浮生摘录

The Memoir of Mr. Yinting & The Family Yao

author/ Yinting Yao translation/ Kong Cai editorial/ James Gunn

“I hope the record can pass down generation to generation so even when future generations separate, they can find each other with the record. To not forget about our roots is my greatest wish.�

The Heritage History of Yao

Table of Contents 目录 Book 1

浮生摘录

Excerpts from My Drifting Life Book 2

南雄广仁小学 创办始末

The Founding of Guangren Elementary Book 3

姚氏家史

The Heritage History of Yao Book 4

姚氏族谱

The Family Tree of Yao

姚荫庭 / Yinting Yao

浮生摘录

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

广东省南海县摘桂乡𧒽

My Father

岗 西 约 翰 林 坊， 一 条 几

48 父亲

板青石阔而微弯的长街

My Grandfather

之 中， 坐 东 向 西 一 座 土

45 祖父

打 垒 墙 壁， 杉 桁 盖 瓦，

My Life in Nanxiong

一厅两廊三房一天并的

24 旅居南雄生活忆记

祖 屋 里 ， 1 9 1年 2 壬子七 月 十 五 日 子 时， 我 在 右

Marriage

译

20 婚恋过程

James Gunn

Schooling

边的房内出世了。

18 启蒙上学

译

1916 Flood

著

16 乙丑年水灾

蔡子豪

My Hometown

姚荫庭

浮生摘录

我的出生地 6

Excerpts from My Drifting Life author/ Yinting Yao translation/ Kong Cai edit/ James Gnn

Guangdong Province, Nanhai County, Zhaigui Valley, Leigang Town, Xiyue Street, Hanlin District, east of a blended blue stone alley … in the right wing of a west facing old family house comprised of one living room, two patios, three bedrooms, and a central courtyard … inside walls of grass-mud covered brick, under roof tiles and trees … on July 15th 1912, midnight, I was born.

The Memoir

我的出生地

我的祖父姚桂字棣华号星榆，当年 65 岁。祖母方氏 63 岁。我的 父亲姚自鉴字衡初号佐明，当年 29 岁。母亲吴带号壁绅，当年 25 岁， 是我父的继室。元配吴氏早卒。我是父亲的第五个孩子，但只有 三姐月逢在世。因此我成为这家的宝贝，怕丢失他，在耳穿孔戴 金耳环作为记认，直至我十六岁在佛山读书时才脱下耳环，怕人 耻笑。祖母天天念经拜神祈求保佑我平安长大。 我的祖父是清末屡试不第的读书人，以教书为生。父亲随他的叔 父做生意，过着店员的生活，家庭经济小康，平淡无奇。 我的祖父星榆公是饱学之士，在乡教书，多次受聘去佛山教家塾， 如马百良、黄祥华等大户人家，子侄众多，特聘老师回家教学， 是为专家舘（馆）。在肃雍堂及韩林坊口的大厅设书塾，他的弟 兄子侄，教育成人，学生遍数代，几十年孜孜不倦，至于代人写 文书等工作，有求必应。乡人无不敬重，称之为星榆先生，我七 岁至十四岁都在乡下跟祖父读书，因此家乡的印象很深，掌故也 知得不少。每年清明去罗村涌头圩、瓜步、石湾等地拜山，有时 也搭车，有时雇大船，一河两岸，风光甚佳，有些人玩牌，有些 人看书报，有些人讲故事，顽童们在船上追逐嬉戏，回程在码头 分大包，分银，每人一元几角，见者一份，父老及执事双份。回 到祠堂斩烧猪，分给全族男丁，没有去拜山的人都有份，六十岁

有的玩，有银分，有大包果蔗烧肉分，同春节过年一样快乐，至 今年七十多年前的往事，回忆起来还津津乐道，还有一段故事， 深印在我童年时的脑中。

10

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

双份，七十岁三份，八十岁以上四份。童年去拜太公山十分高兴，

姚氏

My Hometown 1

because I felt embarrassed wearing them

My grandpa, Gui Yao, named Di, titled Xingyu, was 65. My grandma, Fang, was 63. My father Zijian Yao, named Heng, titled Zuoming, was 29. My mother Dai Wu, titled Bishen, was 25, who was the second wife of my father. First wife Wu died early. I am the fifth son but my third sister Yuefeng was my only living sibling, so I was sincerely loved by my family. To keep me from going missing, I was asked to wear a pair of gold earrings, until my studies in Foshan during my 16th year 1. At the time, Grandma prayed to Buddha for my health every day.

Father lived a normal and respectable life of a businessman working with his uncle. Grandpa was an intellectual in the late Qing Dynasty who always failed to pass the governmental contests. But he was well-educated, offering studies in our valley and was often invited to Foshan to be a family teacher for wealthy families like Bailiang Ma and Xianghua Huang, which had a number of younger boys. They planned a couple of private spaces for his lectures to their children in Suyong Hall and Hanlin Hall. He dedicated years to educating people. His students were multi-generational. He also did letter writing whenever people asked for help. Thus, he was well esteemed in the valley and called Mr. Xingyu. I was one of his students between the ages of 7 and 14, so I knew a lot about my valley and had occasions to hear stories from others.

浮生摘录

Every year, on Qingming Festival, our family would go to places like Luocun, Guabu, Shiwan to sweep tombs. We drove and sometimes we hired ships. Scenic views were very fine. On the ships, people played cards, read books or newspapers, and told stories; kids chased each other. When we were back on the docks, not only our family but people who dwelled in these places would receive money from grandpa, usually 1 Yuan and a

11

The Memoir

2 Old bell of the temple rang 3 Streams of Birds and Monkeys every morning waking the was one of the places to visit whole valley. Yuchan lift the bell but was already dried up. Water and flew away. West River was running in a pond near the in front of the temple, people temple sounded like a zither fishing there around dawn. playing.

4 There is a platform on the 5 There was a path built for mountain peak where geese transportation between Xiajiao from the north would stop here and Leigang and along the path to rest. Shiyun Mountain had was ten miles of pine trees. a famous Hen Stone and a big eucalyptus was there facing the dock.

No bells to ring in the temple, 2 No fish to fish in the West River.

White crane and flute will be silent in the bamboo 3 forest, Streams of Birds and Monkeys will dry up.

Old dock of Shiyun still remains, 5 While ten miles path of pines will slowly decay.

12

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

Beauty plays zither but strings broke, 4 Gooses will rest on flat peak but never fly again.

姚氏

1

相当于现在的 最高法院院长

couple Jiao; elders and stewards got double. Back to the family shrine, we shared roasted pigs to all the males, even those who were no longer with us, and those in their 60th year got double, 70th year got triple, and 80th year got quadruple. It was one of the best times of my childhood because I was allowed to play and could also receive money and food, which was as fun as Spring Festival. I can still feel the happiness as I am writing this down even though it happened 70 years ago. Aside from the sweeping tomb, there is one more thing that is still vivid.

那是西溪社的李部政陈尸三日，我亲眼看过这具僵尸。李氏宗 祠的祖先是在明朝任布政司 1 知法犯法。十分蛮横的人，回乡建 祠堂认为𧒽岗山脚原有一座弥勒寺的地段，风水极好，强赶寺 内众僧离境，占有寺产改建李氏宗祠，主持僧育禅大师，据理 力争，李布政恃势，一意孤行，亲督兵丁到寺驱逐育禅，大师 愤然题诗壁上，诗云：

浮生摘录

It was the three-day viewing of President Li’s corpse, which I saw in person. Li’s family was working in the Central Court in Ming Dynasty but they were arrogant and deliberately broke the law to their advantage. When they decided to build a shrine for their family in the hometown, because they thought a Buddhist temple under Leigang Mountain had great fengshui, they forced all the monks out and wanted to rebuild the shrine from the temple. Although Master Yuchan argued for the necessity of the temple at the place, Li utilized what power he had, telling soldiers to expel the monks in the temple. Yuchan was irritated and wrote a poem on the wall of the temple:

13

7 即弥勒寺旧址

以上𧒽岗八景育禅大师点破，止住李布政骂他无法无天，强占风

The Memoir

6 相当于最高检 察院院长

水宝地，倒行逆施，反而破坏了风水，今𧒽已无肉（育禅赶走） 只剩一壳，你死而不化！言罢一手托起寺内古钟飘然而去。果然 李布政建祠后不久死了，其子孙不肖，家业衰微，几百人的大族 至 1920 年后只剩几十人，且贫穷潦倒，吸毒赌徒居多，因此拆祠 堂、掘祖墓、变卖物业维持生活。李布政之坟在祠后山腰亦被挖掘， 以为不少陪葬宝物，不料四周用石灰松香实坚固异常费了不少人 工才在几丈深处发现棺槨开棺见李布政面目如生，衣冠颜色如新， 抬出放在祠堂拆剩的神厅内，三日后所有衣物全部腐朽，一触即 化，独李布政之尸不化，指甲二寸多长，卷曲入爪，面目灰蓝， 眼放青光，如僵尸一样恐怖，我和同学在人缝中一望，不敢细看， 飞跑回家，心有余悸，乡人都说李布政死后几百年，尸体不化， 应了育禅大师骂他而不化的咒语。闻说李氏子孙掘墓所得每丁分 得几十元，草草将李布政的尸体重埋穴中了事，据说陪葬物最值 钱的是棺木、沉香及埋在底下几百年的松香可做药用，其他衣物 都化为灰，金银珠宝一无所有，确是奇闻。 我族七世祖素轩公在朝任左都御史 6，对李布政贪赃枉法，多次 揭发上奏，但皇上昏庸，赏罚不明，执法不严，李布政得以横行 如故，因此结怨，姓姚的人要绕道而行，不准踏入李氏的庄园范 围 7，李布政死后他的子孙不肖，家业日衰，而我姚族兴旺发达， 才消除两族积怨，修建一条大石路通过李氏宗祠门口，直达大地

二、六圩期，省、佛及四乡万商云集，到此趁圩，生意兴隆，当 时有句谚语：“𧒽岗的铜多过佛山的铁“。自古以来佛山冶炼铸造 十分发达，庙寺的铁香炉、铁鼎、铁钟、大镬、兵器、大炮、刀剪、 犁耙等都是佛山铸造的，远销国内外，用铁之多，可以想见，𧒽 14

岗非产铜区，只是一个小乡村，为何𧒽岗钢多过佛山铁呢？因为

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

街市场，另有一圩场在南约龙头社游氏宗祠附近名叫鸡圩，每逢

姚氏

6 one kind of shelled animal in 7 because the river; the town Leigang was Yuchan was named after this animal expelled

浮生摘录

The decay of six of eight of the famous Views of Leigang from the poem above was pointed out by Master Yuchan, preventing President Li from being accused as an outlaw, occupying the site and damaging the fengshui. “Today Lei 6 has no body 7 but only a shell, you will die but never turn into ash.” After saying this, Yuchan lift the bell and flew away. As expected, President Li died soon after the shrine was built and the family was full of luxurious playboys. The family waned quickly. In 1920, this wealthy family of a couple hundred people became a small family of only a few people and they were poor and some of them were even addicted to drugs and gambling. They survived by taking down the shrine, digging their family tombs and selling property they inherited. President Li’s tomb was no exception. People thought there would be a lot of treasures, but after destroying the protected structure made with resin and lime around the coffin, they only found Li’s body as fresh as a living human and his clothing also looked new. They moved him out, placing him in the center hall which was the only remaining part of the shrine.

Three days later, the clothing on his body disintegrated, turning to ash when touched. But the body of President Li stayed intact.

His fingernails grew to two inches, curved like claws. His face was grey and eyes flashed blue lights, just like a vampire. Me and my classmate peeped through the crowds. I did not dare to take another look and ran home with fear in my mind. People said Li’s body remained preserved for a hundred years exactly as what Master Yuchan said. I also heard that every person from Li’s family got about ten yuan each by selling the property and afterwards Li was buried hastily. And the most valuable was the coffin, which was made of agarwood; all the clothing turned into ashes and no jewelry or gold was found. This is quite a story.

Mr. Suxuan who was the seventh generation of our family was the president of the Central Procuratorate at the time. He was angry about Li’s lawlessness and reported to the Empire, but the

15

The Memoir

People celebrating the birth of Beidi in Zumiao Temple.

近代祖庙的北帝诞游行的装扮 和仪仗

8 相当于现代的 银行专营金融 兑汇业务

当时用铜钱为货币流通，一千枚铜钱为一贯，𧒽岗存万贯家财的 富翁很多，积聚起来的铜比佛山的铁多，可见当时𧒽岗人富甲一 方，尤其以南约游民的祖先游世泰为巨富，他的商行钱庄 8 遍天下， 其财产无法估计。 此人原是佛山补鞋匠之子，三岁时其父在祖庙门前摆荡，北帝诞 在祖庙门口放花炮，花炮上扎一个用红布捆住的铁圈，点燃花炮， 轰的一声，将红布铁圈冲上天空，谁人抢接到手，即向庙内的值 事登记，候放完花炮，值事们按照次序分头炮、二炮、三炮…… 等分别送给一件象征如意吉祥的文物画像、镜屏、花瓶等。代表 该号炮头的固定物品，雇请醒狮、鼓乐、仗义、马色等队伍隆重

雇请雇请醒狮、鼓乐、仗义、马色等隆重送回祖庙，备齐香烛、 祭品、炮竹、花炮敬酬神恩，讲花炮燃放，给别人抢接，是为还炮， 一接一还，花费甚巨，尤其是头炮，认为福星高照，更多人重视 抢接。那天头炮一放，炮圈上天，抢接的人蜂拥争夺，不料红圈 16

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

送到接炮的人家中，供奉一年，到明年北帝诞，接炮的人同样要

姚氏

8 small fireworks

9 people holding decorations like painted signs and lanterns in the parade

Empire was fatuous, not caring about his people, which led to Li’s outrage. Because of this, two families became enemies. People of Yao were told to walk around Li’s property. Two families stopped against each other after the death of President Li when Li’s family started to wane and Yao’s family became wealthy. Our family built a stone alley from our household to a local marketplace Dadi in front of Li’s shrine. There was another marketplace near You’s shrine called Jixu. Every 2 and 6 days, all kinds of business from Foshan and other places in the province would come to the marketplaces to sell their products. The town was prosperous.

There was a saying “Leigang’s copper is more than Foshan’s iron”.

Foshan was known to be advanced in ironing in the history, incense burners in the temples, iron bells, iron dings, cooking vessels, weapons, cannons, knives, scissors, and rakes were all made from Foshan and sold around the country and abroad.

Such a use for iron, how could Leigang, a small town with no mining production, compete with Foshan? Because the currency was made of copper and many rich people and wealthy families lived in Leigang, their money together was more than the iron in Foshan, which showed how rich the town was at the time.

浮生摘录

Shimin You, specifically, was one of the wealthiest; his banks were around the world and his properties were uncountable. He was the son of a shoe repairman. When he was three, his father repaired shoes in front of Zumiao Temple when celebrating the birth of Beidi. There was a special ceremony where people would fire Huapao 8 attached with an iron ring wrapped by a red cloth in front of Zumiao Temple. Whoever got the rings needed to register to the temple and they would receive valuable paintings, folding screens, mirrors, and vases representing wealth and luck according to their orders after the ceremony was done. The first person who got the ring was responsible to arrange a parade of lion dancers, bands, and zhangyimase 9 to receive the objects from Zumiao Temple and then take care of the objects for a year

17

The Memoir

Zumiao Temple

祖庙

不知去向，头炮无人接到，补鞋匠收档回家吃饭，才发现头炮红 圈落入补鞋箩中，他即刻捡出交还祖庙值事，说明原委，声明家穷， 无力接炮，值事们不由分说，登记他接了头炮，亲人邻里也劝他 既来之则安之，神灵光顾，必有大幅，于是众人高高兴兴借钱给 他，帮助接了头炮，转眼一年，北帝诞快到要筹备齐香烛、祭品、 炮仗、花炮雇请雇请醒狮、鼓乐、仗义、马色等等非几百两银莫辩， 去年接炮各亲友借款分文未还，难于开口再借，家徒四壁，无可 变卖。闻𧒽岗一富翁年过半百，妻妾满堂均无子女生育，想买一子， 继承香灯。补鞋匠逼迫无奈，抱起了三岁的亲儿去求富翁帮忙， 卖他的儿子得款还炮酬神，度过燃眉之急，富翁见其子壮健聪灵，

多给些银两与补鞋匠赡家。后来此子接受良好教育，继承富翁产 业，扬亲耀祖，扩展商行钱庄，设遍国内外及南洋群岛，游世泰 的名字传天下。这段故事，省佛各地传开一句口头禅：“佛山放花 炮，弹仔过𧒽岗”。 18

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

十分可爱，全家同意，收养此子，且任务还炮酬神是一宗善事，

姚氏

10 the god of happiness and luck

and redo the same kind of parade sending the objects back to the temple. This person would also need to prepare candles, offerings and Huapao to thank the gods for the blessings. It was expensive to do all this, but people were active and supportive because the first ring represented the blessing from the God of Fu 10. People attempted to find rings when the Huapao was fired. On the day after the Huapao was fired, the ring from the first Huapao was missing until the shoes repairman came home for dinner. He found the ring in his pack and right away returned it to Zumiao Temple. He explained that he had no intention to keep the ring because he couldn’t afford the ceremonial procedure, but people at the registration still signed him under the first ring and even his neighbours came to persuade him, saying the god was coming and he would soon be wealthy. People were happy about lending him money to finish his first parade.

