Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Family Trees
My grandfather pulled out a book of geneology for those sharing out last name today and we had a very pleasant, long conversation. I've been asking to discuss a number of things with gramps, especially some issues regarding naming. I have come up with a few names I would like run past gramps.
There were a lot of things that I learned. For example, I didn't know that the Wen surname can be traced back to Shanxi province to the city of Taiyuan, which is the provincial capital today. I had visited Taiyuan with friends when I studied in China as well as other places in Shanxi province.
My own family geneology traced via the pateral line is a short one only because the records are hopelessly incomplete. Any past achievement has been washed away by the river of time. My brother and I start with a clean slate. The stories make up for their lack of length by being interesting.
I also learned an alternative interpretation to my brother's name. It doesn't deviate much from how I have come to understand it, but this new derivation firmly plants it in a Confucian context. This is very enlightening.
Also: I set in motion the process to replace the very important thing I lost.
There were a lot of things that I learned. For example, I didn't know that the Wen surname can be traced back to Shanxi province to the city of Taiyuan, which is the provincial capital today. I had visited Taiyuan with friends when I studied in China as well as other places in Shanxi province.
My own family geneology traced via the pateral line is a short one only because the records are hopelessly incomplete. Any past achievement has been washed away by the river of time. My brother and I start with a clean slate. The stories make up for their lack of length by being interesting.
I also learned an alternative interpretation to my brother's name. It doesn't deviate much from how I have come to understand it, but this new derivation firmly plants it in a Confucian context. This is very enlightening.
Also: I set in motion the process to replace the very important thing I lost.
1 Comments:
Hello, I stumbled upon your musings purely on accident, but I must say I enjoy your writings. I too am searching for something important that I've misplaced: my sanity. Good luck with your quest.
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