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3 The Ancestral Village in Anxi County
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Having settled permanently in Singapore and assumed Singapore Chinese identity, a group of Singapore Chinese are now searching for their cultural roots in Penglai Zhen in Anxi County. Penglai Zhen officially comprises the market town and 31 administrative villages, but continues to be divided by local inhabitants into several precincts named according to the natural terrain found in the region. For example, the area around the source of the river is commonly known as the creek head (xitou or kway-tau [H], 溪头); the area around the point where it flows into another river is known as the creek tail (xiwei or kway-ber [H], 溪尾). A third, forest area is known as ‘below the tree’ (xiashuwei or ae-chiu-ber [H], 下樹尾). When asked, the majority of the villagers, other than the village cadres, did not have much idea of the official administrative names of the villages in which they lived, and were not concerned with them. Most would say they were from Penglai, and if pushed further, would answer with the local hamlet name. As the district name, Penglai, was commonly known to the villagers and the Singapore Chinese alike, this will be the name used throughout this work. This region was also historically known as kuitou, kui-tau [H] (魁头) and some of the elders know of this name but the majority of the younger villagers only know it by the common name of xitou, kway-tau [H]. Both terms sound similar in the Fujianese dialect. However, this is not to be mistaken for the neighbouring Kuidou Zhen (魁斗镇); within it is a village called Kuidou Cun (魁斗村). There are thus two branches of the Ke lineage, one located in Penglai and we will call them the Penglai Ke. The other, the Kuidou Ke, is located in Kuidou Zhen. Our key focus here is on the Penglai Ke, also called Kway-tau Ke. Within Penglai, there are nine surname groups. All villages are of a mixed surname composition although in most precincts, it is usually the case that one 3 The Ancestral Village in Anxi County Kuah_03_ch03.indd 55 11/11/2010 11:36 AM 56 Rebuilding the Ancestral Village surname group will dominate. Many villagers are connected to one another by surname and marriage. The knowledge of their ancestral villages among the Singapore Anxi Chinese varies greatly among the generations, the first generation having clear concepts and subsequent generations only hazy ones. First-generation migrants are able to name the village precincts where they came from, while subsequent generations commonly only say that they are from Anxi County, although some can now say they are from Penglai Zhen. Few are able to name and locate their specific ancestral village. Anxi County is one of the poorest in China. This chapter will explore the reasons for this, and the measures taken by the central, provincial and Map 1: Location of Anxi County in Fujian Province GUANGDONG Zhangpu 0 20 40 60 80 km Jinjiang Tongan Huian Nanan Anxi N Yongchun Q u a n z h o u Xiamen Zhangzhou Longhai T A I W A N S T R A I T Kuah_03_ch03.indd 56 11/11/2010 11:36 AM [18.208.203.36] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 03:39 GMT) The Ancestral Village in Anxi County 57 county governments to eradicate poverty, and their success. As qiaoxiang, with overseas Chinese capital, are considered by the government to be potential growth nodes that could bring about development in the county, the chapter will examine how the Singapore Chinese, in part through encouragement of government officials, have provided material and financial resources to help eradicate poverty and to make the qiaoxiang prosperous. Location of Anxi County Anxi district is located in the southeast region of Fujian, covering longitude 117 degrees 36’ to 118 degrees 17’ east and latitude 24 degrees 50’ to 25 degrees 26’ north. It has an area of 3057.28 square metres. In 2009, it had 13 towns (zhen, 镇), of which Penglai Zhen was one, and 11 townships (xiang,鄉). In 1990, it contained 186,215 households and a total population Map 2: Administrative units of Anxi County, Fujian Futianxiang Shenneixiang Fengcheng K u i d o u z h e n J i n g u z h e n Shangqingxiang Guanqiaozhen Anxixian Jiandouzhen Bailaixiang Xi Creek Gandezhen Hutouzhen L o n g m e n z h e n Huqiuzhen Lantianxiang Changkengxiang X i a n g h u a x i a n g Longjuanxiang Penglaizhen...