Page 73-85, Chap 3

Rambling around my ancestral Hainan

Page 73-85, Chapter 3

Chapter 3

North Coast - Navigating Around Haikou City

Lady Xian (Xian Furen) and her temple in Xinpo

Waking to the cue of melodious music in early dawn, Jo goes out, fully equipped with her huge camera bag, after my brief about the park. An hour later, she returns fully satisfied. Ever since winning first prize - a $1,000 photographic store voucher - in our city council’s photographic competition, she has been inspired to experiment with her newly-acquired single-lens reflex Canon and its wide-angle and close-up lenses.

Xue Xin and Cai Hong pick us up for lunch. Jinshuimen (Golden Water Gate) Seafood Restaurant is situated on the southern tip of Xinbu Island, the islet lying to the right of Haidian Island. From Changdi Road, we cross the two-hundred metre bridge into Xinbu Avenue and immediately turn left. We are guided to the floating platform, where the sea view of the Nandu River mouth is nothing but spectacular. A couple sitting three tables away are the only other patrons. Strange for a Saturday afternoon, but the reason soon becomes apparent.

Jinshuimen (Golden Water Gate) Seafood Restaurant, Xinbu Island
金水门海鲜餐厅, 新埠岛

Four large prawns weighing half a kilogram cost 128 RMB; a crab of about the same weight costs 118 RMB; and a fish head of about seven hundred and fifty grams costs 148 RMB. Together with an assortment of vegetables, the steamboat adds to a staggering 673 RMB ($135), about a third or half of the waitress’ monthly wage. It is too expensive even for the two of us dining out in Australia. The “Tian Di No 1 Apple Vinegar”, actually apple cider, is also expensive, at 22 RMB. In an Australian supermarket, a bottle of apple cider sells for only A$2 (about 12 RMB). Of course, ambience costs money.

Four large prawns weighing half a kilogram cost 128 RMB
四个大虾，半公斤, 成本128元

After lunch, Xue Xin leaves us at the intersection of Haifu and Lantian Road. Their house is a few streets away. Soon he and his friends will be driving their jeep to Yunnan, using the ferry service at Haikou Ferry Terminal and the land route across Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces. We catch Bus No. 1 to Haikou East Station along Haifu Road. The fare is 1 RMB each. In red shirt, a boy of fifteen offers me his seat, corroborating the general civility of the younger Hainanese generation. Coaches bound for Wenchang, Qionghai, Lingshui, and so forth are available at the station. But finding no bus or coach to Xinpo, a town thirty kilometres south of Haikou, Cai Hong hails a taxi.

What follows confounds me. She tells the driver our destination and, on receiving her assenting nod, we get in. As the taxi takes off, the friendly haggling begins. Hainanese Lady Driver quotes 250 RMB ($50) for the return journey and an hour of waiting time. Sitting in the front seat, Cai Hong is a tough negotiator - 200 RMB (S$40). Madam Driver makes a phone call, presumably to her company. After a few more minutes of banter, they settle on the price of 200 RMB. Knowing your terrain does wonder. I am actually willing to pay 250 RMB.

Travelling along S81 Expressway, we pass a sign “Xinpo 20 km” after ten minutes. The straight expressway with two lanes in each direction is lined with trees. In front of us, two trucks are occupying both lanes, thus preventing us from overtaking. Two cars are following behind. Sitting on the right side of the rear seat, I snatch glimpses of paddy fields on the right. Then in range is a huge vegetable farm with an estimated size of four square kilometres, two kilometres on each side.

After thirty minutes, we exit into a narrow dusty two-lane road. A Sinopec petrol station and a police station are on our left. The single-storey houses on each side of the road, punctuated with some double-storey homes, appear so close to one another. A triple-storey house on our left is under construction, the bricks and gravels piling by the kerb. Workers and kids are walking along the road, or crossing it. Parked cars, motorcycles, auto rickshaws, and trucks render the road even narrower for the moving vehicles, which inch their way toward their destination. Accustomed to the wide expanse of Hainan, I now feel claustrophobic. What an unwelcoming entrance to the compound of Xinpo Xian Furen Temple!

