Yesterday (April 26, 2022), coinciding with the 161st anniversary of the birth of Zhan Tianyou, the "father of China's railways", Zhan Tongbao, the grandson of Zhan Tianyou, donated the "Genealogy of the Zhan Clan of Huiwu Luyuan Zhan Clan" written by his ancestors to the Zhan Tianyou Science and Technology Development Foundation and preserved it in the Zhan Tianyou Memorial Hall. This handwritten genealogy is a first-hand source for studying the origins of the Zhan Tianyou family, and has important historical and research value.
Ma Fuhai, vice chairman of zhan tianyou science and technology development foundation, took a group photo with Zhan Tongbao
At 9:00 a.m. on April 26, Mr. Zhan Tongbao, who was elderly, accompanied by his wife Ms. Lin Bihong, came to the Qinglongqiao Station of the Beijing-Zhang Railway to present flower baskets to the bronze statue of Zhan Tianyou and the tomb in the station area. "Because I am old, I am a little reluctant to leave, and my mood is a little complicated." Zhan Tongbao told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that this was his fourth time to come to Qinglong Bridge.
Zhan Tongbao presented a flower basket to the bronze statue of Zhan Tianyou
At 10:00 a.m., the cultural relics donation ceremony was held at the Zhan Tianyou Memorial Hall near the Qinglong Bridge. Zhan Tongbao personally donated the family tree to the Zhan Tianyou Science and Technology Development Foundation. Ma Fuhai, vice chairman of zhan tianyou science and technology development foundation, issued a "donation certificate" to Zhan Tongbao.
Zhan Tongbao and Ma Fuhai carried out the handover of cultural relics
Certificate of donation
The Beijing Youth Daily reporter saw at the scene that the family tree handwritten by Zhan Tianyou, placed in a brocade box and on the browned yellow cover, was Zhan Tianyou's "Genealogy of the Zhan Clan of HuiWu Luyuan Zhan Clan" and "Tianyou Li of the Ten Years of the Great Qing Dynasty Guangxu Clan" written by Zhan Tianyou with a brush. This genealogy is 138 years old.
A family tree written by Zhan Tianyou himself
It is understood that Zhan Tongbao is the son of Zhan Tianyou's eldest son, Zhan Wenjue, who now lives in Macao, which is the second time that the old man has donated cultural relics. On December 8, 1986, Zhan Tongbao donated zhan Tianyou's gold medal from Yale University to the zhan tianyou memorial hall preparatory office, which has been rated as a national first-class cultural relic.
Yale Gold Medal (courtesy of Zhan Tianyou Memorial)
Mr. Zhan Tongbao spoke at the ceremony
Zhan Tongbao told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that this time he came to Beijing on a special trip thousands of miles to donate this family tree that has existed for more than 130 years on behalf of the descendants of the Zhan family, hoping to let more people admire the family feelings and moral demeanor of his grandfather Mr. Zhan Tianyou. The old man also said that this precious family tree, he wrapped it in newspaper at home, put it on the insecticide, and sealed it in a tin box, but the conditions at home are limited after all, and it is difficult to do a good job of protective measures such as moisture.
The family tree is kept in a low-oxygen cabinet
In order to protect this genealogical relic, the Zhan Tianyou Science and Technology Development Foundation negotiated with the China Railway Museum and decided to include it in the Zhan Tianyou Memorial Hall belonging to the China Railway Museum. After the donation ceremony, Ma Ruohong, deputy director of the Zhan Tianyou Memorial Hall, personally placed the family tree in a low-oxygen cabinet in the exhibition area. The low-oxygen cabinet has the function of constant temperature and humidity, which is extremely beneficial to the protection of paper cultural relics. In addition, this display cabinet uses low-reflection, UV-resistant special glass, which makes the artifacts look less reflective and clearer.
Gauges in a showcase
Li Chunji, director of the China Railway Museum, said that after the preservation and display of cultural relics, they will next carry out the grading and filing of cultural relics, and carry out relevant research in a timely manner.
Zhan Tongbao and Li Chunji took a group photo in front of the display case
The family tree was written in 1884 when Zhan Tianyou was 23 years old
Genealogy, also known as genealogy and genealogy, records the lineage and deeds of important figures of a family, and plays an irreplaceable role in the study of history, folklore, demography, sociology and economics. Many family trees carry ethical norms such as family rules and ancestral precepts that are unique to a family.
Zhan Tianyou was born in Guangdong on April 26, 1861 (the eleventh year of Xianfeng), with his ancestral home in Wuyuan County, Huizhou (now part of Jiangxi). In 1872, Zhan Tianyou was one of the first batch of young children sent by the Qing government to study in the United States, and in 1878, he was admitted to the Department of Civil Engineering of Yale University to study railway engineering, and returned to China after graduation in 1881. In 1884, Zhang Zhidong invited Zhan Tianyou to return to Guangdong and serve as a foreign language teacher at the Huangpu Changzhou Practical Study Hall in Guangzhou, and Zhan Tianyou, who was 23 years old at the time, combined with the "Wuyuan County Chronicle", compiled and compiled the "Genealogy of the Zhan Clan of Huiwu Luyuan Zhan Clan", and on the page header of the relevant ancestors in the genealogy, the full text copied the deeds of the ancestors in the "Wuyuan County Chronicle".
After 1888, Zhan Tianyou has been running for the cause of China's railways, and has presided over or organized the construction of Beijing-Zhang, Jinpu, Sichuan-Han, Yue-Han and other railways. On April 24, 1919, Zhan Tianyou died in Hankou at the age of fifty-nine. After Zhan Tianyou's death, his family tree was preserved by his eldest son Zhan Wenyou and later passed on to Zhan Tongbao for treasure.
Family trees in a showcase
It is worth mentioning that the Zhan Tianyou Memorial Hall also contains a family tree hand-copied by Zhan Tianyou's second son, Zhan Wenqun, and the cover book "Anhui Wuluyuan Zhan Clan Lineage Genealogy Book II", donated by Zhan Tianyou's grandson Zhan Tongji, was designated as a national third-class cultural relic.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Cui Yifei
Photo / Beijing Youth Daily reporter Cui Yifei
Editor/Cui Yifei