符氏族谱

On 符氏族谱Fu2 Shi4 Zu2 Pu3, the Foo clan genealogy SUN-HOO FOO, MD. FACP, FAAN
1/87 April 2004
On 符氏族谱Fu2 Shi4 Zu2 Pu3, the Foo clan genealogy
Sun-Hoo Foo (32-74)1
符传孝Fu2Chuan2xiao4
INTRODUCTION
My study of the Foo family history began in 1984. My wife and I took our children to visit
Brunei Darussalam, the Southeast Asian country where we had grew up and where our relatives still
reside. It was at this time that my father, Foo Hong (31-73) (符大(永)焕 Fu2Da4 (Yong3) Huan4),
handed me the "符氏族谱 Fu2 Shi4 Zu2 Pu3." The Foo clan genealogical records had been reprinted
in 1982 by Foo Tee Tay (符氏社fu2shi4she4), our Clan Temple in Singapore. It was eleven volumes
long and weighed twenty pounds! Since each photocopied page contained four of the original pages, this
reprint was only one quarter of the original document!
The compilation of this 符氏族谱Fu2 Shi4 Zu2 Pu3 required 603 people and five years of work.
From 1933-1938, 符元春 (28-70) (Fu2Yuan2Chun1)2 and 符致逵(30-72) (Fu2Zhi4Kui2), an
Economic professor at Nan Kai University (南开大学Nan2 Kai1 da4xue2), led the project. This
zu2pu3 articulated the links to the Foo clan's previous zu2pu3s and, ultimately, to the first generation of
Foo (符Fu2), a surname which was created during the Qin Dynasty (秦Qin2 ).
My father also gave me two calligraphic zu2pu3s, which begin with the 19th and 28th generations
of Foos after immigrating to海南Hainan respectively. They describe our family history for the past
seventy years and link my children's generation to the 1938 Fu2 Shi4 Zu2 Pu3. With the information
contained in these genealogical records, we can accurately trace our ancestry for 2,215 years and 75
generations to 符雅Fu2Ya4 and, with some extrapolation, for 3,114 years and 109 generations to 周旦
(Zhou1Dan4 ).
My son Farng-Yang Foo (33-75) (符芳扬, Fu2 Fang1Yang2) has also researched our family
history. During his senior year in high school, he enrolled in an Independent Study class and conducted
independent research on his ethnic identity. His work has contributed to my understanding of our family
history and his unique approach in addressing our ancestry has reassured me that our family history will
not be lost to future generations.3
1 Following the names of the Foo family members, I have included their generational rank in parenthesis. The first number
is their generational rank after 符有辰(1-42) (Fu2You3Chen2) who was the first ancestor to migrate from mainland China to
Hainan Island and the second represents their generational rank counting from 符 雅Fu2Ya4 (0-1), the first individual to
bear the Foo name.
2 Unfortunately, 符元春 (28-70) (Fu2Yuan2Chun1) did not include additional biographical information about himself in
the records.
3 In this Independent Study, Farng-Yang Foo (33-75) (符芳扬, Fu2 Fang1Yang2) wrote a number of papers: "Stories,"
"Foo Fables," "Untitled" and "My Mom's Side." He also wrote "A Brief History of the Foo Family" for our family
newsletter (Jan 1993) and "Zhi Zhu Pu" for From a Different Shore (March 1993), Horace Mann School's annual Asian
American publication. His research also gave him the foundation to write a personal essay entitled "Ingrid's Letter" which
was published in The Drum: The HM Minority Student Publication Vol. 5-1.
On 符氏族谱Fu2 Shi4 Zu2 Pu3, the Foo clan genealogy SUN-HOO FOO, MD. FACP, FAAN
2/87 April 2004
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
What is a 族谱zu2pu3 What is a family temple
The zu2pu3 is a genealogical record of a particular clan. It contains an individual's name and the
names of his wife and sons. It also lists his date of birth and his date of death, as well as the location of
his burial site and the direction that his tombstone faces. The zu2pu3 records the individual's
generational and sibling rank as well as the name of the individual's father. Similar information is
recorded for each of the individual's sons.
The zu2pu3 is associated with the family temple, which is tended by the family's eldest son. The
Chinese place a lot of value in their family ties. We believe that the blessings that we have today are a
result of the good deeds of our predecessors. We also believe that our current actions will affect our
future generations. Deceased relatives who are significant contributors to the family are given a place in
the family temple and are worshipped so that they continue to bless the family. In ancient times, the
family temple was extremely important. Familial connections were necessary to secure professional
opportunities and the temple and its annual celebrations held at the temple were key in establishing
personal and professional networks. Those in charge of the temple played pivotal roles in the
community.
Whenever someone moved to a new place and became successful, a new family temple would be
established and that individual would become the first generation of that temple. The new temple would
acknowledge its ties to the previous temple and note its relative generational rank. Because this system
insured ties to prior family temples and previous family records, future generations whose fathers and
forefathers had followed tradition can easily map their ancestry.
How did we obtain the Fu2Shi4Zu2Pu3 符氏族谱, the Foo clan genealogy
My father, Foo Hong (31-73) (符大 (永) 焕, Fu2Da4 (Yong3) Huan4), traveled to Hainan, the
second largest island in China, to obtain these records from our relatives and meticulously traced our
lineage within these texts.
The aforementioned "Fu2 Shi4 Zu2 Pu3 符氏族谱" compiled in 1938 and reprinted in 1982
contains information about the first zu2pu3 of the Foo family which was compiled around 960 AC,
during the Song dynasty (宋Song4 ), and which contained a preface written by famous scholar 欧阳修
(Ou1 Yang2 Xiu1).
Interestingly enough, according to the zu2pu3 created in the 1930s, our ancestor 符文章
Fu2Wen2 Zhang1 (17-59) disappeared. However, one of the calligraphic zu2pu3s that my father
obtained begins with the 19th generation of Foo, soon after 符正方 Fu2Zheng4Fang1(18-60), 文章Wen2
Zhang1's son, moved to a small village, 文山园村(Wen2Shan1Yuan2Cun1). With the exception of my
grandfather 符成鋆 Fu2Cheng2Yun2 ( 30-72) who migrated to Malaysia, the descendents of 符正方
Fu2Zheng4Fang1(18-60) have lived in this area ever since. The Foo Clan Temple, 温泉公社
(Wen1Quan2Gong1She4), is still located in 文山园村(Wen2Shan1Yuan2Cun1) but the name of the
village has changed to 文塘村(Wen2Tang2Cun1). It houses the current calligraphic zu2pu3 which
begins with 符名节Fu2Ming2Jie2 (28-70).
On 符氏族谱Fu2 Shi4 Zu2 Pu3, the Foo clan genealogy SUN-HOO FOO, MD. FACP, FAAN