浮生摘录

One year later, he was still poor, unable to return the money from the first parade he borrowed but he had nothing to sell and so he did not want to borrow more money from his neighbors to prepare the returning parade. One day he heard there was a rich man in the town who was over 50 but still had no son because none of his wives were pregnant, so he wanted to buy a son to inherit his wealth. The shoe repairman had no choice but carry his three-year-old son to ask for the rich man’s help.

Because the rich man saw his son as strong and smart, his family all agreed to adopt this kid, and giving money to thank the gods was a good thing to do. He covered the cost of the ceremony for the shoe repairman and paid him enough money to support his family. The son later gained a good education and inherited the wealth from the rich man. He expanded the business of the bank he inherited around the country and abroad to South Asia, becoming a famous. A line of poetry was spread to tell his story, “Foshan fires Huapao, sons are fired through Leigang”.

19

念。自南宋从珠玑巷逃来南海定居不久，蒙古入闯吞金灭宋，建 立元朝，我族无一人出仕，渔樵耕读，隐居山林至明朝中兴，才

The Memoir

童年所闻的掌故之中，还有值得一提的是姚祖祖先的民族气节观

大发展，文有翰林学士、按察御史、侍郎、知府、县丞等；武官 有总兵、副将、侍卫、都尉等等科甲鼎盛，人才辈出。但到满人 入关，建立清朝，二百多年我族又无人出仕，多从事工商业，只 有一个姚大宁考中武科状元，但回乡祭祖后，单人匹马出游山玩 水，闯荡江湖，行侠仗义，隐姓埋名为民除害，打猎为生，一次 在深山同巨熊搏斗，擦伤背部，不以为意，没有修养疗治，继续 游行，以致腐烂彻骨，不治而终，享年不满半百，深堪矣惜！ 辛亥革命，孙中山推翻满清，封建帝制彻底消灭，成立民国，不 幸被军阀夺去革命果实，建国方略，建国大纲未能实施，连年混战， 盗贼蜂起，民不聊生。佛山市全国四大古镇之一，经济地位一落 千丈，尤其是粤汉铁路通车后工商业中心，转移到广州去，佛山 只有手工业，如纱绸、陶瓷及成药膏、丹、丸、散等尚可勉强维持， 及后日寇入侵，更加商业凋零，受杀饿死的人很多，四郊十室九空， 人口和房屋损失四分之一以上，省、佛、陈、龙四镇之称名存实亡， 十分悲惨！这是我 1946 年光复后回到佛山所感受到的情况。

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

20

姚氏

From what I have heard in my childhood, there was also one story that is worth mentioning about our family’s nationalist value. Since Southern Song Dynasty, when our ancestor escaped from Zhuji Alley to Nanhai, Mongolians destroyed Jin and Song, established the Yuan Dynasty, and no one from our family entered the government. They fished and farmed, living in woods until the rise of the Ming Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty, we had Imperial Academicians, Minister, Assistant Minister, Governors, and Mayors as well as Central General, Central Deputy, Imperial Guards, and State Generals. But when Manchu entered Ming, establishing the Qing Dynasty for two hundred years, people again turned to business, except Daling who gained the first place in Imperial Military Contest. But after he went back to visit his family, he decided to visit mountains and waters in the country with only him and his horse. He helped people in need along the way, changed his name, and lived in nature. He was once attacked by a bear in the mountains and was scratched on his back. He paid no attention to the infected wound and died from gangrene. What a pity!

浮生摘录

During Xinhai Revolution, 1911, Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty, destroying feudal monarchy and establishing the Republic of China. But the fruit was stolen by military monarchy in the early stages of the establishment of a new nation. Years of Civil War, people suffered. Foshan as one of the four wealthiest towns, its financial situation declined quickly. Especially after the construction of Yuehan Railway, the business center moved to Guangzhou, only crafting industries such as silk, ceramic, and medicine stayed to support the local business. But later Japanese invasion killed and starved numerous people, nine houses among ten would be empty. At the time, sadly, all four wealthiest towns became only a title! This was what I saw and felt when I came back to Foshan after the victory of Anti-Japanese War in 1946.

21

1916 年乙丑六月我四岁时，西、北江水暴涨，大堤崩缺，全乡变

The Memoir

乙丑年水灾

成泽国。四周人畜迁上𧒽岗山上远避，民房淹没、倒塌的不少。 幸好我们的祖屋得以保存，稍加修辑便可如常居住，当年我六妹 月秀出世，我和三姐一齐同祖母睡。三姐比我大四岁，很懂事， 时常照料我和六妹。闻说水灾后发生鼠疫，死人很多。我家曾迁 居佛山聚龙巷暂避，疫情过后才迁回乡。

启蒙上学 9 祖 父 的 五 弟 九 10 即《故事琼林》 弟、 十 弟 合 资 组建

1918 戊午年，我七岁。祖父在翰林坊口姚三和堂 9 的大厅开设家塾， 招收各家子侄在此读书姐月逢各姑姐一齐上学。祖父选择吉时吉 日为我启蒙开笔，外祖父送来新柏椅供我作书桌，父母为我穿好 长衫马椅，顶戴瓜皮小帽，参拜天地祖先，手提灯笼照明去书馆 拜孔子先师，拜祖父母和父母亲，都要三跪九叩首，搞到我昏头 转向疲于奔命到天亮才上学。祖父作老帅把手教我描红写字，读“三

戚友，启蒙开学典礼十分隆重。从此我每天随三姐上学 . 读《三 字经》“人之初…”，《千字文》“天地玄黄…”，启蒙诗“天子重贤 豪，文章教尔曹……万般皆下品，唯有读书高。”等。读完这三本 红皮书后就教四书五经、古文、成语考 10、秋水等干尺牍、声律、 22

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

字经”，我又再三跪九叩拜谢老师，还要大排筵席宴请老师和亲朋

姚氏

1916 Flood June 1916, when I was four, water in West River and North River rose dramatically, overflowing the barriers, the whole village became a pond. People and stock animals moved to Leigang Mountain. Houses were flood and many collapsed. Fortunately, our family house was safe from the flood and we moved in only after some repairs. That year my sixth sister, Yuexiu, was born.

I heard the plague erupted after the flood. Many people died.

Our family moved temporarily to Julong Valley in Foshan, and returned after the plague.

Schooling 11 funded by grandpa’s fifth, ninth and tenth brothers

浮生摘录

1918, I was seven. Grandfather held a private school in Yaosan Hall 11 welcoming children from different families to study, including grandpa’s sisters. Grandfather chose a lucky day for my enlightenment. He bought me a new chair as my desk and my parents helped me put on my long sleeve shirt, horse pants and melon hat. Before leaving, I needed to kneel to our ancestors and gods. I then held my lantern to light up the road to school. I first knelt to Confucius, then my grandparents, then my parents. I followed the three times kneeling and nine times kowtowing rule, making me dizzy and exhausted until sunrise. Grandpa taught me writing by hand, reading Three Character Classic, Thousand Character Classic, and classic poems. When these three red covered books were done, he started teaching me Four Books and Five Classics, ancient Chinese, Tales from the Children’s Knowledge

23

作对、诗赋等等。11 我从七岁起跟随祖父读书学珠算，其间只有

The Memoir

11 这些书祖父因 事散馆送我

一两年在本乡高石级劳氏宗祠黎师石老师处及李家邵甘棠老师处 学习过一段时期直至 1927 年十六岁时，开始去佛山潮观里谓光中 英数补习学校读了两年半。天天早出晚归不论寒冬酷暑，由三板 桥过二板桥，行田基路到石云山，过横水渡入麒麟门，大基尾、 主帅庙、咸鱼街、南华观音庙，才到潮观里。全程约十华里，要 走一小时有余。晨光晞微，踏着朝雾奔跑于田野间，饱吸清新空气， 经此两年多的锻炼，我文弱多病之身比前强健多了。1929 年私立 长城中学参加体育军训，身体更发育长大，比在乡间时判若两人， 1929 年冬我结婚时穿的长衫短窄长仅过膝不能再用。1933 年秋季 在长城中学商中商科毕业，从此结束求学阶段走上就业之途。

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

24

姚氏

Treasury, writing poetry, wording principles and reading principles.

I started learning abacus when I was seven. I also studied in family Lao’s Mr. Shi for one or two years and Li’s Mr. Shao until 1927 when I was 16. I then went to Foshan Chaoguan Valley’s Weiguang Chinese English and Math Tutoring School to study for two and a half years. No matter hot or cold, I left home early in the morning and came home late at night every day, walking across Sanban Bridge and Erban Bridge, through Xingtianji Road and Shiyun Mountain, shipping across Qinlin Gate, Dajiwei, Zhushuai Temple, Xianyu Street, Nanhua Temple, finally to Guanchao Valley. It usually took me more than an hour. Sunlight immersed under clouds, I stepped on morning mist and ran among fields, breathing fresh morning air.

My body became healthy and strong. In 1929, I did my military training in Private Changcheng Highschool, growing even stronger and taller, becoming a completely different person from when I was in the town. Winter 1929, on my wedding day, my long sleeve shirt was too short for me. Autumn 1933, I graduated with a degree of business from Changcheng Highschool’s Business Department, ending my schooling life.

浮生摘录 25

12 艮硃店的老板

The Memoir

婚恋过程

在渭光学习时，我午饭在大基尾拱辰里五叔公、五叔婆处搭食， 丽娥细嬸在此待奉翁姑煮食，他们对我很好，想是对我祖父的 尊敬，爱屋及鸟之故。不久四乡治安好转，他们迁回冈居住之后， 我在家一早吃饱饭去佛山上课，中午同学们都回家吃饭，我则 买些饱点、云吞之类作午餐。当时物价便宜，一毫子可吃两碗 云吞面，我每天中午多数吃一碗便饱肚，十分简便，多余时间 在校温习做作业，或去亲戚、同学家聊天。下午上两堂课后放 学回家时已是夕阳西下晚霞满天了。由于我天天早晚经过大基 尾，一间营园的老板十分注意我。有一天，他截住我问我姓名 及家庭情况，知道我是 𧒽 岗姚星榆教馆先生的爱孙，他们认识 我祖父的，提出将无父母的侄女许配给我。祖父征求我的意见， 当时我和同班同学邓某的姐正热恋中，她在励常女校读书，每 逢我到她家帮她弟弟做作业，她多次求我修改作文和对联、诗句， 十分投契，两小无猜、心心相印。她对我说：她的父亲 12 对我 很赏识。因经我修改的作业多数得到好评名列前茅。他认为我 品学兼优，时时辅导他的子女学习，年少老成顿感满意，因此 我拒绝了酱园老板所提的亲事。一心以为鸿鹄将至，一个温良 恭俭让的意中人，有情人终成眷属，做我终身伴倡。因此自姐 出嫁后即替我找对象，首先姐夫唐少波提出他的妹与我同龄，

又由十宅的三姑姐介绍后街劳家一姑娘。梁金媒婆更纷纷介绍， 如南畔杨金焕等等，都被我拒绝。决定同邓氏双双考上中学毕 业后才结婚。

26

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

嫁给我亲上加亲，三姐不同意。继而另介绍她夫家邻居黎姓莲姑，

姚氏

Marriage

浮生摘录

When I was studying in Weiguang Tutoring School, I usually stayed with my fifth uncle for lunch in Dajiwei Gongchen Valley. My aunt Lier cooked for us. They treated me very nicely. I think it was a kind of respect to my grandfather.

Soon, when the security in the town got better, they moved back to Leigang. I then went to a breakfast place for my every day meal. While my classmates went home for lunch, I would buy some breads and yuntun from them. The price by then was cheap that 1 jiao could get two bowls of yutun noodle. One bowl was enough for me, really convenient. I spent time reviewing my studies, and sometimes I would visit my relatives’ and classmates’ homes. After two classes in the afternoon, the sky was already full of sunlit clouds. Because I was around Dajiwei all the time, an owner of a store Yingyuan noticed me. One day, he stopped me, asking about my family and my parents. Knowing I am the grandson of Mr. Xingyu, he wanted to marry his daughter to me. Grandpa also came to ask me about the marriage. But I was falling in love with one of my classmates, Deng’s sister, who was studying in Lichang Girl School. Every time I went to Deng’s house to teach his younger brother, his sister also asked me for her writings and poems. I think we were both innocent and mentally connected. She told me that her father really appreciated my help because their assignments on which I helped always got them good grades. He recognized me as both an excellent student and person. I was satisfied by his appreciation, so I declined Yingyuan owner’s request. My heart decided that I would marry Deng after we both graduated from high school.

Then, when my sister who just got married decided to help me find my wife, her husband Shaobo Tang recommended his younger sister so that our relationship would be even tighter, and when she introduced one of her neighbors Lian Li to me, and when my third aunt introduced a young girl in Lao’s 27

父母嫌我家穷而佛山没有房产，不愿将掌上珠独女嫁落乡下他 家姐无力反抗，逆来顺受、委屈顺从云云。我如痴如呆，万念

The Memoir

不料 1928 年冬邓氏突然与一何姓纸行少东结了婚。据其弟说他

俱灰欲通入空门削发为僧，了却尘缘。适逢我姐夫突染霍乱， 在文昌沙医院救治无效死去，全家十分悲痛，尤其是祖父母年 老体弱，一向视我姐弟为命根子，何忍加剧老人心伤，唯有多 方安慰家人心情。姐夫身后事办妥后，三姐携三岁的长女绮琴、 甫周岁的次女慧芳回娘家定居同我们一齐生活。由 21 岁守寡抚 育两女长大成人，终身勤劳巧手织布车缝衣服养白燕等工作， 挣些零用钱供女儿学杂费，也得在祖母母亲身边唯寒问暖，思 解老人的烦闷。 一年后，1930 年我已 18 岁祖父母又促我结婚，其理由是他们年 老多病、两代单传，只我一个男孙，渴望我早日成家立业，其 次是我父述念花酒，接二连三赎妓纳妾。我结婚，他成为家翁 之尊，有所顾忌，不敢再浪漫风流，勤俭持家，祖父母和母亲 才可安渡晚年。经过他们谆谆教导、苦口哀求，我觉得这个家 庭只有我才能挽救。祖母因子不肖沉迷花酒、挥霍无度、家境 困难，她时常发脾气。母亲与庶母又不时争吵，家无宁日。祖 父迁居大厅书房，不闻不问，独自。只有我从中调解可少纷争， 一旦我也离家出走，老人失望不堪设想。因此我提出请她们婆 媳嫡庶三方要互谅互让，不可争吵，否则我出家做和尚不理你 们了！我决定找一个温顺不会吵架的女子，不论文化美貌如何， 只要好品性。最后决定和杨金焕结婚。其优点据姐妹们说同她 在三姑、八姑处读书几年未闻她同人争吵过，很怕事小胆，在

教颇有修养，乡内声誉甚佳。我祖母也见过杨金焕多次，说她 和气好笑容，有福相，更闻其母想把她嫁给一个归侨，贪他有钱， 杨金焕誓死不从，并对母亲和祖母说：除姚原榕之外，她宁自 梳愿终身不嫁等说。我受感动，不再坚持出家之想，牺牲个人 28

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

家寸步不离祖母杨四婆，同吃同睡。杨四婆西法接生为业，信

姚氏

family to me, and when matchmaker Jin Liang introduced Jinhuan Yang by the South River and more, I declined.

However, in Winter 1929, Deng was suddenly married to the first son of a papershop owner, He. According to her brother, her parents were unhappy about my family’s situation and they thought we were poor and we had no housing in Foshan.

They thought marrying their only daughter to a guy in a small town was a waste of her life. And he also said that even though she was sad, she didn’t fight back. I was so shocked that I lived like a zombie every day, and so hopeless that I wanted to shave all my hair and become a monk, escaping all the things happening in everyday life. But because my sister’s husband was infected with cholera and died in the hospital, my whole family was sobbing all day, especially my grandparents who were old and sick. They loved our sibling so much. I didn’t want to deepen their sorrow, so I turned to comfort them. After his funeral arranged, my sister went home with her three-year-old daughter Yiqin and one-year-old daughter Huifang to live with us. As a single mom, she raised her daughters, doing knitting and feeding birds for a living to support their lives and studies. She stayed with grandma all the time answering her questions.

浮生摘录

One year later in 1930, when I was 18, my grandparents urged me again to marry someone. They said they were too old and I was the only grandson they have, wanted to see me establish a stable family and business. Secondly, my father was corrupted by women and alcohol. Grandma was always angry about his wasting of money and sometimes she lost her temper to my step mom, which made our family fragmented. My grandpa moved from bedroom to office, alone, ignoring the fights. I had to stand between them to stop the fights and therefore my leaving would be problematic. Also, they said that my marriage was considered a warning for my father to have more responsibility as a grandfather. Not until then could they finally unburden themselves and enjoy their lives.