Road (in 2016) leading to Lady Xian Temple at Xinpo Town, Longhua District
路通往冼夫人庙, 新坡镇, 龙华区

Visitors can be forgiven for thinking that Lady Xian is an Indian goddess. About two metres in height, the statue of her riding her mare is placed on a square concrete platform that is one metre high in front of the temple compound. The statue is covered with soot from burnt joss papers and incense sticks over the decades. When I draw closer, I notice that the statue is carved from a single chunk of rock. Whether it is granite in composition is impossible to tell, the patina obscuring my examination.

With her left foreleg raised apparently in greeting, the mare is looking down at me, smiling. Her eyes are wide, and her face feminine. On her forehead is a pink flower with eight open petals. Her bridle and the designs on Lady Xian’s dress and crown are painted in gold. A red decorative brocade ribbon is wrapped around her neck. In contrast, Lady Xian, in her thirties, is expressionless. Focussed on the horizon behind me, she holds upright an imperial insignia, which shapes like a miniature cricket bat on which is an engraved Chinese character. Her lips are painted pink.

Lady Xian, the ethnic Li wife of Feng Bao, riding her horse
冼夫人, 俚人, 冯宝的妻子, 骑着马

It is a tradition to insert 20 RMB under the horse’s hoof, an eighteen-year old boy persistently claims. When Cai Hong tells the scruffy lad that she will consult the temple keeper, he reduces the amount to 10 RMB. Sensing a scam, I brush him off but he returns later. We ignore him. And he duly leaves us alone.

Jo explores the compound, clicking at the trees, leaves, flowers, and old quarters in the hope of capturing something captivating for future photo competitions. While I am also photographing Lady Xian, six young kids, ranging in age from five to eleven, are observing our activities out of curiosity. In casual clothing, they walk around in slippers. They are adorable, and I briefly ponder over their future in this small town.

Three old ladies are sitting in the temple courtyard near its front entrance, talking. Tempting though it may be, I refrain from uttering the impolite question in my mind: are you living at the quarters within the temple compound? My guess is that they are. I smile and ask some questions which I believe to be innocuous like their age; the last thing I want to do is to offend any of them. Madam Cheng is ninety and frail. Her mental faculty is still perfect. Xu and Zi are both seventy. Outside the courtyard entrance is a portable table of incense sticks and joss papers. Cai Hong purchases some incense sticks and joss paper for 20 RMB from the seller, a man in his late forties, who has been plying his trade for several years.

After we have contributed into the donation box within the temple, a custodian assists Cai Hong in lighting her long yellowish-brown incense stick and embedding it in the middle censer before a smaller icon of a seated Lady Xian. Made perhaps of porcelain, the icon is half a metre in height. Except for her young and smooth face and hands, she is draped in a pink costume with embroidered designs in blue, light-blue, and green colours. The light-blue tinsels sparkle, and the light-brown or golden tassels add colour to her outfit. In matching colours, her headdress has two long, thin peacock feathers. Around her are smaller, inconspicuous figurines of lesser deities.

Closing her eyes, my niece reverentially bows her head and prays to the goddess. Half a metre in diameter, the greyish earthen censer is compacted with ashes of burnt incense sticks. In it are six other lighted sticks similar in length to the one which Cai Hong is holding. The large censer is flanked by two smaller ones, each holding two burning red joss candles. In compliance with the religious instructions, Cai Hong lights two smaller incense sticks and plants them into the square stone receptacle in the courtyard. Her joss paper is, however, lit by the custodian and dropped into a huge iron cauldron. A couple walks into the temple with the same set of divine offerings. Except for us here, the temple compound is empty.

Lady Xian’s birthday celebration will however attract a huge crowd the following month. Lasting four days from the twelve of the second lunar month, the annual Junpo Festival honours the national heroine and maternal Li ancestor of the Feng clan. This special event, especially for the Li people, is an ancient tradition supported in many towns and districts in Hainan and Guangdong. Since we are a month early, we miss the spectacle of exciting lion dances and Yangge dances with accompanying firecrackers, gongs, and drums. We also miss the sweet potatoes and yams baked by families praying for peace and prosperity in the island.

