai and others went to Lecong Town and Beijiao Town, Shunde to visit local elderly people. They learned from Zhang Jiayuan, a Taoist villager in Lecong Town, that he and Ye Shuhua were relatives, and they had also visited relatives in Ye Shuhua’s hometown. received her.

　　"We gave Zhang Jiayuan the information and contact information of Ye Yihe's relatives, and then passed them on to Ye Shuhua through him. Later, the aunt and nephew confirmed their relationship through a phone call," Tang Yuhai said.

　　Ye Yihe recalled: "When my aunt and I talked on the phone for the first time, we talked about our respective experiences. She mentioned that her father had lived in Vietnam and Cambodia with my grandfather, and she thought we were still in Cambodia. From her, I also know my ancestral home." Ye Yihe said that when the epidemic is over, he will go back to his hometown with his family to see and meet his relatives.

　　Luo Weiman, president of the Shunde Friendship Association Abroad, pointed out that some Shunde ancestors left their hometowns very early and went to various parts of the world to seek life and development.

After the reform and opening up, Shunde's economy has continued to develop, and overseas Chinese have become increasingly connected with their hometowns.

　　"We have established Shunde Friendship Associations and Hometown Associations in dozens of countries and regions around the world, providing convenient conditions and opportunities for the second and third generation overseas Shunde folks to understand China and Shunde. Some folks hope that We are very happy to help them find relatives in their hometown, and as our work continues, stories of successful relatives will continue to happen." Luo Weiman said.

　　Wu Wei, chairman of the Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese in Shunde District of Foshan City and director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Bureau, pointed out that since the reform and opening up, overseas Chinese in Shunde have made contributions to Shunde's economy, education and infrastructure construction.

In the future, Shunde will continue to do a good job in the friendship and communication work of the second and third generations of overseas Chinese.

Invite them to return to their hometown and jointly promote the economic development of Shunde.

　　It is worth mentioning that the Shunde Promise Conference, held every two years, is an important platform for global Shunde people to gather and communicate. "People's friendship and interaction, but also promote Shunde to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with countries and regions in the world.

　　"I went back to Shunde for the first time in 2010. What I saw at that time was completely different from what my father described. My father told me that Shunde was a place where fish and silkworms were raised, and the Shunde I saw was very modern. In the future, if children It will be very meaningful to have the opportunity to participate in Shunde's economic and trade exchanges." Ye Yihe said.

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