29

有道，祖父母安享晚年。祖父于 1930 年冬背上生疮，屡医无效 去世，享年七十四岁。

The Memoir

私情，顾全众人幸福。果然结婚后，我家和气致祥，父亲生财

我避开佛山伤心之地去了广州长城中学三年高中毕业，杨金焕 能孝顺老人家，受了委屈也只在我假期回家对我哭诉，我百般 慰解相敬如宾，数载同衿共枕守身如玉，不以情欲扰我身心， 我得专心学业锻炼身体，强健有加。直至 1933 年我高中毕业才 实行夫妇之道，为我初产一男。这样坚强卓见乡村妇女实属罕见。 想是杨四婆知早婚之害教导有关。几十年环境多变，甜酸苦辣 备尝，夫妻合作默契，生产九胎，养育成四男三女，两老白发齐眉。 我抚心自向，一生谨慎，虽多次引诱都不动心，坚持一夫一妻制， 洁身自爱不随俗流问心无愧。

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

30

姚氏

After their persuasions and all the things happening at home, I agreed that I was the only person to save the family. First, I made them understand each other saying if they continue to fight, I will leave the family and become a monk! Next, I decided to find a wife who is gentle so she would not get into fights and be well-behaved regardless of what she looked like. I finally married Jinhuan Yang, because I heard that she never fought with anyone during her studies with my third and eighth aunts and she also stayed with her grandmother Yang being very caring to her. And Yang was a well-known midwife and a devoted religious type who had a good reputation in our town. My grandma saw Jinhuan a couple times, thinking she had a lovely smile. She also heard that she was asked to marry a rich man who came from abroad and she refused and told people that she would only marry Yuanrong [me], otherwise she rather be alone for life. I was moved by this and stopped thinking about becoming a monk, sacrificing my personal feelings to protect my family. Fortunately, our marriage brought happiness to the family. My father started working and gained wealth and my grandparents would enjoy more peace in their lives. Grandfather was ill with cancer in 1930 winter.

Medicine and medical treatment couldn’t save him. He died at the age of 74.

浮生摘录

I didn’t want to stay in this place full of memories, so I went to Guangzhou for my high school study. Jinhuan was kind to my family and sometimes when I was back, she would cry and complain to me. We treated each other well. She didn’t want to distract my studying so we did not have sex until I graduated and then she gave birth to a son for me. Such a strong and pragmatic woman was hard to find. I guessed it was because of her grandma’s influence. We had tasted all the sweetness and bitterness together for half a century. We had nine kids who grew into four men and three women and we lived long to see this. I think I am always honest to myself, cautious with my life, and insisted on monogamy. I have no regrets.

31

1933 年冬，随父亲北上，搭粤汉路火车到韶关。当时南韶公路

The Memoir

旅居南雄生活忆记

尚未正式通车营业，由李汉云率领的独立第三师军工开筑已将 完成。我们搭工程车到达南雄，住在河边街业泰号。前誧面一 厅有账房，右侧临街处有一厅一房，我父及三庶母居住。楼上 两房，保姆亚焕、养女雪妹及我住宿。经过厨房及冲凉房入内座， 有一天井一客厅一账房。大叔峻卿住处为雄庾信士路健行汽车 公司临时办事处。内进为货仓，很深很大，有通堂木楼，最后 一厕所。当时健行汽车运输公司刚开办，在保定路十八厅附近 租得大树堂一座作车站货仓修车厂等，展开客货营运。四叔卫 康任经理，负责交际应酬上级机构和对外重大问题。我父佐明 任总务，负责经济调拔财务、购置物业等。大叔峻卿负责会计 账目审查管理。 我一到步，大叔手把手教我接管他的工作，腾出手筹建岭南酒 店和广州抗日西路裕安庄业务，兼作健行公司岭南酒店驻广州 办事处。1935 年岭南车站相继建成，会计处迁上车站楼上办公， 我任出纳，另聘高逢禧先生任会计主任。会计员黄日华、黄敬思。 另有车务处也在楼上办公。车务主任凌达云、干事戚干卿、吴 思谦等。健行公司业务发展迅速，设南雄站、信丰站、中途乌迳、 新田、正平等小站，大庾站之下分设小枚、吴钟、鼓岩、小岺、 里东、珠玑赉均、平桥等分站。南雄站附设信丰货仓，大庾货仓， 接运各种客货，职工百余人在岭南酒楼搭膳。岭南酒店在车站

冰室、厨房，二楼茶点饭菜，部份旅业，三楼全部旅业，四楼 全部酒厅，职工也有几十人。水喉、电灯齐备，全在车站自设 发电机、水泵房各种设备。海味物品供应俱由港穗专车运到。 当时，离开广州，粤北一带饮食旅业服务数岭南酒店第一流了。 32

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

对面自置一连五间铺拆平建成一座四层楼房，地下铺面是账房、

姚氏

My Life in Nanxiong Winter 1933, I traveled to the north with my father, taking the Yuehan rail to Shaoguan. At the time, Nanzhao highway was not officially running, but the Third Independent Troop led by Hanyun Li was about to finish the construction. We took their construction truck to Nanxiong, living in Yetai store near the river. Their storefront had an accounting room and near the street on the right had one living room and one bedroom which was where my father and my third stepmom lived. There were two rooms upstairs where nanny Huan, step sister Xue and I lived.

Through the kitchen and bathroom entering the inner building, there was a central courtyard, one living room, and another accounting room. Uncle Junqing lived in the temporary office of Jianxing Car Company on Xinshi Road in Xionggang. Inside was a garage, deep and spacious, a wood structure in the middle and a washroom at the back. It was just after the opening of Jianxing Transportation Company. They rented a bus station in Dashu Hall near The Eighteenth Hall on Baoding Road as a repair station, starting their private transportation business. My fourth uncle Weikang was the manager, responsible for dealing with the government and outreaching; my father Zuoming was the general affairs, in charge of the financial situation of the company; uncle Junqing was the accountant and bookkeeper.

浮生摘录

When I arrived, uncle Junqing taught me his job by hand and wanted me to take over the position. 1935 when Lingnan Station was established, the Accounting Department moved to the second floor of the station and I became the cashier. We hired Mr. Fengxi Gao as accountant manager and Rihua Huang and Jingsi Huang as accountants. Mobile Affairs Department also moved to the second floor. Mobile Affairs manager was Dayun Ling, secretary Ganqing Qi and Siqian Wu. Jianxing Company developed quickly, establishing Nanxiong station, Xinfeng Station, Wuqing Stop, Xintian Stop, and Zhengping Stop; under Dageng Station, we had stops like Xiaomei,

33

红酒绿应酬甚忙，笙歌夜夜。我以少东身份又是汽车公司出纳司 库，每晩回家顺便解款到总公司，两名路警持枪保护，显赫一时。

The Memoir

由广州、佛山、香港湧到南雄的同乡、亲友日众，在岭南酒店灯

有一名红歌女只在酒楼唱歌打琴，当未破瓜，其姨母是妓院老板， 向我请求纳此琵琶女为妾，免她沦为妓女，自愿不取分文，身价 只摆几席酒席请客高兴一番便了。如或别人娶她非五千大洋不办 云我说儿女众多，不想纳妾，妻多夫贱，我最怕老婆，不敢领教 拒绝之。不料此事传入父亲及三庶母知之，一晚深夜叫我下楼在 他们的房内吃宵夜，三庶母以妓女过来人之身份向我说教，劝我 切不可听信妓女之言，免破财坏身体等，等雪妹读完两年书后可 收为你的侍妾，同是一家不必分离，一举两得等语。我当即拒绝说， 如此会引起家庭不和，儿女不安，麻烦多多，请勿提此事。我自 此更加谨慎。 1935 年父亲带领岭南车站的建筑包工头黎继庭师父回乡设计拆建 祖屋，并买了娇娘之屋地与祖屋对面的园地作为花园，定下图纸， 商议包工不包料。先建后座原娇娘地段，建好后迁入居住，再拆 祖屋，继续建成一座二层钢筋水泥的青砖墙大楼。计地下前厅一 偏厅三房，后座天井神厅、楼梯间、厨房、厕所、冲凉房、什物间， 大房一小房二，横门出巷，天井中有水井设有水泵，水管通各处。 二楼一厅七房，阳台临街，另偏厅上有个小天台，后座神厅上金 字不盖楼两边各一个大房，另天井边廊三个小房，前座全部水泥 钢筋结构，天台上有儲水池。商定后择吉开工，我留在家主持监 督工程，采购材料。工人住在对面园地搭一工棚，给师傅另租民 房居住。每天陪同师傅去各地定购材料，预算很精准。水泥、木材、

34

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

钢铁等由船运回肃雍堂存放。工程进展顺利。

姚氏

Wuzhong, Guyan, Xiaoling, Lidong, Zhuji, Laijun, Pingqiao and more. Near Nanxiong Station we had Xinfeng Garage and Dageng Garage, doing professional shipping. More than a hundred employees had their everyday meals in Ningnan Hotel. Ningnan Hotel was a four-story building facing the offices, taken the space of five stores. Underground had accounting rooms, refrigerating rooms, and kitchens; second floor served dim sum and general food, part hotel; third floor was a hotel and fourth floor was a bar. The Hotel was wellequipped and had dozens of employees. Water pump and power generator in the station. Food and ingredients were shipped from Guangzhou and Hong Kong by the station. Ningnan Hotel was one of the best in the province providing quality accommodations and dining.

浮生摘录

While I was busy socializing and handling friends, relatives, and neighbors from Guangzhou, Foshan and Hong Kong coming to visit, I also became the cashier manager as the young owner of the Car Company. Every night when I gathered all the money we earned that day and transferred to the headquarters, I was guarded by two armed polices, which made me well-known.

There was a singer who sang and played zither in the restaurant who was a virgin. Her aunt was an owner of a brothel, who came to me asking me to marry the singer to prevent her from becoming a prostitute and that she was willing to marry her to me without dowry and she would be satisfied if we held a small wedding in the Hotel. She also said if others wanted to marry her, they had to pay her five thousand yuan. I declined, explaining my insistence that I only needed one wife and the more wives I have, the worse I would become. I also said that I had many kids and I did not want to have a bad influence on them. However, my father and my third stepmom heard about this. One night they asked me going downstairs to have some late-night snacks with them. Third stepmom taught me not to believe what prostitutes say and do not get close to them and to protect my body and my property because she was once a 35

The Memoir

New Asia Hotel in Guangzhou

广州新亚酒店

13 农历九月初十 日中午

是年冬十一月十七日，二女少媛在祖屋出世。1936 年后座完工 旧屋拆建，我们全家迁入新楼。祖母住神厅左边大房，母亲住 楼上右边大房，我住左边大房，二庶母住天井边走廊小房，三 姐母女同隔邻房，其余工人房在地下厨房对面天井边走廊有两 小房，厨房及浴室杂物间在神厅测由厨房进入。安顿好之后背 祖母上楼各处观看，她说：地方宽阔光猛，好过广州新亚酒店，

享寿七十八岁。因前座工程尚未完毕，办理丧事人来人往很不 方便，只有停工几日，扫清大门口道路，以便通行。祖母丧事 办妥后，工程完毕，我和母亲迁出前座，我住楼上临街大房， 母亲住地下大房，二庶册及三姐仍住天井边楼上小房，地下临 36

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

不料到重九后一天 13 她便去世，没有看到整座工程完成就走了。

姚氏

prostitute. She also said that once her daughter Xue finished her studies, two years later I could marry her and saying something like “we are in a family so we don’t need to separate” and “this is a win-win”. I became even more cautious after this incident.

1935, father hired the foreman Jiting Li who built the Ningnan Station to rebuild our family house in our hometown. He bought more land from Jiaoniang and the garden across the street from the house. They designed the floorplan and agreed on including labor but not materials. The building originally on Jiaoniang’s land finished first for us to live and they converted the family house rebuilding it into a two-story concrete building – first floor the front had a side living room and three bedrooms (one big and two small), the back had a central courtyard, a shrine, staircase, a kitchen, a bathroom, a washroom, storage and another exit to the valley; central courtyard had a well and a water pump connecting the piping system around the house; second floor has a living room from where we could climb up to the rooftop, a patio facing the street, and seven bedrooms; rooftop had a water tank. When the plan was designed, we decided on a date to begin the construction and I stayed there to supervise and purchase materials. Workers lived in a temporary house in the garden across the street and we rented rooms for technicians. I traveled around with technicians to purchase materials and they did a great job approximating budget. Cement, wood, and steel were shipped to Suyong Hall to store. The construction went well.

浮生摘录

November 17th of the same year, my second daughter Shaoyuan was born in the family house. In 1936 when the new building was finished and the family house started to be renovated, all of us moved into the new building. Grandma lived in the room next to the shrine; mother lived upstairs on the right side next to the patio; I lived on the other side of the patio. My stepmother and my third sister who shared her room with her daughter lived upstairs in the rooms near the central courtyard. The servants and cook lived in the rooms on the first floor. When we were settled, I carried my grandmother going around upstairs. She said this place was big 37

酒席等费用支出毫银九千柒佰陆拾捌元。当时物价平宣，但是 用的硬通货币银毫和铜仙币值同现时大不一样。

The Memoir

街大房留给父亲和三庶母住。全部工程材料及添置家俱、入伙

1937 年农历七月二十四日，本樑出生在新居楼上。1938 年我接任 广仁小学校长。日军入侵广州，冬，我亲到芦苞接家眷，由澄光 舅父和方辉表兄带领全家老小从沧陷区沿广三铁路出走，经罗村 附近被土匪洗劫一空，连小孩衣物都不放过，我在芦苞水闸上守 候至黑才见难民一队陆续行来带到叶正铭表兄之家，其父在此行 医，招待我们。那天是冬至佳日，有鸡鸭腊味佳肴。侯至晩上十 时才开饭，在楼板上铺席而睡。翌日，我租了两只小艇分成两批 开上英德。艇家两兄弟，大哥四十余岁，小弟黑古仔十七、八岁， 一先一后划行，两人很拍挡，沿途卡口检查，他们大声答应：难民， 无油水，就直划而过。半夜雨大风大，两舟泊在沙滩中过夜，黑 古仔两兄弟簑衣两帽蹲在船头守望，艇小人多没地方给他们避风 雨。好在天明雨止，即开船赶上英德，搭火车到韶关。我除艇钱 如数给之外，另按人赏五元给他兄弟俩。难民们到达南雄，一家 团聚，住在业泰。初，我夫妇和福桃住货仓楼上后因金焕又怀上 第四胎，上落楼梯不方便，在货仓一角用板围成一厅房，1939 年 我们入住，是年冬 12 月 15 日四女少鸿在此出世。

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

38

姚氏

12 traditional raincoat made with straw

and bright, better than the New Asia Hotel in Guangzhou. But unfortunately she passed away the day after Double Ninth Festival at noon and did not get to see the house finished. Because the family house was still under construction, people walking around the funeral wasn’t pleasing, so we stopped the building for a few days, cleaning the street in front of the buildings to allow traffic.

After the funeral, I resumed the construction and I let my mother moved to grandma’s room and my third stepmother moved to my room with my father and then I moved into my mom’s room. materials, furniture, celebration dinner costed a total of 9,768 yuan silver hao. Everything at that time was cheap, but silver hao and copper cents were two different currencies.

浮生摘录

July 24th 1937, Bendong was born in the new building. In 1938, I took the position as the president of Guangren Elementary.

Japanese invaded Guangzhou. In winter, I went to Lubao to pick up my family and we escaped from the occupied area back to Nanxiong through Guangsan Railways led by uncle Chengguang and my cousin Fanghui. We were robbed when we went through Luocun – they even took the clothing from the kids. We hid by the water gate and could only see refugees on boats when the sky was dark. Going with them, we were brought to my cousin Zhengming Ye’s home whose father was a doctor who settled us in. It was Dongzhi Festival. We had delicious chicken, duck and lawei. The dinner started around 10 at night and we slept on floor afterwards. The next day, I rented two boats and left my cousin to Yingde. Two boatmen were brothers – the older one was around 40 and the younger was around 17. They cooperated with each other. When we went through checkpoints, they shouted: “refugee, zero property, and through”. On windy nights, they parked the boats by beaches and sat in the front with suoyi12 to watch for us – the boats were small but we had too many people so there was no space for them to hide from the rain. If the rain stopped the next day, they would keep going to Yingde. I gave them 5 yuan extra

39

The Memoir

是年秋广仁小学教导主任陈彝重在修仁儿教院附近发现路边一个 四五岁病危的小童，问我如何处理。我叫他抱上客车送去水南重 伤病院，请院长古鸿烈救治。古鸿烈有儿女在广仁小学读书，对 我有好感当即抢救留医二十多天，痊愈出院接回业泰暂住，后查 明是雄中体育教员黄老师之子，名黄惠雄，其母姓刘，两夫妇都 去了重庆。惠雄病后体弱不时屎尿满床，店员为他洗换十分讨厌， 他又不肯回儿教院因战时设备差，人手少孤儿多，照料不周，儿 童病死不少。我不思再送他回去，多次去信重庆促他父母来南雄 领子，数月后，他母刘某才到南雄领回其子，很不情愿地不辞不 谢而去。其父黄某因年前我资助他办了一车烟叶运销柱林，不知 是否亏空了更不敢来见我，只字也不复只由其妻出面来领子。朋 友何必如此无情。 1940 年春节后，我妻弟杨福田在广仁小学读书，忽染伤寒病，曾 站长景清诊治无效，张景述也诊治多天，日见严重，口鼻出血， 大小便有血，我即电话请占院长鸿烈到诊，他说马血清可治，但 市上难找他在法国留学回国时带回只剩下一支，孤注一掷看能否 挽救，当即将马血清取来注射，并开西药，服后比较安定，型日 古院长来诊视，据说已见效，但病势严重，“兵少贼多”怕难战胜，

有没有父母在，父母健康的可抽血注射，帮助病者抵抗细菌，杀 灭病菌。其母在旁即伸臂请他抽血，每天两次，每次 30CC，连续 三天，三天后，古院长说已经控制住了，没有危险了，可不必抽 血注射，继续服药调理，果然痊愈，但头发脱落，要扶凳学步， 40

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

将贼杀尽。药又无法买到，如何是好 ? 他十分考虑之后问 : 病者

姚氏

each and took the train from Yingde to Shaoguan. When we finally got to Nanxiong, reunited, we lived in the headquarters. First, we lived with Futao upstairs over the garage, but because Jinhuan was pregnant with her fourth child it was dangerous going up and down, so we made a room in the corner of the garage with boards.

