In the enduring carriage of history, many families have been separated because of wars and businesses.
Some families have taken root in foreign countries, but the memory of their ancestors and culture has never been broken.
There is such a family, and their story is like a wide picture scroll, spanning the entire sea, painting 381 years of ups and downs.
Despite such a long journey and such a long time, they have passed on the culture from generation to generation.
Time flies, and the world changes, but the family has never forgotten their roots, and they know that they are Chinese.
The five big characters "I am Chinese" are written on the family tree in red cinnabar, which is like a call in the blood, so that everyone in the family remembers who they are and what responsibilities they have.
This is not only their adherence to old traditions, but also a commitment to the future.
No matter where you go in the world, there is always a warm corner in your heart for your hometown, and you can retain a recognition of your own culture from the heart.
1. Merchants are in a foreign land
Tian Haoqian, also known as Xunyu, was born in 1610 in the home of a scholar in Fengzheng Township, Jize County, Handan City, Hebei Province.
Their family has a background, great-grandfather Tian Yi was a big official in charge of the local area, and his grandfather Tian Yingyang's official position is not small, and he has become the governor of Xiangfu.
Although Tian Haoqian's father did not become an official in his hometown, there are many big names in the court in the Tian family for several generations, and the family conditions are good and the reputation outside the country is also good.
Tian Haoqian grew up in such a cultured and educated environment, and the ink in his stomach naturally goes without saying, it is a poem and a book in his belly.
He is easy-going and a little dissolute, very decent, and very generous, and these good qualities become more and more obvious as he grows up day by day.
According to the family's thoughts, Tian Haoqian should take the road of promotion through the imperial examination, and become a court official in the future.
He is also really competitive, he was admitted to Xiucai at the age of fourteen, and everyone is very beautiful.
But just when everyone thought that he would go all the way down this road, Tian Haoqian made a big turn, he stopped studying and became an official, and changed his career to do business!
This news was like a thunderbolt to the Tian family, who had always been proud of being an official, and it shook the elders of the family so much that they couldn't do it.
At that time in the Ming Dynasty, merchants were not popular in society, even if you had a lot of money, the society still looked at you differently.
But Tian Haoqian did not believe in evil, and with his extraordinary talent and unique vision, he soon became famous in the business world.
His business is getting better and better, not only has the family's money increased several times, but more importantly, he has used practical actions to tell his family that he is a capable and practical person.
It's a pity that the good days didn't last long, the society was in chaos in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, and the Qing army came to fight from time to time, Tian Haoqian's business also began to suffer.
In order to find a new way out, he decided to go to North Korea single-handedly, despite the worries and opposition of his family.
At that time, the relationship between North Korea and the Ming Dynasty was good, and the trading between the two sides was quite frequent, and Tian Haoqian thought that he could find a turning point there.
Unexpectedly, history played a big joke on him. In 1637, when the Qing army attacked Korea, it also occupied Phi Dao, an important overseas base of the Ming Dynasty.
Coincidentally, Tian Haoqian happened to be busy with business on Phi Dao, and as a result, he accidentally became a prisoner of the Qing army.
North Korea had already surrendered at that time, and the dozen or so people captured became prisoners, including Tian Haoqian, and were directly handed over to North Korea for care.
In this way, this businessman from Fengzheng Township, Handan, Hebei Province, began his exile in North Korea.
2. Writing and returning in a foreign land
Although Tian Haoqian is in a foreign country, his full of knowledge and talent not only made the Korean king look up to him, but also mixed well in the local cultural circle.
Among a group of rugged military men, his elegant temperament and outstanding intelligence simply stood out from the crowd.
As soon as the king of Joseon heard that he was a talented man in the Ming Dynasty and was from a famous family, he invited him to teach the children of the princes and nobles without saying a word, and became the teacher of the younger generations of the Korean nobles.
There, Tian Haoqian relied on his status as a literati to break out a new world for himself. He is good at learning, has a set of teaching, and is friendly, and the North Korean royal family respects and values him.
After a long time, Tian Haoqian's status in North Korea was rising and rising, and he finally became a big official such as the general political doctor and the deputy protector of Long Xiangwei.
He settled down there, married a wife and had children, and his life was settled.
However, no matter how wonderful the mix is outside, the homesickness in Tian Haoqian's heart has not diminished at all.
During the New Year's holidays, he always took the children to worship in the direction of his hometown, and told them that our hometown is in Fengzheng Village, Guangping Prefecture, and we must go back to recognize our ancestors and return to our ancestors when we have the opportunity in the future.
This belief is like a perennial candle lit at home, which has always illuminated the hearts of Tian Haoqian's juniors.
Later, Tian Haoqian's descendants became officials in North Korea, and they also married the royal family, and their status was very high.
The Tian family's family on the North Korean side has deep roots.
But don't look at Tian Haoqian's life in North Korea, but he always thinks of his hometown in his heart.
In order not to forget what his hometown is like, he also built a small village in the suburbs, which is similar to his hometown Fengzheng Village.
When you are homesick, you can take your family to live for a while, whether it is true or not, it can alleviate the feeling of homesickness.
