Companion to "A Genealogical Research of the Xin Surname": Laoyuan Xin Family

? In Jingchuan, Gansu Province at the junction of Shaanxi and Gansu, what is called Nanyuan generally refers to the three towns of Gaoping Yaodian and Feiyun on the edge of National Highway 312. This ancient Silk Road used to be called the Xilan (Xi'an to Lanzhou) Highway, which was built in the 1930s during the Anti-Japanese War. After liberation, the state unified planning formed the area starting from the People's Square of Huangpu District in Shanghai in the east and ending at Horgos Port in Ili Prefecture of Xinjiang in the west. It connects to Xi'an in the east, Lanzhou in the west, and Yinchuan in the north. Since the G70 Fuyin Expressway and later the G22 Qinglan Expressway opened bypasses more than ten years ago, they have lost their former glory. In fact, Nanyuan is not a complete plain, but is divided into several interconnected residual plains by ravines. Feiyun's easternmost villages, Potou, Nanyu, Laozhuang and Yanyatou, south of Jinghe River, are bounded by Erlanggou north of Yaodian Town. The northern part of Canyuan is called Laoyuan.

? The Stone Age fossils discovered in Nanyugou on the old plain fully illustrate the long history here. In the past, the place where Nanyu Village in Potou Laozhuang met was called the Qizhong Fortress. There once stood seven huge earth tombs. Legend has it that Kuafu passed by to rest while chasing the sun and poured out the soil from the shoe frames. made. In fact, there are seven ancient tombs there. I heard from my fathers that they only saw 5 of them. One of them had knocked down a passing deity. When he was hit by a cane to the south, half of it fell in Lijiagou in the south, and the other half fell in Yaodianyutou. of peace, as evidenced by the fact that these two semicircular mounds seem to be on the same longitude. I'm not sure about the details of another legend. It's said that there are only 5 left in the Geda Pass on the southeast mountain of Jingchuan County, a few dozen miles to the west. There were only two tall mounds of dirt that I had ever seen. In the end, it was dug up and leveled during land preparation for water conservancy construction and land preparation. In the early days of reform and opening up, tomb robbers from other places used instruments to mark the cornfields at the Zhongzi site. The local villagers did not pay attention, thinking they were some kind of national survey team. They did not know until they found out that they had been stolen and dug up. . After the report was made, the local police were dispatched and only saw a pile of domestic garbage deep underground at the tomb robbery site. It is said that the two half-mounds in Lijiagou and Taiping in Yaodian Yutou in the south had also been dug up and stolen. In fact, I can’t be wrong in inferring that those tombs were gradually formed during the Han and Tang Dynasties.

? First, there were several ancient tombs in the hutong where we lived in the south. I have also seen large clear bricks that should be Qin bricks, and we also dug out several bronze mirrors. It's called a breast shield. I've seen it at a friend's house. A clay pot from the Han Dynasty was excavated from the earthen platform in the east of my hometown. It was said that someone resold it and made tens of thousands of dollars. Second, on the edge of the north mountain of the tomb is Changwu City, which is a site from the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Xue Ju City, where Emperor Taizong Li Shimin fought against Xue Rengao, is also nearby. Legend has it that the Zhanduan Mountain where Wei Zhengmeng killed the Jinghe Dragon is on the hilltop to the north of the Potou Brigade. Third, the natural conditions in that area are very good. There are springs in several ditches nearby. There is a section of ancient city wall built along the ravine at a place called Baozi on the sunny side of the mountain near my hometown. There are many abandoned cave dwellings from the ravine to the original side on the sunny side. , there are traces of people living here.

Although there are few historical and archaeological records mentioning this place, except for a few Qin bricks and Han pottery and bronze mirrors that were stolen and bought, there are mainly no written records such as tombstones. Legends alone cannot explain anything. Just like the Xia Dynasty of our country was denied by the Western world because there was no direct physical evidence. But I am convinced that Laoyuan was once a very important, even pivotal, geographical center. Because tradition is an intangible memory passed down orally from generation to generation. Laoyuan is very famous as a place name in a hundred miles radius. There is still a market tradition there. People living nearby are accustomed to going there to trade.

? My hometown, the Xin family in Nanyu Village, Feiyun Town, is right next to Laoyuan. When communicating with outsiders, as long as you mention the Xin family in Laoyuan, they will know it. And they are divided into upper and lower Xin families. The upper and lower Xin families are mainly distinguished by geographical location. To the northwest, adjacent to Yuanchao Village and along the Shiwanaiyagogo Valley, is the Shangxin family. The Shangxin family has two production teams now called She, and the team to the north also has Yang Zhao and other miscellaneous surnames.

Regarding the Xin family's video, our ancestors said that people in our village treated things indifferently or even went out of their way, so that the Xin family in Nanyuan (probably at the kiln shop or the mourning platform) paid tribute and received a cold reception and had them stolen. From now on, our Xin family has no genealogical records to test.

? Without the genealogy, the road to take the national registration examination will be particularly difficult. Based on the memories and deductions of the old people, I found that the upper nine generations of my family's eighteen generations, including the originator, distant ancestor, Taizu, Liezu, and Tianzu, are all unknown. My great ancestor had the latter two. The lineage of the eldest great-grandfather came to the hall and the fifth ancestor, who I called the fifth master, also called the forest to end because there were no children. In another lineage, my great-grandfather was named Taiping, who lived during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. There were four of the latter. My grandfather was the eldest of four brothers. My second grandfather, third grandfather, and fourth grandfather all moved from the Lower Xin family to the Shangxin family before liberation. My grandfather Jiaji, also known as Pangui, is the only one left in the Xiaxin family. He was born on the fifth day of November in the 14th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, and died on the fourth day of the third month of the lunar calendar in 1948 AD. My ancestors include my father, named Ting Ru (August 20, 1929, the 16th day of the seventh lunar month - November 8, 2008, the 11th day of the tenth lunar month). He worked as a farmer all his life and raised three daughters and three sons. The third son was my brother's mother who passed away when he was born, so he was given to the general, Jia Xiaolang, the nephew of the fifth master. Regarding my ancestors and my father's visit to my brother and me, I wrote a blog post called "A Study of the Genealogy of the Xin Surname" and a detailed description with pictures and texts in "Meipian".

? History always moves forward. Learn from history and face the future. Summarizing the gains and losses is for the future! These descendants of the Xin family with the surname Xin are supposed to be harmonious and friendly so that they can be prosperous and develop together! Of course, as time goes by, the traditional blood connection will gradually decrease and fade. But mastering and understanding one’s own ins and outs should be a compulsory course for everyone. Otherwise, if you live your life in confusion, wouldn't it be a waste of the rare lifetime that the Creator gave you that you will never come back again?