We stayed there until 1939 and in the same year on December 15th, my fourth child Shaoxiong was born.

Yizhong, who was the dean of Guangren Elementary, found a dying kid around 4-5 years old near Xiuren Catholic Child School and asked me how to deal with it. I had him take the kid to Shuinan Hospital and let the hospital chef Honglie Gu save him. Gu respected me and his children were studying in Guangren. He rescued the kid and let him stay in the hospital for 20 days. We picked him up from the hospital when he was cured and took him home to live with us. We then discovered his name was Huixiong Huang who was the son of Huang who was teaching PE in Xiong Highschool and whose mother called Liu and they both went to Chongqing. Because he was so sick that he couldn’t control his bowels, making a mess on his bed, teachers in Xiuren couldn’t bear him. Plus, the equipment and labour were in short supply and the number of orphans were increasing due to wartime. He didn’t want to go back there, so we had to keep him with us. I mailed their parents in Chongqing urging them to pick him up. Months later, his mother came and took him unwillingly without a thanks. I supported his father financially by selling cigarettes in Zhulin. I don’t know if it was because the investment failed or he was too ashamed to see me in person, but he only let his wife come to us for his son. Our friendship seemed to no longer exist.

浮生摘录

1940 after Spring Festival, my wife’s younger brother, Futian Yang, who was studying in Guangren, was infected by typhoid fever. he was once treated by Jingqing, but no getting better, and then Jingshu Zhang also tried to cure the fever, but he was only getting worse, his nose and mouth bleeding and also his stool streaked with blood. I immediately called Honglei. He said 41

只一板之隔，饮食、大小便由其母料理。四女少鸿出世几个月， 尚吸母乳，被伤寒病菌感染，发高烧，大便有血，口唇爆裂，即

The Memoir

真是死而复生，当时为便于诊治，在我房的小厅铺床给福田睡，

请古院长到诊，好在发觉早，在我身上抽血注射三日即愈。古院 长说我的血旺盛有力，婴儿吃母乳不用服药，要清洁卫生不再污 染便可无事。古鸿烈是德国留学获医学博衔，时任十二集团军重 伤病院院长。驻防里东，在广仁小学对面水南一间神庙设有留医 部，只收治伤兵官员，不对外诊治，他连续为我救活黄惠雄、杨 福田、姚少鸿三条人命。送礼，他婉谢，只得请他到岭南吃步饭 并登报鸣谢。

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

42

姚氏

extracted horse serum could save him, which was difficult to find in the market. But he brought some back from his studying in France and there was the last of the serum to save him. His condition became stable after the injection but it was still bad because “it is a war that has more enemies than allies”, to defeat all the enemies was tough with no horse serum to find. He thought carefully and asked if his parents were there and if they were healthy then he can use their blood to help him fight the disease in his body. His mother was chosen. Doctor drew 30cc blood from her twice a day and after three days, he said the fever was in control, continuing medical treatment could cure his disease. And it did, but his hair all fell out and he had to use a walking chair. It was such a resurrection. In order to administer the treatment easier, we set a space for him beside my bed and I put a board between two beds, also allowing his mother to take care of his food and cleaning easier.

浮生摘录

My fourth daughter was only a couple of months old and still breastfeeding got infected. At the time, her skin was burning, her stool had blood and her lips were bleeding all the time. We immediately found doctor Gu to help her. It was a relief that she became fine after three days of blood transferring from me. Gu said my blood was strong to help her defeat the diseases inside her without extra medical treatment and suggested we maintain a hygienic space. Mr Honglei Gu graduated from Germany as a PhD in medical science and he was the Chief of the Hospital of the Twelfth Troop situated on the east of the alley. It also had a clinic in a temple across Guangren Elementary, only receiving soldiers, not open to the public. He saved Huixiong Huang, Futian Yang, and Shaohong Yao for me, so I wanted to buy him something to show my gratitude. He said no to that. I had to invite him for a meal in Ningnan Hotel and bought a spot in the newspaper to officially thank him.

43

解放后，他回广东任卫生厅厅长，原来他是共产党员，做国民党

The Memoir

14 他乃是五华 人，说客家话

伤兵医院院长，在粵北工作很久。一次里东伤兵暴动，副院长及 军需处长、医官不少被捆扎殴打，一姓蒲的副官逃出搭我公司的 汽车到车站找我，说伤兵四处找古院长，所有电话线割断，无法 同古院长联系，托我带他去古院长处报告情况，我用市内电话找 到古鸿烈向他报告。他的住家在岭南附近不远，我曾带姚慕韶老 师去他家，替其子补习功课。因初到广仁言语不通 14 功课追不上 之故，到其家几次。古鸿烈到车站三楼同蒲副官商量后借我公司 的电话向上级报告，调宪兵开去里东解决暴动。事后，他对我说 : 你处事有经验、审慎，没有直接带蒲副官去我家，只用电话通知 我来车站我感谢你。因为我不想人知我住处，你和姚老师教育我 的儿女，知道你们一心为教育，是老实人，不会引出麻烦，其他 人物我不准儿女带回家的。经过此事，古鸿烈对我十分好感，所 以我有电话通知他，有求必应，尽力而为。 可惜解放后，51 年我失自由，没法会面，可能我的寬假错案也 有向他了解，得到有力评语，得到彻底平反，取销原判，宣告 姚荫庭无罪。文化大革命开始，他也受到冲击，撤了官靠边站， 不久忧郁而死。不可多得的医学博士，忠诚为党为民的好人就 此湮没了。 业泰对面原有一间装修颇好的商行，做油糖面粉等生意。一次被 匪徒打劫放火烧毁店铺，店主也被烧死。后来重建用来做了南雄

总局设韶关。局长林越对丘则臣所长不信任。四叔卫康同林局长 是老友，因此介绍我到对面税所兼任会计，两个女职员是林局长 派的专管各种税兼印花等票据，每天我稽核盖章，每月把应缴总 局百分之五的税款要我盖章送林局长收，或由省行汇出。与林局 44

长夫妇多次会面同吃饭，有时全家到中打牌避警报，大家相熟如

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

始兴印花税务分所，所长丘则臣。有男女职员四人、稽查二人。

姚氏

13 he was from Wuhua, spoke Hakka

After The People of the Republic was established, Gu was assigned to be the Chief of Health Department of Guangdong Province. By then only I realized that he was a communist but working in Kuomintang’s hospital for a long time in the north of Guangdong. One time east of the valley was raided, lots of officers in the hospital were beaten. A vice commander called Pu escaped and got on to the bus from my company to find me, telling me that soldiers were looking for Gu but all the lines to contact him were cut off, that no one could reach him. He came to me with a message to report to Gu. I used a local phone in downtown to report him. I knew where he lived because I once brought Mr. Muzhao Yao there to tutor his son. When he just moved here, he wasn’t familiar with the local dialect 13, so his son couldn’t catch up with the classes. Gu went to my office to talk to vice commander Pu and then he borrowed the phone from the company to report to his upper level, let them send soldiers to control the raid. Afterward, he thanked me saying that I was a cautious man by not bringing Pu directly to his home but let them meet in my office, because he didn’t want people to know where he lived. Also, because me and Mr. Yao were educators and good people, we wouldn’t make any trouble for him, that we were the exceptions. After this, Gu was really nice to us. Whenever I needed his favor, he would try his best to help me.

浮生摘录

However, after the new country was established, I lost my freedom in 1951, so I couldn’t meet him, but because he had an idea of my case that I was accused of things I had never done, he pleaded for me, which resolved the court decision on my case and I became free of charges. But during the Cultural Revolution, he was also accused and his position as the Chief was removed and eventually he died from depression. Such a valuable medical PhD and a person who dedicated his life to the people and the party was wasted like that.

45

患过花柳病，无能力生育儿女，广州沦陷后迁居韶关，二小姐同 他离了婚，长期同父母生活。每次见我都特别亲热，我不知内情，

The Memoir

故人。林太太特别疼爱她的二小姐。原来她的二女婿是一个军官，

大家是世交，林局长又是上司，虽是兼职，每月我多几十元大洋 收入，不敢怠慢无礼，人称呼她二小姐。一次她问我几岁，我照 实说 29 岁，她说我大她一年，不准叫二小姐，要叫她的名，她跟 卫康的儿子原樵叫我五哥，我也不介意。有次过对面税所查帐盖 章，两个女职员请我上楼去她们的宿舍，对我说林太托她们做媒 人，二小姐要同你住埋，肯做你的二房太太，局长太太叫她们征 求我的意见，条件是不同你的妻子一处生活，在韶关或始兴住， 生活费用不要你负担，她找工作做，机关休息日要我来陪她，生 了孩子要我负责教养，对林局长夫妇尽子婿之礼云云。我说 : 子 女成群，我要负责，我最怕老婆，不敢对她交代。目前可瞒一时， 日后必多争吵。我身为广仁小学校长，几百名师生家长校董得知 此事，我名誉扫地。林局长是我的世叔伯，我以子侄之名孝顺他， 我以兄妹之情同二小姐来往，决不能乱来，双方名誉不好。我愿 留意物色佳婿介绍给二小姐便是，请她两位把我的心意转达，不 可让人知为要。 后据原樵说二小姐在韶关同省府一职员结了婚，是一个科长，前 妻留下一子才两岁，但二小姐有的是钱，请保姆带，她不在乎。 此事后不久又一麻烦找到我头上，雄中陆校长的太太颜湘纹在广 仁教歌舞，她在杭州女师的一位同学嫁钨矿砂局的姚科长做姨太， 住大庾，时来南雄探她，又时时连同到广仁玩，同在岭南饮茶吃 饭多次。一次独自找我密谈，说姚科长当过营长，驻防杭州时，

我轻信他的甜言蜜语，在杭州市与他结婚，不久他随部队离开杭 州，要我回他的老家安徽定居，才知道他在家乡有父母妻子，她 不甘受骗，同他大吵大闹，受他毒打一场，要求离婚，他不理而去。 军阀当道投诉无门，只得偷走回娘家躲了年多。昨年春节后，他 46

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

她当小学教员，经人介绍认识了他，一个年青军官，相貌英俊，

姚氏

A shop that had a nice storefront selling food ingredients like oil, sugar, and flour across the street from my company was set on fire after they were robbed and the owner was also burned to death.

Later the store was rebuilt into a new branch of Shixing Tax Company, owned by Zechen Qiu. They had four employees and two securities. The chief of the head company Lin didn’t trust Qiu. Because my fourth uncle Weikang was a friend of Lin, he introduced me to the company to be an accountant. Two female employees were responsible for passing the tax papers and I was there reviewing their stamps. Every month I had to mail Lin the tax papers of our branch or I would mail through the Provincial Bank. I was a great friend of Lin and his family. They always came to dinner with me in my Hotel and played cards in my home to avoid the alarms sounding on the street. Mrs. Lin loved her second daughter very much.

浮生摘录

Miss Lin’s former husband was an officer in the military who contracted syphilis, so after they escaped to Shaoguan from the occupied area, they divorced. From then on, she lived with her parents. She always stayed close to me. I didn’t realize her feelings for me. Because we were friends and her father was my boss, I treated her with respect, always calling her Miss Lin. Once she asked me how old I was, I told her honestly that I was 29. She said she was one year older than me so I should call her by her name rather than Miss Lin. So like my uncle’s son, she called me fifth brother. I didn’t mind about that. One day I went to their store to review stamps as usual, the other two female employees invited me to go upstairs to their dorm, telling me that Miss Lin asked them to be our matchmakers and she wanted to live with me as my second wife. The wife of Chief Lin let them asked how I felt about it, the condition was to live separately to my wife. She said that she didn’t need my support, she would find a job, I would need to devote every weekend to her, I would be responsible for taking care of the child if we had children, and I needed to be respectful to her parents. I told her that I had many children to be taken care of and I was afraid of my wife, so I 47

我随他去上任当科长太太，享受美满生活。我的父母兄嫂也劝我， 只有随他来到大余，生活枯燥，人地生疏。姚科长性情暴燥，花

The Memoir

寻到杭州，甜言蜜语说他在江西转业调去大余钨矿局当科长，要

天酒地，醉了把她毒打。上级责他更回家把她出气。到任已满一 年，全局人员叫他“牛科长”，对此人，只有逆来顺受，更不可抗拒。 他有枪有卫兵，随时可杀死人。我受不了此委屈想逃跑，但何处 藏身，四处军警林立，都是他的同僚，一旦被他捉回更加受罪。 只有你忠实老诚，向你诉苦，求你伸手救我出生天，带我回你的 老家，避开这只豺狼，但求温饱，做奴做婢长在你家过世。 声泪俱下饮泣不止，使我惊恐万分，忙说我的家乡已被日军占领 无地可以给你藏身。沦陷区生活困难饿死不少人，千万不可轻举 妄动。我同情你，但无法收留你，万一姚科长知道一定不宽恕我。 我公司的秘书吴健夫是姚科长的同乡，介绍姚科长同我相识称兄 道弟，你是我的嫂嫂，我不能勾引你私逃，犯弥天大罪惹杀身之 祸。目前你们感情不和，请暂时忍受，争取主管各级长官同情保 护你少受打骂，战争结束后找机会同他脱离关系，另图生计。目 前秩序混乱政治黑暗，无法无天，千万要谨慎。你有知识才能要 冷静应付，不可任性妄为感情冲动，一错不可再错，以免走出狼 窝又入虎口。你今天找我谈此事，顾湘文老师知道吗 ? 她说直接 由大余来，下车即找你，未到湘文处。以前我也没对任何人诉苦， 以免出丑以科长太太身份公开只说“牛科长”脾气太坏，时时打老 婆受委屈而已。我叮嘱她守口如瓶不可说同我密谈此事，我有钱 但无势力，最怕得罪惹是生非，你要钱我可以给你，不要拖累我。 她十分失望，揩干眼泪，默默而去。此后如常随顧湘文到广仁教

他的太太避开他找同学消愁解闷云云。

48

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

学生唱歌跳舞。吴健夫说姚科长夫妇不和，终日花天酒地打牌，

姚氏

didn’t want to let her know. We could keep it as a secret between us for now, but one day there will be arguments and fighting. As a president of Guangren Elementary, if teachers, students, their parents and school employees all knew about this, my reputation would fall. I promised her that I would respect her father as a son but we should treat each other as siblings. And I also showed my willingness to introduce good people to her. I let those two employees deliver my words to Miss Lin and kept all this business to ourselves, not letting other people know.

As I heard later, Miss Lin was later married to a government official in Shaoguan, who was a manager, with a two-year-old son from his previous marriage. But because she was rich, they hired a maid to take care of the kid. Another trouble came to me after this. The president of Xiong Highschool’s wife Shuangwen Yan was teaching dance and singing in Guangren Elementary, whose classmate from Hangzhou Teacher School was married to the chief called Yao of Tungsten Mining Company as a second wife was currently living in Dageng and often visited Nanxiong, Guangren Elementary, and Ningnan Hotel. She told me that Yao was a once a leader in a troop in Hangzhou and she was an elementary school teacher. They met through a matchmaker. She said that he was a handsome officer and she believed his sweet talk, falling in love with him, so they married in Hangzhou. But soon after their marriage, he had to follow the order from the Party to settle his troop in Anhui Province. She later found out that he had a family in Anhui, she argued with him but what she got in return was his abuse. She wanted a divorce, but he just abandoned her. She tried to complain to the military but they ignored her, so she had to go back home and hide there.

