The Five Great Clans
II
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All these five clans have histories of gradual migration from the North downwards, the movement taking centuries in some cases. The Tang Clan's genealogies show that in the Sung Dynasty their ancestors moved down into Kwangtung Province from Kian Prefecture25 in Kiangsi Province.26 The Hau genealogy records that they moved down from Pun Yue27 in the Sung Dynasty, but does not say when and whence they moved to Pun Yue.28 The Pangs probably came from Kiangsi at the end of the Sung Dynasty.29 The Lius journeyed southwards from Kiangsi to Fukien in the Sung Dynasty, worked their way down through Fukien, and came to Kwangtung Province in the Yuan Dynasty. The Mans came from Kiangsi to Po On30 in the Sung Dynasty, and then moved to their present villages during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.32
All are Cantonese (Punti33), though one of them at least has a tradition of Hakka34 origin.35 Exactly when and why this lineage should have changed from Hakka customs and speech to Punti is of course impossible to say, and it was probably only a gradual change, but it seems reasonable on two scores that, once large and wealthy, the lineage should change. Firstly, the common path to perpetuation and expansion of wealth and influence was the production of scholars and officials; and in the Sanon District Hakka examination candidates were discriminated against under a quota system whereby eight Punti candidates were allowed to pass the Prefectural Examination in Canton compared with only two Hakka.36 This proportion may be set against the figures of village numbers given by Krone—579 Punti and 275 Hakka.37 Secondly, the other large and influential clans of the area were Punti, and it would be easier in the spheres of communications and bride-finding and bride-giving for a lineage with pretensions to be Punti-oriented rather than Hakka.
III
With the help of an agricultural map of the New Territories it is possible to discover the relative values of the land which these clans acquired, and to compare this information with the
THE FIVE GREAT CLANS
II
27
All these five clans have histories of gradual migration from the North downwards, the movement taking centuries in some cases. The Tang Clan's genealogies show that in the Sung Dynasty their ancestors moved down into Kwangtung Province from Kian Prefecture25 in Kiangsi Province,26 The Hau genealogy records that they moved down from Pun Yue27 in the Sung Dynasty, but does not say when and whence they moved to Pun Yue.28 The Pangs probably came from Kiangsi at the end of the Sung Dynasty.29 The Lius journeyed southwards from Kiangsi to Fukien in the Sung Dynasty, worked their way down through Fukien, and came to Kwangtung Province in the Yuan Dynasty. The Mans came from Kiangsi to Po On3 in the Sung Dynasty. and then moved to their present villages during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. 32
All are Cantonese (Punti313), though one of them at least has a tradition of Hakka3⁄4 origin.35 Exactly when and why this lineage should have changed from Hakka customs and speech to Punti is of course impossible to say, and it was probably only a gradual change, but it seems reasonable on two scores that, once large and wealthy, the lineage should change. Firstly, the common path to perpetuation and expansion of wealth and influence was the production of scholars and officials; and in the Sanon District Hakka examination candidates were discri minated against under a quota system whereby eight Punti candidates were allowed to pass the Prefectural Examination in Canton compared with only two Hakka 36 This proportion may be set against the figures of village numbers given by Krone-- 579 Punti and 275 Hakka.37 Secondly, the other large and influential clans of the area were Punti, and it would be easier in the spheres of communications and bride-finding and bride- giving for a lineage with pretensions to be Punti-oriented rather than Hakka.
III
With the help of an agricultural map of the New Territories it is possible to discover the relative values of the land which these clans acquired, and to compare this information with the
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