He has been a big official in his life, and his family is also harmonious and beautiful, but there is a knot that he can't untie, that is, he can't go back to his hometown.
When he came, he also pulled his disciple Li Yichen and told him that he must take him back to his hometown.
He also specially wrote on the genealogy: "I am Chinese, and future generations must not forget." Even if he stays in North Korea, he still hopes to see his hometown again.
Tian Haoqian's second son, Tian Huiyi, after more than 20 years, took the opportunity of a business trip to the Qing Dynasty to finally contact the Tian family in his hometown in Hebei.
The two sides are connected, and the blank space on the family tree is filled in, and the history of the Tian family is one more stroke.
Tian Huiyi's son inherited his father's business, not only inheriting Chinese culture in North Korea, but also specially explaining that the family tree of his descendants had to add a sentence: "I am Chinese, and my home is in Fengzheng Village, Jize County, Quang Binh Province." ”
In order to make the younger generations remember where he came from, he also stipulated that he should do one thing in the next generation.
That is, all the Tian family members in South Korea have to engrave the five words "Gwangpyeong Fu Tian Family" on their tombstones, just to let everyone remember who they are.
3. Cross-century reunion
In 1930, a letter that had crossed the ocean and gone through a lot of hardships finally arrived in Fengzheng Village, Hebei.
The overseas relatives of the Shinrida family are looking forward to returning home and escaping the hard life outside.
But at that time, China itself was also in chaos, there were foreign powers bullying outside, and there was a war inside, so the Tian family could only helplessly reply to the letter, persuading them to stay safe and secure outside.
In this way, the connection between the two sides is broken.
Time flew by, and the flames of war slowly died out. As soon as the relations between China and North Korea improved, the people at both ends of the Tian family moved again to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors, wanting to get their lost relatives back again.
Especially at the end of the 90s, China and South Korea got along better and better as neighbors, and now there is a good time to find relatives.
Tian Wenjun, the director of Korea Shipping, is a caring person, and he slapped his thigh and decided to embark on the road of finding his roots again.
In 1994, they set up offices in Tianjin, Shanghai, and Qingdao to find the descendants of the Tian family.
But how can things be so easy, the name of the place has changed, and it is difficult to find people, and it is even more difficult to find people than to ascend to the sky.
Just when everyone thought it must be over, a phone call turned things around.
In June 2004, the Qingdao office received a call from Fengzheng Village, who said that it was the Tian family and that there were clues to find someone.
This time, Tian Wenjun was so excited that he hurriedly organized a search for relatives, and after some twists and turns, they finally stood on the land of Fengzheng Village on June 29.
Flipping through the genealogy and comparing the portraits, the people on both sides confirmed that these were relatives who had been separated for a hundred years.
For more than 300 years, the two bloodlines of the Tian family finally hugged together.
Fengzheng Village was very lively, and a grand meeting was held.
Everyone swept the tomb and burned incense, and the older generation was so excited that they wiped their tears, knelt in front of the ancestral grave, and the thought in their hearts finally came to fruition.
It didn't take long for Tian Wenjun to invite his relatives from Fengzheng Village to South Korea, and the welcome there.
Especially the 91-year-old Tian Minghuan, seeing his relatives crying, the dream in his heart finally came true.
Although the Tian family on the Korean side grew up in a foreign country, they speak Chinese very well, and Chinese culture has not been lost.
Since then, the Tian family on both sides has moved around frequently, and the descendants of the Tian family in South Korea have also contributed money and efforts to help their hometown with construction, subsidize schools, and do charity.
Their actions are not only a reflection of the deep affection of their hometown, but also a proof of blood connection and cultural inheritance.
Fortunately, now that the transportation is convenient, the descendants of the Tian family in South Korea can return to their hometowns every year to worship their ancestors, continuing to write the story shared by the two families.
epilogue
The story of the Tian family's relatives in Korea who persistently searched for their relatives tells us that no matter where we go, we should not lose the things of our ancestors.
The deep affection for the family and country in my heart must be preserved forever.
This dream of reunion, which took a century for the family to come true, is not only the Tian family's own business, but also a common memory in the hearts of Chinese and South Koreans.
The people of the Tian family, who have taken root in foreign lands, have not forgotten where they came from, and the roots of Chinese culture have been passed down from generation to generation and have never been broken.
Such a reunion is the joy of seeing each other after a long time between relatives, and it is also a cultural relay.
Let people see that no matter how many years have passed, there are still some things that we still hold tightly in our hands.
No matter what piece of land is under your feet, the way home in your heart cannot be blurred.
They returned to China to worship their ancestors and continue to write genealogies one by one, which was all respect and nostalgia for the old traditions and old-timers in the family.
Along the way, the Tian family encountered a lot of ditches and bumps, but they knew it in their hearts, and they used their lives to protect that dignity and belief that is worth learning from.
References:
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1590467124231875825&wfr=spider&for=pc
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1655625207654286159&wfr=spider&for=pc
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1793926571411360387&wfr=spider&for=pc