浮生摘录 49

meaning “bull”

Last year in Spring Festival, he came to her with sweet talk about how he was assigned to Dayu to be the chief in the Tungsten Mining Company in Dayu and wanted to take her to Dayu to be the chief ’s wife to enjoy happy life. Her family also helped persuade her. But only when she came to Dayu with him, not only was life boring and lonely, she also suffered from domestic violence whenever he was drunk. He beat her to relieve himself from the stresses of his work. He was so irascible that a year after he was assigned, the whole company called him chief “Niu” 14 to satirize him. He was able to do whatever he wanted because he always carried guns around and he also hired bodyguards to protect him. She couldn’t stand it and wanted to escape, but the people around her were his men and she would suffer from any attempt to escape if she failed.

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

50

She said that she trusted me, believing I am a good person, so she told me about everything and she wanted me to save her from him and that she was willing to do anything I said. She pleaded with running tears, making me anxious. I told her my hometown was occupied, nowhere to hide her and the people in the occupied area couldn’t even survive; please do not do anything carelessly. And although I sympathized with her, I couldn’t save her keeping her with me, because once Yao found out, I would be in trouble and my secretary Jianfu Wu was from the same hometown as Yao, introducing me to Yao, because I was a friend of Yao, I couldn’t seduce her to stay with me. I said that your relationship with him was unhealthy, please bear it for a while, I would try my best to have Yao’s coworkers protect you for now and when the war finished, I would find a way to help you to make a living on your own and then you could leave him. Right now society is dark and has no order, so people become unruly; you are educated so you know what you should do and what you shouldn’t; you need to be cautious, not be too emotional, in case you escape from Yao but wind up with another man like Yao. I

The Memoir

14

姚氏

asked her whether she let Shuangwen Gu know about talking to me today. She said that she came from Dayu directly and came to me once she got off from the bus; she didn’t tell anyone about her suffering to protect his reputation; she only publicly said that chief “Niu” had a bad temper and beat her sometimes. I told her not to let others know that we had met because even though I was rich, I didn’t have the power and influence. So I could give her money if she wanted, but I couldn’t protect her from trouble.

She was disappointed, weeping her tears and then left without saying anything. Afterwards, I visited Shuangwen Gu as usual and her husband told me that Yao’s family was falling apart because he was drinking and playing cards outside all day and his wife complained about him to her friends.

浮生摘录 51

16 每年冬至节起，祖父解馆不用上课带我去广州大新公 17 大概 1922 年 司后面源昌街晋昌号食住一段时间，乃南安腊鸭上市 时候，每餐都有腊鸭吃，因此戏称我们是腊鸭虫

The Memoir

14 香港叫贴士或 15 即现南方大厦沿江一带是省港船 小账 码头，广驳轮码头，石围塘至黄 沙是后来才开设的。

1941 年日军入侵南雄，我们走难到梅县，遇见陆做霞夫妇，大家 都四散走难，不知她逃到哪里，一直没有她的消息了。后闻她只 身逃港谋生云。 1937 年新居落成之后，暑假期间，我夫妇俩随父母搭夜船去香港 旅遊，搭缆车上拉旗山顶到虎豹别墅和各大公园玩，去食大步。 我们不是西装友，虽然真丝长衫，一表斯文，不免土头土脑，待 应们不太热情招待，我们也悭回手震钱 14，在东亚酒店开了一天， 我和金焕去九龙南昌街探望她的舅母和表弟梁辉，稍坐即回旅馆， 会同父母买些物品即搭船返广州回乡。当时物价非常便宜，省港 交通利便，几条轮船分日夜班竞争搭客，大仓每位同火车三等票 一样只二毛，最高级西步房住客两人包两步，两份才收五元。我 们住东亚大酒店最好的房有浴室厕所，每天三元。我们几个人由 广州去香港玩一天两夜，二百元港币还用不完，买了不少东西带 回来在广州用。银毫七十元换港币一百元，由佛山搭火车到广州 三等毛，二等二毛到西濠口 15 每个双毫换铜仙 24 至 32 个。最便 宜的时候是我 1922 年初去广州做腊鸭虫 16 时十二个铜仙便可搭火 车到广州，六个铜仙一碗云吞面，一仙一份咸脆花生，有廿多粒， 当时我仅十岁左右。17 Excerpts from My Drifting Life

52

Southern Building after renovation in 1974

年翻新后的南方大厦 1974

姚氏

1941, Japanese invaded Nanxiong. Families were apart during the running and Lu was lost. I heard later that she escaped to Hong Kong alone to survive.

浮生摘录

1937, after the new building was done, during the summer holiday, I traveled to Hong Kong with my wife and my parents.

We took the cable car to the top of Laqi Mountain to visit the House of Tiger and Leopard and other parks and gardens. We were not suit guys, even though we wore silk shirts and looked like wealthy and well-educated people, so waiters and waitresses didn’t treat us well. We decided not to pay them tips. We rented a room in East Asia Hotel for a day and then my wife and I went to Nanchang Street to visit her aunt and her cousin, Liang Hui. We then brought some items and took a ship to Guangzhou to go back. Everything was cheap and the transportation was convenient, many ships were competing for customers on day shift and night shift, of which large ships cost the same as a third class train ticket, only 2 mao. The highest class room for two on a ship for four of us only cost 5 yuan and one night in the best room in East Asia Hotel was only 3 yuan. Two hundred yuan I prepared for our stay in Hong Kong for one day and two nights didn’t dwindle. We even bought things from Hong Kong. 70 silver hao was exchanged to 100 Hong Kong dollars. Taking the

53

The Memoir

祖父 祖父在五世祖祠肃雍堂设书塾授徒数十人，或受聘去授家馆，如 佛山马伯良等绅商礼聘回家教其子弟是为西宾。又在翰林坊口三 和堂之大厅教他的侄和孙辈。我自七岁起开学直至 15 岁都是跟祖 父读书不知是什么原因只有很短时期去高石级劳氏宗祠黎师石老 师上学，又去过西溪社李氏宗祠邵甘棠老师上学。当时我可能是 八、九岁之间，印象模糊，可能祖父事忙不能兼顾自家大厅教侄

必应，大至乡政纠纷，官司诉讼，春秋祭礼，婚丧文帖，对联讣 告，小至邻里吵架，家书租约契据等。求他办理的人接踵而至， 无条件办妥，皆人均敬重之。每逢年节送来礼饼之类多不胜数， 除转赠亲友之外，多余之物退回商店，按原价折扣作款入账。乡 54

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

及孙辈，而暂去别人的学塾寄读之故。我的祖父很忙，乡人有求

姚氏

13 now around Southern Building

14 meaning "lamb duck parasites", to describe someone who is addictive to lamb duck

train from Foshan to Guangzhou was 3 mao and 2 mao to Xihao Ferry 13. Every 2 mao could exchange 24 -32 copper cent. The train to Guangzhou only cost 12 copper cents; 6 copper cents could buy a bowl of yuntun noodle, 1 copper cent can get you a portion of 20 salted peanuts. 1922, when I was 10 years old, I went to Guangzhou to be Layachong 14. Every year at Winter Festival, grandfather closed his private school and brought me to Yuanchang Street behind Guangzhou Daxin Company. It was the season of Nanan’s famous lamb duck, I could eat that every meal, so I was called Layachong.

My Grandfather

浮生摘录

My grandfather set a private school in Suyong Hall of the fifth generation’s shrine to teach more than ten students. He also was also invited to teach at their students’ houses, such as wealthy men like Boliang Ma from Foshan who hired him to teach at their house like a guest. And then he taught the younger generations of our families in Sanhe Hall in Hanlinfang. I studied under him from. For some reason, I only studied under Li in Lao’s family shrine and Gantang Shao in Li’s family shrine in West River for a really short period of time. I was about eight or nine. I couldn’t remember. Grandpa was probably invited to teach in other places, so didn’t have time to take care of us. He was always really busy, from small things like people asking for his help to write letters for festivals, for marriages, for funerals, notes for fights, for renting, for borrowing, and big cases like

55

年终结算，一个穷学究有此信誉不易得也。1930 年背生毒疮医治 无效，寿终正寢，享年 75 岁。

The Memoir

中油米什货酒肉饼食药材各店，祖父都领有账部，不用现款支付。

祖母是东莞人，出生在冈西溪社附近。自小缠足三寸金莲，文化 程度不高，戴眼镜，文弱娴淑，深得妯娌戚友敬仰。可惜产数胎 只育我父一人，排行第二。长女嫁夏漖罗圩黎姓青年，早天。三 女十三岁时在乡边河中溺死。从此祖母郁郁不禾，一心礼佛念经， 祖父迁居新大厅独宿。自后有了我和三姐月逢两个孙伴她生活才 稍舒怀。晚年每饮酒二、三两，酒后多言，时与我母或庶母柳花 吵嘴喋喋不休，家无宁日。及我长大，多方劝慰，才稍安静，因 酒多影响脑力，日渐糊塗，大小便失禁，生活不能自理，医治年 余无效于 1936 年去世，享年 78 岁。我和三姐自小跟祖母长大， 同睡一大床，祖母在中隔开我和三姐，老人十分开心，常说左金 童右玉女陪伴她，直至我们十多岁三姐出嫁前一、两年才先后同 祖母分床。因过于溺爱，又欠卫生常识我的身体多病很瘦弱，自 十六岁离开祖父母出佛山、广州读书，身体才得锻炼正常，发育 强健起来。

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

56

姚氏

governmental letters, judicial letters. People came from different places with different requests but he finished them well for no extra conditions, so people respected him. Every year during festivals, gifts were sent from everywhere. He always gave them to relatives and friends and the rest of them he would return to the shops in exchange for money with discount saved in the shops.

So he didn’t need to bring cash to buy things, almost all the stores and shops in the town had money he saved in them. For a poor intellectual to have a reputation like this was fortunate.

浮生摘录

My grandmother was from Dongguan who was born near Gangxi, Xishe. She had lotus feet and wasn’t educated, wearing glasses, quiet and well-behaved, respected by relatives.

Unfortunately, she gave birth to a couple of babies but only my father survived, who was the second son. Her first born daughter married a young guy in Xiadun, Luoyu called Zaotian Li. But she drowned in a river by the town at her 13. Since then my grandma was depressed and focused on praying; grandfather moved out to the new living room. The birth of me and my third sister made her happier. My third sister was 14 years older than me, very caring, being very nice to me and my sixth sister. We shared a bed with grandmother and she slept between us and always said that golden boy and golden girl were around her. We started sleeping separately until a year or two before we were ten when my sister was married. Because she was too protective and lacked knowledge of health and hygiene, my body was really weak. I only became stronger and healthy after I left my grandparents to study in Foshan and Guangzhou at 16. When she was getting older, every time she was drunk after two or three ounces of wine, she would argue with my mother or my step mom. Until I grew up and persuaded her many times to be quieter. But her body was affected by alcohol, she got dizzier gradually and at the end she suffered from incontinence and died in 1936 at the age of 78.

57

18 我的二庶母李 丽芬，妾名柳 花

The Memoir

父亲

19 我的三庶母

父亲擅交际灵最过人，我的五叔，九叔、十叔在广州沙面代理美学 亚细亚洋行火水、汽油，派他去佛山、清远、韶关、南雄各地设分店， 做开荒牛。当时铁路公路末通，靠坐船或步行，交通不便，盗贼如 毛，由 1920 年起初到南雄开业，奔走各地，在途中三次被士匪挑去， 受不少惊苦，用巨款赎还。权父们倚重其股，屡深他独当一面，在 韶关赐记他的十叔死后委他任同理，生意蒸蒸日上，商会选他任理 事及商团副团长。可惜沉迷花酒挥霍无度，重金黩妓 18 身染梅毒， 被叔父辞退，回乡医理，经愈后，相文向各弟求情才复职，派上南雄， 因火水、汽油代理被别人承办，转组华记解矿公司，五权、九叔在 广州晋源街晋昌坐庄负责江兑款项及向沙面洋行销售钨矿，父亲及 俊卿、卫康在南雄、大余、赣州等地收购钨矿运广州。当时我父亲 又赎一江西妓女涂风贞，妾名遂意 19。1928 年华记及晋昌因九叔在 沙面洋行收巨款时被姓杜的店员挟带逃去损失惨重，不久倒闭。自 后五权。九权回乡隐居。父象和俊卿、卫康另起炉灶，组织业泰裕 安，开雄庾信公路健行公司，的南酒店，叉承办南船公路永行汽车 公同，卫康任经理，俊卿当会计主住驻部关，佐明任总务主任驻南 雄兼任岭南酒店司理。1944 年冬，日寇入侵，南雄沦陷，全家走避， 由信丰入三南。经和平、老隆、兴宁至梅县住了半年。

国南雄，我同父亲回到南雄水行公司，朝关站被日机炸毁。南雄站 被焚毁，岭南酒店被抢劫空，全部破产，只剩儿部老爷车。在岭南 楼下原冰室地点临时作为车站接客货运输，岭南酒店临时与工人合 作，因陋就简筹办复业。1946 年因南雄汽车站运输业无法发展， 58

我带仅有的……

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

1945 年秋，日本投降后，部分家人学船回佛山， 部分候公路通车

Father Zuoming Yao 父亲姚佐明

姚氏

浮生摘录

59

15 my third stepmom

60

Excerpts from My Drifting Life

My father was sociable. When my fifth, ninth and tenth uncles started a business selling kerosene and gas from South Asia in Guangzhou, Shamian, they sent him to Foshan, Qingyuan, Shaoguan, and Nanxiong to start new branches, being an innovator for the company. At the time, the railway was not completed, so people had to travel by water and walking, which made robbery a common situation. From 1920 to the opening of the branch in Nanxiong, he was kidnapped three times on the road. We traded him back with a lot of money. Uncles thought he could be a successful man, so they put him to managing the whole branch in Shaoguan after the death of tenth uncle. The business developed quickly, so the union voted him to be the director of the company and vice leader of the union. But he was corrupted by women and alcohol and spent lots of money on wine and prostitutes. He ended up contracting syphilis and was fired by my uncle and forced to go to our hometown to recover. After he recovered, he begged his brothers to return to the company, so he was sent to Nanxiong. Because the agency business of kerosene and gas from South Asia was undertaken by others, fifth uncle and ninth uncle started banking and taxing in Jinyuan Street, Guangzhou and selling tungsten in Shamian; father and Junqing, Weikang, were buying tungsten around Nanxiong, Dayu, Ganzhou and shipped it to Guangzhou. Father bought another prostitute Fengzhen Xu 15 in Jiangxi at that time.

1928, banking and tungsten companies lost large amounts of money because an employee called Du stole them and soon both companies closed. Since then, fifth and ninth uncle decided not to do it and stayed home. While father, Junqing, and Weikang decided to launch a new business, starting a private transport company and Lingnan Hotel, also overtaking Yonghang Mobile

The Memoir

My Father

姚氏

Company in Nanchuan Road. Weikang was the manager, and Junqing was the accountant of the transport company and father was the director and manager of Lingnan Hotel. Winter 1944, Japan invaded Nanxiong. We escaped from Xinfeng to Sannan, then to Heping to Laolong, then to Xingning and eventually we escaped to Meixian and met Zuoxia Lu’s family. We stayed there half a year.

Autumn 1945, after the surrender of the Japanese, some of us took boats back to Foshan and some of us drove to Nanxiong. I went back to Nanxiong with my father. Chaoguan Station was bombed by Japanese fighter aircrafts; Nanxiong Station was burnt down; Lingnan Hotel was emptied. We were broke. All that was left were a few vintage cars. We restarted the transportation business in the refrigerator room under the Lingnan Hotel, working with temporary employees, from scratch. 1946, because Nanxiong private transportation business was unable to sustain, I brought what I only had….

浮生摘录

姚荫庭因事就此停笔，以后即使再回翠亨也未提笔 续写后于 1998 年 10 月 13 日农历八月二十三日在佛 山病逝，享年 86 岁出生于 1912 年农历七月十五日。 Yinting Yao stopped here. Even when he went back to Cuiheng, he never continued this memoir. He died October 13th, 1998 in Foshan, at the age of 86.

61

姚荫庭 / Yinting Yao 张景述 / Jingshu Zhang

南雄广仁小学 创办始末

The Founding of Guangren Elementary

James Gunn

译

1 9 3年 7 春， 部 分 旅 居 南 雄 的 广 府 同 乡 为 了 子弟得到良好教育，乃集资兴办了南雄私立

广 仁 小 学 校 。 1 9 3年 8 日 寇 大 举 南 侵， 广 州 沦陷，韶关成了战时省会，广府旅雄人员骤

增十数倍，广仁小学随之大发展，为国家培

育了不少愛国英才，并为后來支持革命，建

Four

设祖国，作出了积极的貢献，窥將建校经过

Three

译

64 四

著

58 三

蔡子豪

Two

姚荫庭

和发展情况写出，供参考研究。

58 二

著

One

张景述

南雄广仁小学 创办始末

56 一

The Founding of Guangren Elementary author/ Yinting Yao, Jingshu Zhang translation/ Kong Cai edit/ James Gunn

Spring, 1937, for better education, some of the people from the same Guangzhou travelled to Nanxiong to collect funds to start a Private Guangren Elementary.

1938, Japan’s invasion moved down to the south, Guangzhou was occupied. Shaoguan became the new capital of the province. The number of people from Guangzhou moved to Nanxiong increased, which led to a rapid growth of the school. Many students who graduated from Guangren Elementary contributed to the establishment of the new country and some became famous heroes during the Communist Revolution.

Therefore, we are writing down the history of the school from its founding to development for a record in order to provide valuable reference for the future.

The Memoir

satellite map of Nanxiong

卫星地图上的南雄

一

One

南雄位于粤北，与江西省大庾县接埌，据史记载“南梅岭”是沟通南北， 为南国官員士子商贾进京必经之道。此路上通贛江吉水，下达韶 关广州，水运交通方便更因南雄土产丰盛，故商业日渐繁荣，文 化发展较早，素有“小扬州”之称。传说广府人的祖先多来自南雄 珠玑巷，故后人不少到南雄寻宗问祖，并经商创业，为南雄的繁 荣作出贡献。清代光绪年间，他们在南雄县城兴建了广会馆，该 馆用水磨青砖，細琢白石，陶瓷绿瓦，楠木梁构成，其用料之情良，

在工商业有重要地位 南雄“梅关”分“大梅关”与“小梅关”，重峦歪岖关隘险峻，为战时兵 家必争之地，民国初年，军阆割据混战连年，兵灾频繁，百业凋零， 民不聊生，广州府属雄同乡日见减少，到了 1932 年南北政权，日 趋统一，南雄治安逐渐好转，且赣州、大庾、信丰、南雄、詔关， 66

The Founding of Guangren Elementary

建筑之宏作，为当地会之冠，见当时广州府属旅雄同乡人才鼎盛，

姚氏

筑公路，相继通车，容贷运输畅通，工商业恢复了繁荣，府旅雄 冋乡复见增多，随家而來的亍弟不少，若无适当学校他们就读， 对他们的教育成了重大问题。

Nanxiong, located in the north of Guangdong Province, connecting to Dayu town in Jiangxi Province. Historically, Nanmei Valley was the most important path connecting the north to the south politically and economically. The path began from Ganjiang and Jishui down to Shaoguan and Guangzhou.

Due to the advanced water transportation and the rich soil on Nanxiong, the town became prosperous and thus developed quickly, called a new “Yangzhou”. According to history, many Guangzhou people originated from Zhouji Alley in Nanxiong, so many came back to their hometown to find their heritage and establish their businesses here, contributing to the growth of Nanxiong. During the Guangxu Period in the Qing Dynasty, they built Guanghui Hall in Nanxiong using marble as brick, fine stone as filling, ceramic as roof, and phoebe as column. The high quality of materials illustrated the wealth of the town and the success of the people in Nanxiong.

南雄广仁小学创办始末

Nanmei Valley had two gates called “Big Meiguan” and “Small Meiguan”, both narrow, rugged and steep, becoming the military spot of defence during wartime. In the early years after the establishment of the Republic of China, military power rose around the country, and wars between military forces happened often. People and economics suffered from this, leading to the decrease of the number of people in Nanxiong. During the North-South Regime period, military forces were united, so Nanxiong became more stable and the roads between Ganzhou, Dayu, Xinfeng, Nanxiong, and Shaoguan finished building, allowing a more convenient shipping and transport between these places, so the town recovered from wartime. As more and more younger generations were returning, education became a problem and thus a new school became necessary.

67

The Memoir

Guangzhou Hall, Guangren Elementary, currently Inn for Guangzhou People

前广州会馆 后广仁小学 现广府人客栈

二

Two

热心桑梓教育的姚佐明先生，有见及此，毅然发起办小学校，并 联网广府属旅雄的开明殷商志士，单先捐筹办，組成校並会，先 后选出张学文，梁维幸、刘远平黎宝山、林晃生、苏老賞、李泽南、 梁思杰、苏端甫冯蔷卿、邓侣仪、黄万涛、黄友棣、张日初张景 述等为董事，( 人名如有错漏，请指正 )，姚佐明为董事长，事俱备， 只欠东风，没有校舍，则一事无成，我们的广会馆为保安队占駐， 几经交涉，得到南雄县县长姚之荣、专员兼保安司令莫雄等人大

会馆作为校址，当时，各乡亲得知此亨纷纷解囊集资修建校会， 將荒废日久的会馆修建一新，分·设大礼堂、校务处、课室、教 工宿舍、图宣、球场、厨房予，并购置大批桌掎家县，聘请职教 员经过艰苦而紧张的筹备，乃以校董会的名义，向南雄县政序申 请备案，又蒙当时省立南雄中学陆傲霞校长及刘万新主任，于亮 68

生、梁劲等列位教育前，大力帮忙指导，乃底于成。

The Founding of Guangren Elementary

力支持，调走了占駐广州会馆多年的保安队部，使我们收回广州

姚氏 南雄广仁小学创办始末

Zuoming Yao, who believed education was important, initiated the idea of building a new elementary school. He held a fundraising with another businessman who also valued the importance of education and constituted a School Board, inviting Xuewen Zhang, Weixing Liang, Yuanping Liu, Baoshan Li, Huangsheng Lin, Laoshang Su, Zeinan Li, Sijie Liang, Duanpu Su, Lvyi Deng, Wantao Huang, Youli Huang, Richu Zhang, Jingshu Zhang to join the school board, and Zuoming became the chief of board. Everything was ready except a physical school, so we talked to the government and were granted the acknowledgement and support from the mayor Zhirong Yao and security head Xiong Mo. People in the town also donated when they knew about this. We transformed the abandoned Guangzhou Hall into the school, dividing the building into school hall, office, classroom, staff dorm, library, playground, and kitchen. We purchased the necessary equipment and hired many teachers and staff. We also acquired the governmental agreement from the Nanxiong governance in the name of the school board.

We were supported by the chief of Nanxiong High School Aoxia Lu, education director, Wanxin Liu, and educators, Liangsheng Yu and Jing Liang to finally make the school run.

69

The Memoir

Group photo of a graduated students with faculty members

毕业师生合照

三 1937 年春，定名为南雄县城私立广仁小学校，开始公开招收广府 属同乡子弟入学，也招收其他和本地少数学开办之初，只有学生 百余人，分六班投课，由校董会公推董亨长姚佐明先生为义务兼 职校长，1938 年秋，广州沦陷广州学子逃难到南雄就读者，迅速 增多，乃进行扩充室，增添教学设备，延聘教師等工作，不久， 姚佐明先因事忙，无暇兼顧校长职务，並事会另聘义务教员姚荫 先生接任义务校长之职，蒙各方面的关怀和支持及教职工的大力 合作，校务迅速发展，学生由六班百余人，增十班五百多人，救 职贡工由十二人增至二十多人，大多师质优良，其中大学毕业二人，

提高教育质量，立南雄屮学派來了一扎优秀教师，心协力，认真 地搞教育工作，除了狠抓课堂教学外，在郊外活动中，举办各式 各样的文体活动，搞得热火朝天，气氛活跃，既有张的学习，又 有轻松的文体活动，使他们在优良环境中茁壮成长。並培养学生 成为有愛国思想，德智体兼备、和在发图强，振兴祖国的实干人才。 70

在仝民抗战的日子里，生积极投身抗日救亡运动。1938-1939 年间，

The Founding of Guangren Elementary

师范毕业十余人。各教归孜孜不倦，不计薪酬，恐心教学，为了

姚氏

Three

南雄广仁小学创办始末

Spring, 1937, Nanxiong Priviate Guangren Elementary started enrolling students mainly from Guangzhou and other locals and from other places. In the beginning, there were more than one hundred students enrolled, divided into six classes. The school board nominated Zuoming Yao to be the chief of the school board and chief of the school. Autumn1938, more students escaped to Nanxiong after the occupancy of Guangzhou. As the number of students increased, the school expanded by building more classrooms, purchasing more equipment, and hiring more teachers. Later, because Zuoming Yao was busy, Yinting Yao was nominated as the new chief. Guangren Elementary expanded into a school of ten classes, five hundred students, twenty faculties which included two graduated from university and ten graduated from teacher schools. Nanxiong High School also sent teachers to support our instruction. Everyone devoted themselves to education. Courses were developed to fit into different needs to cultivate students that loved their country, showed merit, were knowledgeable, and strong in order to support our country to become better. We had field trips, cultural and sports festivals aside from the academic study. During the Total War period, students actively engaged in anti-Japanese and restoring the country wave. From 1938 to 1939, Liang Bin, who was a Student of the Party, came from Guangzhou to organize anti-Japan activities and propaganda.

Students showed support by singing songs and playing operas such as “Thousand Men Needles” and “Put Down Your Whip”.

During wartime, students were the top of all the competitions in the town, especially in gymnastics, dancing, singing, wushu.

It was rare to be able to provide good quality education during wartime, so high schools were competing to enrol students graduated from Guangren, some even without entering the tests. Many great people studied in Guangren, entering society to make their contributions.

71

日传工作，大唱抗日歌曲，演出日本反战歌剧“千人针”及头剧“放 下你的鞭亍”等，师生朝气逢勃，县望各项比赛各科都名列前茅，

The Memoir

由广州來的先队梁彬等同志的帮助下，组织过师生到校外开展抗

省县运动会各项囚，成绩优异，尤以体操、舞蹈、歌詠、武术、 名躁一时。在战火纷飞、警报传的时期，有此优良的求学环境， 使广州府属子弟得到好教育，加快进步，成绩突出。当时各中学 招生，都争多收广仁毕业生，成续优异，甚至可免试录取，亨实明， 历届广仁小学毕业生，升中以至升大及成材者，比比皆是，走入 社会，匡时济世，不乏进步杰出人物，可见童年基础教育的重要。 广仁小学当时的成就是天时、地利、人和结合，及教育救国，艰 苦奋斗，勤俭办学的结果，如非日寇侵略，家乡沦陷，各地的优 秀教师和饱受苦難的同乡精英子弟那会汇集到南雄，在广仁共教 共学呢 ? 在抗战时，南雄地处粵贛闽湘交通必经之路，商旅云集， 经济繁荣，乡亲们生活好转，才有扔資兴学，慷慨解囊之豪情， 广府同乡在国难家仇，一致抗日的号召下，空前国结，和舟共济， 努力创办广仁，作育英才，为救国建国作出貢献。这就是天时地 利人和的碩果。 1941 年，雄庾信公路健行汽车公司结東，接办南韶公路永行汽车 公司，姚荫庭负责该两公司会计之职，既要结算健行公司帐目， 又要奔走韶关，始兴各沾处理永行公司业务，对广仁小学校义务 校长之职，无暇兼顾，故辞去校长改任校董，由校並会推选张景 述兼任义务校长，当时校务又有进一步发展，教师亦有所增加，

取得的学业成绩，都为广州府属同乡和学生家长们所称颂。是年， 张景述的“景卢”诊所，业务发展求医者日众，应接不暇，无法兼 顾仁小学校长职务，由校董会礼聘廖以雄接任校长，柳汝崶为教 导主任。

72

The Founding of Guangren Elementary

学生增至六百多人，教学质量亦有所提商，其办学情况和师生所

姚氏

The success of Guangren Elementary was a result of the opportunities of time, advantages of situation, and the accord of Men. If not for the war, people wouldn’t gather in Nanxiong.

If not for Guangren Elementary, the economies of Guangdong Province, Jiangxi Province, Fujian Province, Hunan Province, wouldn’t grow rapidly enough. If it wasn’t for uniting against Japan, the people wouldn’t devote themselves to teaching and studying and the development of their own country.

1941, Jianghang Mobile Company in Xionggang took over Yongxing Mobile Company in Nanzhao Road. Yinting Yao was responsible for the finances of both companies. Running around these two places, taking up all his energy, he had to resign his position in the school. After Jingshu Zhang was assigned to be the new chief, school developed again and the faculty got even better. Later, Jingshu Zhang’s clinic “Jinglu” opened and became successful, so the chief reassigned again to Yixiong Liao and Rufeng Liu the new chair.

1944, Japanese invaded Nanxiong, burning, killing, raping, plundering the town. People escaped around the country and Guangren had to close temporarily. Yixiong Liao and his wife with some teachers, students and their parents, continued the education and enrolment on the way of their escaping until Japan’s surrender in 1945. We were back in Foshan and Guangzhou after the victory and some faculty went back to Nanxiong to reopen and school. Rikai Li was the new chair after the victory.

南雄广仁小学创办始末 73

广府同乡，各自逃生，散处各地城。内的广仁小学也被迫暂时关 闭，这时有部分校董，和廖以雄校长夫妇，部分老师、家长、同

The Memoir

1944 年冬，日寇铁蹄践踏南雄。杀人放火，奸淫掳掠，无所不为，

学、较移到南雄外国乡下，他们同舟共济，互相关心，在逃难中， 继续上课，並在当地招生，坚持到 1945 年日寇投降，抗战胜利后， 我们也分别回到佛山，广州定居，仍然留在南雄的校並和部分老师， 继续支持广仁复课，这里值得一提的，李日开老师是抗战胜利后 才到广仁任教导主任的。 解放后，人民政府接管了学校，改为公办小学，李老师又参加抗 是援朝，回国复员，又回到广仁小学担任长，李校长对广仁的感 情是深厚的，他为恢复“广仁”桓名而多方奔走，1987 年南雄昙教 育局为了纪念“广仁”办的光荣历史，决定恢复“广仁小学”的校名， 并请们和广仁毕业的学生到南雄参加“广仁”复名典礼，他的隆情 厚意，可见人民政府是不会忘记园丁们的艰苦耕耘，和在抗战时 期所造出的光辉成绩的。

The Founding of Guangren Elementary

74

姚氏

When the new country was established, the government took over the school, changing it into a public school. Li joined the AntiUS Aid force in support of North Korea. When he was back, he was assigned to be the new chief of Guangren Elementary. Rikai Li had a deep connection to the school, so in order to have the name “Guangren” back, he was running around and eventually Nanxiong Education Department decided to memorize the history of Nanxiong Priviate Guangren Elementary by renaming the public school “Guangren Elementary” and celebrated the renaming by inviting graduated students from Guangren. Their love of the school proved their devotion and contributions of the teachers and the achievement during wartime.

Four

南雄广仁小学创办始末

Looking back, half a century has passed, many founders of the school have left the world, the rest of us were already white-haired. I am glad that I can still see the new generations dedicating to their positions and contributing to the future of our society. Those who are enjoying their retirement life at home would still value their alliance and were willing to participate in union parties and celebrations. Students who graduated from the school were successful, but they would often visit their teachers to give thanks for their devotion.

Such a tradition of Guangren Elementary is still ongoing so the continued development of the students in Guangren is also happening. I am looking forward to the brighter future for new students, new faculty and new chief of school from Guangren giving to our people, our society and our nation.

75

回溯往事，半个世纪过去了，创校诸公，多已作古，我们幸存者

The Memoir

四

寥寥无几人，近年偶遇广仁的旧教师，亦多须鬓斑白，到了古稀 之年可喜的是他们在新的岗位上，能努力耕耘，为党的亨业，为 社会作出应有的贡献。其中大部分虽已退休在家，含饴弄孙，享 天伦乐亨，仍殷殷眷念昔日同窗执教之谊，欣然参加校友联欢， 刊印通訉录，不断联系，初约欢叙，史可喜的，昔日在广仁毕业 的同学，他们大多已长进成材，为社会主义革命和祖国建设作出 卓越的贡献，但他们仍然谦虚好学，不忘园丁往日教诲之恩，每 逢节日，都联扶前往校长、教师家中探访、问候，并交流学术和 工作经验，又曾主动举办广仁師生联欢大会，由此可见，广仁的 优良传统至今未息，广仁同学的进步至今未止，当今国家安定团 结，兴旺发达，同学们发挥才华，为改革开放、为社会主义建设 事业作出更大贡献，正合时宜，因此我们抱着欣慰和殷切的心情， 期待着同学们去创造社会主义的光明前途，并希望新的广仁校长 和尊敬的老师们做出新的成绩，为党教育事业作出更大的贡献。

The Founding of Guangren Elementary

76

姚氏

Group photo of Guangren's students and faculty reunion 师生聚会合照

南雄广仁小学创办始末 77

姚荫庭 / Yinting Yao

姚氏家史

The Heritage History of Yao

姚氏家史 78 姚族谱系概况 A brief introduction of Yao’s family tree

庚午年十一月初四日 年 12 月 20 日 1990 于中山

Route of Escape

译

76 逃难路线

译

South

James Gunn

Zhuji Alley to The

蔡子豪

The Moving from

著

A Brief History of

姚荫庭

74 由南雄珠玑巷 南迁概述

The Heritage History of Yao author/ Yinting Yao at December 20th, 1990 in Zhongshan translation/ Kong Cai edit/ James Gnn Zhuji Alley

珠玑巷

1

约公元 1273 年

2 赵禥公元 1265-1275 年 在位

The Memoir

由南雄珠玑巷南迁概述

南宋咸淳九年 1 奸相贾似道谋篡度宗皇帝 2 不遂，迁怒于国舅胡礼， 削了胡礼司马之职，又逼度宗贬胡礼之妹西妃胡贵妃，削发为尼， 度宗怜爱不息，时暗探访，被贾似道侦知，假传圣旨，勒令菴 ( 同庵 ) 主毒杀西妃，以绝帝念，菴主慈悲，不忍下毒手，乃与胡妃相偕 逃命，因仓皇失散，胡妃只身逃至钱塘江边，悲痛交集，决心投 江自尽。适遇南雄商人黄贵押运米船经过，及时救起，问清情况， 见义勇为，把胡贵妃带回南雄珠玑巷家中，佯称新婚夫妇，以瞒 外人耳目，时隔几年，被顽仆告发，贾似道得知，又假传圣旨勒 令南雄兵部总监李某限时发兵把珠玑巷人民杀绝，意图杀死胡贵 妃，当时李总兵驻防梅关，不知原委，秘密通知其老友黄贵劝他 全家星夜逃命。黄贵心知事发，不忍连累全乡，乃力劝众人扶老 携幼，相偕逃走。胡妃怒斥昏君奸相残害人民，且说我走愈远， 他们杀害人民愈多，决心不走，以一死救众乡人。经大家苦劝， 扶之偕逃。不料她一出门佯称回房取金钗，将身上佩戴的皇妃金 印投入门前池塘中，并乘人不备投身井中香消玉殒，后人名之为 《宝印塘》。附近有古榕树株，村口有门楼一座，石刻《珠玑古巷》 四字，胡妃投身之井，建一白石小塔，封盖井口纪念，胡妃之贞烈， 至今保存，供游人凭吊。

The Heritage History of Yao

82

Statue of Princess Hu and the Treasure Stamp Pond

胡妃像和宝印塘

姚氏

A Brief History of The Moving from Zhuji Alley in Nanxiong to The South 1

about 1273

2 who ruled in 1265-1275

姚氏家史

Xianzhun period of Southern Song Dynasty 1, prime minister Sidao Jia failed to seize the emperor position from Emperor Duzong 2, turned his anger to the emperor’s uncle Li Hu, demoting his position as a general, forcing his sister princess Hu to be a nun. Duzong cared about them, but his secret affair was known by Sidao Jia, he made a fake edict to order the head nun to poison the princess to despair the emperor, but the head was merciful and escaped the temple with the princess. Because they were in a rush, they lost each other on the way. The princess alone reached Qiantang River, and wanted to drown herself in the water. A businessman, Gui Huang from Nanxiong, was shipping rice and saved her from the water. When he heard about what had happened to her, he decided to protect her. He brought her home, spreading word that Hu was his wife.

But after a few years, he was betrayed by his servant. Sidao Jia made another fake edict ordering general Li in the military 83

The Memoir

department of Nanxiong to send soldiers to kill all the people in Zhuji Alley, intending to murder the princess. General Li was garrisoned in Meiguan, knowing nothing about his plan.

He secretly informed his friend Gui Huang, letting them escape overnight. Gui knew things went wrong and in order to not involve the innocent people in the alley into his case, he persuaded the people to leave. Princess was disappointed by the stupidity of the emperor allowing treacherous a minister to murder the innocent. She said that the further I escape, the more people will be killed, so she decided to stay and wanted to sacrifice herself to save the people in the alley. They were not

逃难路线 官兵是由陆路包抄而来，逃难之人是从水路顺流南下，当时广 东沿海多是荒僻之地，珠玑巷逃难人民沿着凌江浈江入大小北 江出海，我们南海、番禺、中山、东莞、增城等十四县的广州 府的现任大多数是这次由珠玑逃难南下定居的。当时扶老携幼 居家出走，有钱的人，买舟泛宅而行，无钱的人，斩竹伐木， 乘桴浮于海。沿途靠鱼樵打猎为生，东躲西匿过着流动难民生活。 据南海县志记录，八万年前，海底火山爆发，地壳变动，形成 了西樵山、罗浮山、龙山，三山林岳，𧒽岗、萧岗等丘陵地带， 沧海桑田，形成不少荒地。宋末元初，中原战乱，长江流域不 少人避乱逃入两广，开荒定居，那便是各地的客家人，以聚居

沿海逐渐繁华兴盛起来。

84

The Heritage History of Yao

在东江五华、兴宁、梅县、嘉应州一带客家人最多。从此广东

姚氏

willing to let the princess die, carrying her to escape with them.

However, after the princess pretended to get back to her bedroom to take her golden hairpin, she threw the stamp proving her princess identity into a pond and jumped into a well. Later, the pond was named “Treasure Stamp Pond”. Under a eucalyptus near the pond has a stone carved “Zhuji Alley”. Beside the well princess where Hu committed suicide, a small white stone tower was built to memorialize her heroism for all travellers to see.

Route of Escape

姚氏家史

Soldiers were chasing on land because back then the shore of Guangzhou was desolate, but the people escaping were going to the south on boats along with Lingzhen River into smaller river branches reaching to places like Nanhai, Panyu, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Zengcheng. Rich families bought boats and the rest of the people made their own boats with bamboo and wood. People hunted by the shore and fished while hiding the soldiers. According to Nanhai Zhi, 80,000 years ago, underwater volcanic eruptions formed Xiqiao Mountain, Luofu Mountain, Long Mountain, Sanlin Valley, Leiguang Mountain, and Xiaogang Mountain. In the years between Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, wars took place often in the mainland, which led to a shift of population from the area near Changjiang River to Guangdong Province and Guangxi Province to resettle themselves. Those people became Hakka, inhabited around Wuhua, Xingning, Meixian, Jiaying, marking the beginning of Guangdong’s prosperity near shore.

85

3 土名叫鸡乸石，巨石 入母鸡，后下方很多 散石如鸡雏

4 一条三米宽十里长的白石大道，两旁种满 水松联通𧒽夏两乡交通，日军开佛平公路 后松被伐光，石被拆光，路变为田了

The Memoir

姚族谱系概况

姚姓子孙源远流长，散居各地，没有联宗，未有系统调查。有外 省来的客家人也有不少是姓姚的，就是一同有珠玑巷淘来的分散 到增城、东莞各处谋生定居，就地繁衍，聚族而居，个自成派系， 有些保存族谱，有些日久失散，无从稽考。就从我𧒽岗姓姚的有 三大族，北约有羽山公祠，西约有福庆坊广业堂及翰林坊垂裕堂、 肃雍堂等各立谱系，互不相联。据说五百年前是一家人。我肃雍 堂的族谱自明清至民国多次修订共四大本，经历几百年，传世廿 代，存殁人数逾千名，详记生卒年月日时及简历葬地。二房七世 祖素轩公祠也有一套族谱，可惜日寇入侵时所有族谱、文物、账册、 祭器、列祖真像等全部损失无存。 我族到这𧒽岗定居的始祖名子龄，一家几口人浮家泛宅，渔樵为 生，当时𧒽岗四面环海，溪涧纵横，撒网下钓，渔获甚丰，运去佛山， 善价而沽，生活渐得汉鼎，乃在西溪社附近山边，结庐而居。子 孙繁衍至第五代石川公，家业日兴，才开始有人读书求学，当时 又𧒽岗去佛山要渡海船行几里中途有小岛名石云山，再行八里才 到佛山水巷、石巷、舍人庙、普君墟米艇头等地才是佛山海边码头， 后来两岸海滩日渐堆积变成田地，𧒽岗渡口才移至石云山，佛山 渡口移至大基尾麒麟门田边街。1939 年日军入侵开通佛平公路， 建了军桥，石云古渡停摆，两岸的码头茶亭已湮没，连石云山的 大石堆 3，古榕树及坟墓等都夷为平地，建了楼房，𧒽岗最后两景：

地文化发达，名人辈出，有李代问，侍读学士、梁储，宰相、太师， 伦文叙父子状元、探花及第，显赫一时，有“火焰相盖三阁老，兄 弟连科入翰林”之谚。我族七世祖光泮、光虞、光舜、光南四兄弟 86

The Heritage History of Yao

石云古渡和十里松风 4，荡然不复存在了。明朝佛山南海顺德各

姚氏

A Brief Introduction of Yao’s Family Tree Yao was an historically big family and Yao’s people were living around the places but they had already lost each others' connection, and there was no systematic research of the people in the family. Many Hakka that came from other provinces also have a family name Yao and people that escaped from Zhuji Alley and settled in Zengcheng and Dongguan were also disconnected from their heritage to start their new families.

Some still hold their family’s heritage records, but some lost them having no way to know their heritage. In terms of the three biggest Yao families inhabiting Leigang, Yushan’s family in Beiyue, Guangye and Fuqing’s families in Xiyue, and Chuiyu and Suyong’s families in Hanlin, they were independent from each other. I only heard that they were in one family 500 years ago. Our heritage record for Suyong was in total four books and had been added since the Ming Dynasty through the Qing Dynasty, and The Republic of China, across a couple hundred years and more than 20 generations, including more than a thousand people, with their date of birth, date of death, their info, and where they were buried. Seventh generation Suyuan Shrine also held another set of the same heritage record, but unfortunately, all the books, items, photos, and figurines of the older generations were stolen, destroyed, and burned during the Japanese invasion.

姚氏家史

When our family decided to settle in Leigang, the first generation was called Ziling, whose family lived a fishing life on boats because Leigang was surrounded by ocean and river. They built a house near Xixi. When the family kept growing to the fifth generation, the wealth accumulated allowing the younger generations to study. It was far from Leigang to Foshan, people had to take boat a couple miles to Shiyun Mountain and then 8 more miles reaching Foshan’s Water Alley, Stone Alley, Sheren Temple, Pujunxu Dock. Later when the land was filled to become fields, the dock in Leigang expanded to

87

御史等高官，可惜光南年末及冠，途中覆舟溺死，否则状元可期， 引其才华比诸兄更胜一筹。

The Memoir

都是饱学之士，光泮、光虞、光舜三兄弟相继考入翰林院出任巡按、

从此我组聚居之地名为翰林坊建有门楼，石刻翰林坊三字，街道 铺青石，平整宽阔，有明渠引水入涌。我童年时在坑渠中时可抓 到鱼虾蟛蜞。坊头建有肃雍堂宗祠一座，祀奉五世世祖以下祖先， 另有七世祖素轩公祠一座使我们二房的祠堂，另三房建一座紫台 公祠，四座祠堂解放后已无存。每年春秋二祭在祠堂举行，有人 添丁，正月初十挂灯，有人婚娶，到祠堂谒祖，都很热闹，清明 拜山有烧猪大包酒果祭祀，始祖子龄公墓在𧒽岗山脚土名为鸟猿 饮涧，二至四世祖在岗之北土名为龟背脊，五世祖石川公、六世 祖文贯、文宽、文粹、文畅、七世祖光泮、光虞、光舜、光南都 葬在罗村涌头圩鹧鸪岭，规模雄伟，占有整个山岭，所有墓碑墓门、 拜台、罗圈、地堂、路径、步级全用白石铺砌，山脚租置有祭田 几十亩，又当地农民承耕，负责守护清扫坟墓，日寇入侵时被炸开， 盗窃一空，片石不存。八世祖以下有些祖坟葬在瓜步圩飞鹅岭及 石湾王借岗等地也先后被掘毁无存。

The Heritage History of Yao

88

姚氏

3 Imperial Academy Lane

Shiyun Mountain and Foshan’s dock expanded to Qilin Gate on Tianbian Street in Dajiwei. 1939, the Japanese built Foping Road and Military Bridge connecting two places, leading to the decline of Shiyun Dock and the restaurants around the shore.

Even the Hen Rock, big eucalyptus, and cemetery on Shiyun Mountain were flattened into road and the ten miles of pine trees were all cut down. In the Ming Dynasty, Foshan, Nanhai, Shunde were prosperous.

Many famous people came from these places, including Daiwen Li, imperial academicians, Liangchu, prime minister, imperial teacher, Wenxu Lun’s, first place, second place, and third place of each year’s Imperial Contest. There was a poem saying this “The flames cover the old three brothers, and the brothers join the Hanlin”. The seventh generation in our family, Guangpan, Guangyu, Guangshun, Guangnan, were welleducated; Guangpan, Guangyu, Guangshun passed the Imperial Contest entering the Hanlin Academy to be governors and censor; Guangnan gained first place in the contest, but his boat overturned while he was going to the capital. Otherwise he could have been more successful than his brothers because he was smarter than them.

姚氏家史

Therefore, the area our family inhabited built a stone archway with a carved name “Hanlinfang” 3; streets covered by blue stone, flat and wide with a running water system around the lane. I remember finding small fish, shrimps, and shells in the canal. In front of the lane there was a shrine called Suyong Hall, dedicated to the fifth and above generations; the shrine in the second building was for the seventh generation Mr. Suxuan and the shrine in the third building was for Mr. Zitai.

These buildings no longer existed after the new country was established. Important family events always happened in the shrines: we held the Spring Ritual and Fall Ritual every year 89

The Memoir

The stone archway of "Hanlinfang"

翰林坊门楼

自五世祖石川公分四子为四房，长子文宽为长房，次子文贯为二 房，三子文粹为三房，四子文畅为四房。我们是文贯公的后人， 属二房子孙。文贯公之子光虞号素轩，建有七世祖素轩公祠一座， 就是我们二房的祠堂。秉承五世祖石川公定下的男丁名字派系， 世代相传。派系诗曰：

水木自源本，吾人其绍之。

90

The Heritage History of Yao

文光启长裔，元辅衍洪基，

姚氏

in the shrines; when there was a newborn, every year we hung lanterns at the shrine in the tenth day of first month in the lunar calendar; when there was a marriage, the couple had to pray to the figurine of their ancestors in the shrines; in Qingming Festival, we shared roasted pig, meat bun, wine and fruit in the shrines. The tomb of the first generation was by the Streams of Birds and Monkeys; second to fourth generations buried at Turtle Back in the north Leigang Mountain; fifth generation Mr. Shichuan, sixth generation Wenguan, Wenkuan, Wencui, Wenchang, and seventh generation Guangpan, Guangyu, Guangshun, Guangnan buried in Partridge Mountain Ridge in Chongtou, Luocun, taking up the whole ridge, looking magnificent. All the tombstones, ritual platforms, gates, paths, steps, were all made of white stone. We hired farmers to cultivate the fields we owned under the mountain and to clean the tombs. When the Japanese invaded, they blew up all the tombs to take the things inside, leaving nothing. The eighth generation's tombs in Goose Mountain Ridge and Wangjie Mound in Shiwan were all dug up and destroyed.

Since the fifth generation Mr. Shichuan assigned four buildings to four sons – Wenkuan, Wenguan, Wencui, Wenchang, as the descendants of the second son Mr. Wenguan, we lived in the second building. Thus, the son of Mr. Wenguan, Guangyu, titled Suxuan, had a shrine in the second building. In order to follow the rule of naming set by Mr. Shichuan, all the males in the family in the same generation always has a same character in their names.

The poem wrote :

Wen Guang Qi Chang Yi, Yuan Fu Xian Hong Ji, 姚氏家史

Shui Mu Zi Yuan Ben, Wu Ren Qi Zhao Zhi.

91

至十六世 “水” 字派，入“沃洵”用三点水的字命名，十七世 “木” 字派， 如 “桂檠、桂橈” 等用木子边的字命名是也。

The Memoir

石川公以下开始， 第六世以 “文” 字， 第七世以 “光” 字为派， 以下类推，

十五、十六、十七世三代祖先多是夫妇合葬于𧒽岗。日寇入侵， 盗墓之风大声，朝葬夕已被掘去棺木，弃尸于野外者甚多，因此 之故，由五宅自嵩峻卿经手将以上三代的祖坟迁葬于九宅之果园 内，合计骨灰塔十多具，立有碑石，分别标记，日军投降之后我 们回乡。多年清明都有拜祭扫墓。 1948 年佛山解放，该果园长期有军人再次养猪种菜不准入内祭扫， 后来军人迁走乡政府接收，要在此建厂房，我们入内想将祖先古 塔掘出火化，保存骨灰，不料在原地遍掘无法找到，十多具金塔 连同碑石不知何时被人掘去，无一存留。祖先的生卒年月日时多 已无法查考，只有由我的祖父母开始记录入家谱之内，家谱分抄 三本，一本存于佛山，一本存于中山，一本存于澳门。希望一代 一代传下去，不要遗失，那么在各地定居的子孙繁衍成族，凭此 家谱，互相联系，合订为族谱，后人方知本身家族的根源，不至 数典忘祖，是我的厚望。

The Heritage History of Yao

92

姚氏

Therefore, starting from Mr. Shichuan, the sixth generation's names contain the word “Wen”, the seventh generation were “Guang”, until the sixteenth generation, “Shui” became an element of the character they had in their names, same as the seventeenth generation. The fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth generations were mostly husband and wife buried together.

Since the Japanese invasion, tomb robbery became popular.

Many bodies were dug out and abandoned under the sun. Thus, around 10 urns from the ancestors were removed to the garden in the ninth building with new tombstones with their names.

We continued the sweeping tomb ritual after the Japanese left.

1948, new country established, the garden was occupied by soldiers to grow vegetables and farm pigs. We were not allowed to enter the garden. After the troops left, the government took over the garden and planned to build a factory on top. We requested to take the urns out, but they had all disappeared. We could no longer double check grandparents’ date of birth and date of death. All we have now is a new heritage record written by my grandparents. I made three copies of it and saved it in Foshan, Zhongshan and Macau. I hope the record can pass down generation to generation so even when future generations separate, they can find each other with the record. To not forget about our roots is my greatest wish.

姚氏家史 93

姚荫庭 / Yinting Yao

姚氏族谱

The Family Tree of Yao

译

我家现在能记录的祖先 只有十五世基灿号了凡 公（ 我 的 高 祖 父 ）， 十六世沃洵字海潮号信 元 公（ 我 的 曾 祖 父）， 但他们的生卒年月日及

Family Tree

蔡子豪

他们的原配无法记忆。

74 家庭树

著

Family Record

姚荫庭

姚氏族谱

84 族谱

The Family Tree of Yao author/ Yinting Yao translation/ Kong Cai

My memory can only reach the fifteenth generation Mr. Liaofan (my great great grandfather) and the sixteenth generation Mr. Xinyuan (my great grandfather) but I cannot remember their exact date of birth or death, nor their partners.

信元

海潮

沃洵

十七世

星榆

棣华

桂檠

基灿

了凡

十六世

名

号

十五世

字

世

The Memoir

族谱

沃洵公长子分居后称大宅 清咸丰七年丁已（1857）年六月二十八 日戌时生，民国十九年庚午（1930）年 十二月十一日子时卒，享年七十四岁 于𧒽岗 元配方氏（原籍东莞世居𧒽岗西溪社） 清咸丰九年已未（1936）年九月初十日 午时卒，享年七十八岁 有长女从庆嫁夏漖（滘）罗芳圩黎姓 次子自鉴字衡初号佐明 三女从好十三岁在本乡河中溺死 星榆公方氏合葬在大地院后迁金塔葬 九宅果园失了 The Family Tree of Yao

98

姚氏

Family Record

First son of Mr. Woxun, the main house

Born June 28, 1857; died December 11 at the age of 74 in Leigang

First wife Fang from Dongguan lived in Xixi, Leigang died lunar September 10 1936, at the age of 78

had a daughter Congqing married Li from Luofang, Xiajiao second son Zijian, named Hengchu, titled Zuoming third daughter Sanhao drawn in the river in the town at 13

Haichao

Woxun

Xingyu

Dihua

Guiqing

Mr. Xingyu and Fang buried together in Dadi. Later after the tower moved to the backyark of the ninth house, urns were stolen.

Xinyuan

17 th

Jican Lefan

16 th

formal name

title

15 th

given name

generation

姚氏族谱

99

桂

The Memoir

名

日华

十七世

字

号

世

沃洵公次子分居后称二宅 子自河元配 黎氏无子女，由大宅继承

桂

十七世

沃洵公四子无后人由五宅继承

桂橈

卓华

新梅

十七世

沃洵公五子分居后称五宅 有长子字嵩号竣卿，孙源京、源洸、 源亮，曾孙本干； 有四子字自健号为康，孙源樵，曾孙 本国、本立、本基、本维、本顺；

桂柄

桢华

少柱

十七世

沃洵公九子分居后称九宅 有子字燅号炎云，元配梁氏，佛山名 医梁财信后人 孙源岳、源洪……，去了美国三藩市

桂樱

香根

十七世

沃洵公第十子分居后称十宅 无子有女从勤、从劝、从勉、从弟， 由九宅自燅继承

The Family Tree of Yao

100

Second son of Mr. Woxun, the second house had a son Zihe, partner Li, who had no children

Gui....

Rihua

17 th

姚氏

Fourth son of Mr. Woxun, the fifth house

Gui....

17 th

first son named Song, titled Junqing, had sons, Yuanjing, Yuanguang, Yuanliang, grandson Bengan;

Fifth son of Mr. Woxun, the fifth house

had a son named Xun, titled Yanyun, partner, Liang who was the daughter of Caixin Liang, a famous doctor in Foshan, whose sons Yuanyue, Yuanhong...went to San Francisco

Ninth son of Mr. Woxun, ninth house

Xinmei

Zhuohua

Guinao

17 th

Shaozhu

Zhenhua

Guibing

fourth son named Jian, titled Kang, had a son, Yuanqiao, grandsons, Benguo, Benli, Benji, Benwei, Benshun

17 th

姚氏族谱

101

号

字

名

十八世

佐明

衡初

自鉴

The Memoir

世

沃洵公长孙，桂檠公次子 清光绪九年癸未（1883）年十月十九 日丑时生于𧒽岗，1961 年辛丑年七月 二十一日丑时卒于佛山市怀康里，享 年七十九岁同继配吴氏合葬于𧒽岗 元配吴氏（北约吴云田之女） 清光绪十二年丙戌（1886）年十月初十 日丑时生，清光绪三十年甲辰（1904） 年二月十四日未时卒，享年十九岁， 生一女殇 ( 金塔已失 ) 继配吴壁绅，佛山市太平庄人 清光绪十三年丁亥（1887）年三月 二十三日丑时生，甲亥 (1959) 年六月 初八酉时卒于佛山古洞，享年七十三 岁同佐明公合葬𧒽岗中宫坑顶 有一子原榕，女月逢嫁北约唐家，女月 秀嫁胡姓迁居佛山古洞，女月嫦嫁何姓 妾李丽芳，江西人韶关 清光绪二十九年癸卯（1903）年四月 十二日已时生，丁卯年（1987）年二月 十六日申时于南海医院，享年八十四 岁存骨灰盅于小祠堂 妾徐凤贞，江西人赣州

丑（1985）年六月初四日卯时卒于佛山 福利院，享年七十三岁不留骨灰 102

The Family Tree of Yao

壬子（1912）年七月十五日亥时生，乙

tenth son of Mr. Woxun, the tenth house had no son but daughters, Congqin, Congquan, Congmian, Congdi

Guiying

Xianggen 17 th

姚氏

First grandson of Mr. Woxun, second son of Mr. Guiqing

Born Octorber 19, 1883 in Leigang; died July 21, 1961 in Huaikang Alley, Foshan, at the age of 79, buried together with whose second wife Wu in Leigang First wife Wu (daughter of Yuntian Wu in Beiyue)

Born lunar October 10, 1886; died February 14, 1904, at the age of 19, gave birth to a daughter but who also died (urn lost)

second wife Bishen Wu (Dai Wu) from Taiping Village, Foshan

born March 23, 1887; died lunar June 8, 1959 in Gudong, Foshan, at the age of 73

concubine Lili Fang, from Shaoguan, Jiangxi

who had a son Yuanrong, daughter Yuefeng married Tang from Beiyue, Yuexiu married Hu who moved to Gudong, Foshan, Yuechang married He Zijian

born April 12, 1903; died February 16, 1987 at Nanhai Hospital, at the age of 84, burned and saved in the Small Shrine

born July 15, 1912; died lunar June 4, 1885 in Foshan Nursing Home, at the age of 73

concubine Fengzhen Xu, from Ganzhou, Jiangxi

Hengchu Zuoming 18 th

姚氏族谱

103

号

字

名

十九世

荫庭

俊荣

源榕

The Memoir

世

自鉴第五子 1912 年壬子年七月十五日子时生于𧒽岗 元配杨金焕（原籍新会祖居𧒽岗南畔） 1912 年壬子年七月初四日酉时生， 2000 庚辰年七月初九日年八月八日卒， 享年九十一岁 有长子本 1933 年润五月生于𧒽岗， 1948 年病死于广雅中学 次女少煖 1935 年十一月十七日生于𧒽 岗， 三子本樑 1937 年七月廿四日生于𧒽岗， 四女少鸿 1939 年十二月十五日生于南 雄， 五子本棠 1941 年十月十七日生于南雄， 六女少湄 1943 年二月十六日生于南雄， 2014 年五月十三日农历四月十五上午 8：30 卒，享年七十三岁 七女未名 1945 年殇于南雄， 八子本栋 1948 年十月初八日生于佛山， 九子本霍 1951 年正月廿八日生于佛山

The Family Tree of Yao

104

姚氏

Yuanrong Junrong Yinting 19 th

Fifth son of Mr. Zijian Born July 15, 1912 in Leigang First wife Jinhuan Yang, from Xinhui, lived in the south of Leigang Born lunar July 4, 1912; died August 8, 2000, at the age of 91

first son Ben born May 1933 in Leigang, died from disease in 1948 at Guangya Middle School second daughter Shaoyuan, born November 17, 1935, in Leigang third son Benliang, born July 24, 1937 in Leigang fourth daughter Shaoxiong, born December 15, 1939 in Nanxiong fifth son Bentang, born October 17, 1941 in Nanxiong

sixth daughter Shaomei, born Feburary 16, 1943 in Nanxiong; died May 13, 2014, at the age of 73 seventh daughter unnamed, died 1945 in Nanxiong eighth son Bentong, lunar October 8, 1948, in Foshan ninth son Benhuo, lunar January 28, 1951 in Foshan

姚氏族谱

105

本樑

二十世

The Memoir

名

字

号

世

自鉴孙源榕第三子 1937 年丁丑年七月二十四日未时生于 𧒽岗 元配李本金（江西大余人） 1945 年乙丑年十一月十八日酉时生 有长 女益群 1965 年十二月初一日已时 生于大余 次女 爱群 1966 年十月十四日卯时生于 大余 三子 吾雄 1968 年十一月十二日子时生 于大余 四子 吾强 1972 年十一月初三日子时生 于大余 五子 吾华 1974 年九月初二日午时生于 大余

本棠

二十世

自鉴孙源榕第五子 1941 年辛己年十月十七日丑时生于南 雄 元配郑惠文（中山县石歧人） 1945 年乙丑年九月初十日 时生 有长子思梧生于 1972 年

106

The Family Tree of Yao

次子健梧生于 1979 年

fifth son of Yuanrong

born October 17, 1941 in Nanxiong

third son of Yuanrong born July 24, 1937 in Leigang

partner Huiwen Zheng, from Shiqi, Zhongshan

Bentang

second son Jianwu, born 1979

first son Siwu, born 1972

born September 10, 1945

partner Benjin Li, from Dayu, Jiangxi born November 18, 1945 first daughter Yiqun, born December 1, 1965, in Dayu second daughter Aiqun, born October 14, 1966, in Dayu third son Wuxiong, born November 12, 1968, in Dayu fourth son Wuqiang, born November 3, 1972, in Dayu

Benliang

20 th

fifth son Wuhua, born September 2, 1974, in Dayu

20 th

姚氏

姚氏族谱

107

本栋

二十世

The Memoir

名

字

号

世

自鉴孙源榕第八子 1948 年戊子年十月初八日寅时生于佛 山迎龙里 元配张凤女（恩平县大槐上康村人） 1952 年壬辰年七月初四日寅时生 有长女洁文 1977 丁已年七月初五日寅 时生于佛山市文昌地区医院

本霍

二十世

自鉴孙源榕第九子 1951 年辛卯年正月二十八日卯时生于 佛山市康乐医院 元配叶莲好（佛山市大基尾人） 1952 年壬辰年九月二十八日子时生 有长女坚平 1979 年润六月初六日午时 生于佛山 次子语超 1982 年四月生于澳门 三子语彪 1986 年十二月生于澳门

The Family Tree of Yao

108

eighth son of Yuanrong born October 8, 1948 in Yinglong Alley, Foshan partner Fengnv Zhang, from Shangkang Village, Dahuai, Enping

ninth son of Yuanrong

born January 28, 1951 in Foshan Kangle Hospital partner Lianhao Ye, from Dajiwei, Foshan born September 28, 1952

third son Yubiao, born December 1986 in Macau

first daughter Jianping, born June 6, 1979 in Foshan

had a daughter Jiewen, born July 5, 1977, in Foshan Wenchang Hospital

Benhuo

born July 4, 1952

Bendong

20 th

second son Yuchao, born April 1982 in Macau

20 th

姚氏

姚氏族谱

109

十六世

长子 Elder Son

15 th Gen

十五世

Mr. Liaofan

The Memoir

家族树 Family Tree

基灿 了凡

16 th Gen

Mr. Xinyuan 沃洵 海潮 信元

17 th Gen

十七世

长子 Elder Son

Mr. Xingyu 桂檠 棣华 星榆

18 th Gen

十八世

长女 Elder Daughter

次子 Second Son

Ms. Congqing

Mr. Zuoming

从庆

自鉴 衡初 佐明

19 th Gen

十九世

次女 Second Daughter

三女 Third Daughter

Ms. Yuefeng

Ms. Yuexiu

月逢

月秀

20 th Gen

二十世

The Family Tree of Yao

21 st Gen

二十一世

110

Ms. Yuechang

Ms. Yinting

月嫦

源榕 俊荣 荫庭

姚氏族谱

次女 Second Daughter

三子 Third Son

Ms. Shaoyuan

Ms. Benliang

少煖

本樑

长女 Daughter

长女 Elder Daughter

Ms. Weihong

Ms. Yiqun

卫红

益群

first group photograph of the 19th generation

十九世首张合影

五子 Fifth Son

Mr. Yinting with his partner

荫庭及配偶

姚氏 四女 Fourth Daughter

111

The Memoir

17 th Gen

十七世

18 th Gen

十八世

19 th Gen

十九世

20 th Gen

二十世

荫庭和十九，二十，二十一世家庭照

次女 Second Daughter

三子 Third Son

四子 Fourth Son

Ms. Yiqun

Mr. Wuxiong

Mr. Wuqiang

爱群

吾雄

吾强

The Family Tree of Yao

21 st Gen

二十一世

112

Family photo of Mr. Yinting with 19th, 20th and 21st generations

姚氏 四女 Fourth Daughter

Ms. Shaohong 少鸿

姚氏族谱

五子 Fifth Son

长女 Elder Daughter

次女 Second Daughter

Mr. Wuhua

Ms. Weiqun

Ms. Weifeng

吾华

伟群

伟峰 113

The Memoir

17 th Gen

十七世

18 th Gen

十八世

19 th Gen

十九世

20 th Gen

二十世

六女 Sixth Daughter

Mr. Bentang

Ms. Shaomei

本棠

少湄

长子 Elder Son

次子 Second Son

长子 Elder Son

Mr. Siwu

Mr. Jianwu

Mr. Qiang

思梧

健梧

强

The Family Tree of Yao

21 st Gen

二十一世

114

五子 Fifth Son

Mr. Benhuo

本栋

本霍

长女 Daughter

长女 Elder Daughter

次子 Second Son

Ms. Jiewen

Ms. Jianping

Mr. Yuchao

洁文

坚平

语超

Group photograph of the 20th generation under the 19th gen Mr. Yinting with their partners 荫庭后代二十世及配偶合影

Mr. Bendong

姚氏族谱

九子 Ninth Son

Group photograph of the 20th generation under the 19th gen Mr. Yinting with their partners 荫庭后代二十世及配偶合影

姚氏

八子 Eighth Son

115

The Memoir

17 th Gen

十七世

次子 Second Son

Mr. Gui 桂 日华

18 th Gen

十八世

三女 Third Daughter

长子 Elder Son

Ms. Conghao

Mr. Zihe

从好

自河

19 th Gen

十九世

20 th Gen

二十世

Mr. Yubiao 语彪

116

The Family Tree of Yao

21 st Gen

二十一世

三子 Third Son

姚氏 四子 Fourth Son

五子 Fifth Son

Mr. Gui

Mr. Xinmei

桂

桂橈 卓华 新梅

长子 Elder Son

Mr. Junqing 嵩 竣卿

Mr. Yuanjing

Mr. Yuanguang

源京

源洸

Mr. Bengan 本干

姚氏族谱 117

The Memoir

17 th Gen

十七世

18 th Gen

Mr. Weikang 十八世

Mr. Yuanqiao

源亮

源樵 19 th Gen

Mr. Yuanliang 十九世

Mr. Benli

本国

本立

20 th Gen

Mr. Benguo

二十世

The Family Tree of Yao

21 st Gen

二十一世

118

四子 Fourth Son

自健 为康

姚氏 Mr. Benji

Mr. Benwei

Mr. Benshun

本基

本维

本顺

姚氏族谱 119

The Memoir

17 th Gen

十七世

九子 Ninth Son

十子 Tenth Son

Mr. Shaozhu

Mr. Xianggen

桂柄 桢华 少柱

桂樱 香根

18 th Gen

十八世

长子 Elder Son

Mr. Yanyun

Ms. Congqin

燅 炎云

从勤

19 th Gen

十九世

Mr. Yuanyue

Mr. Yuanhong

源岳

源洪

20 th Gen

二十世

The Family Tree of Yao

21 st Gen

二十一世

120

姚氏 Ms. Congquan

Ms. Congmian

Ms. Congdi

从劝

从勉

从弟

姚氏族谱 121

姚氏

不至数典忘祖，是我的厚望。」

族，凭此家谱，互相联系，合订为族谱，后人方知本身家族的根源，

「 希 望 一 代 一 代 传 下 去， 不 要 遗 失， 那 么 在 各 地 定 居 的 子 孙 繁 衍 成 译

译 著

James Gunn 蔡子豪

姚氏家史

姚荫庭