Born in 512 (or 520 in some accounts), the heroine-goddess was lauded in the Chinese historical texts History of the Sui (隋书; Sui shu) and History of the Northern Dynasties (北史; Bei shi) as “Lady Xian” (冼夫人; Xian Furen). “Xian” (冼) was the name of her Li ethnic clan, which was the most prominent in Nanyue (Southern Yue), the area comprising southern Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam. To fully appreciate her contribution to Chinese history and culture, we should recall the social milieu of her times.

Modern China, as we have seen earlier, includes the provinces of Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan. But during the pre-Qin period these southern territories were “no-man’s land”, sparsely populated by about six million people from non-Han ethnic communities, whom the northerners regarded as uncultured barbarians. When they captured that vast region, the Qin and Han emperors were only able to exercise tenuous control over some parts. The myriad territorial and political problems in the north, which sustained the majority (about ninety percent) of the subjects, preoccupied and precluded them from meddling in the distant south.

Emperor Ling’s death in 189 A.D. led to debilitating conflicts among his family, court eunuchs, and powerful ministers and officials for three decades. Finally, in 221 A.D., the (Eastern) Han dynasty collapsed. A two-hundred year period of instability followed, in which kingdoms were established and then destroyed. Initially, China was split into three parts: General Cao Cao’s Wei Empire in the north (roughly above Yangzi River), the Sun family’s Wu Empire in the south (roughly below Yangzi River), and Liu Bei’s Shu Han Empire in the centre (in Shu, the ancient name of Sichuan).

After usurping his Wei emperor’s throne in 265 A.D., General Sima Yan conquered the Wu Empire.   For some time, his large Jin Empire (often referred to as the “Western Jin” because of the western site of its capital Luoyang) dominated over a large part of China. On its fringes were the successive smaller kingdoms. This is the period historically termed as the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms. These short-lived kingdoms were: Han Zhao (Xiongnu, or Huns), Later Zhao, Cheng Han, Former Liang, Later Liang, Northern Liang, Western Liang, Southern Liang, Former Yan, Later Yan, Northern Yan, Southern Yan, Former Qin, Later Qin, Western Qin, and Xia.

Posthumously titled as “Emperor Wu” (“Martial Emperor”), Sima blundered, dividing his empire among his twenty-five sons, which soon led to infighting. One foolishly invoked the assistance of the Huns, whose leader, exploiting the internal weakness, invaded northern China in 316. The Western Jin court fled southwards and established the southern Jin dynasty (or “Eastern Jin” because of its capital at Nanjing). Although it was subject to attacks from the north, this dynasty held until 420 A.D. when the regent seized the young emperor’s crown.

The upstart initiated the first of the four minor (“Southern”) dynasties: Liu Song (420-479 A.D.), Southern Qi (479-502 A.D.), Liang (502-557 A.D.), and Chen (557-589 A.D.).

From 420 to 589 A.D., a period of one hundred and seventy years of disunity and conflict among the Northern and Southern Dynasties was inflicted on the vast land. In the north, the accumulated wealth attracted non-Han invaders. Victorious and intermarrying with the subdued people, the conquerors assimilated their culture and language. While many Hans remained in their ancestral homes and secured employment as officials in the new bureaucracy, some even attaining high positions over time, the stream of northern Han refugees across Yangzi River was unceasing. They followed the displaced Han royals and officials, who founded their own dynasties in the land south.

Combined with diseases, famines, and natural mortality, these wars limited the growth of population in China over the seven centuries from the beginning of the Common Era. In 742 A.D., the figure remained at almost sixty million. Only in 1100 A.D. did it rise to one hundred million as a result of the expansion of rice cultivation.

In southern China, the Southern Qi dynasty ended in 502 A.D. after twenty-three years when thirty-eight year old general Xiao Yan seized power. But his Liang dynasty did not last very long either: only fifty-five years. The succeeding Chen dynasty was also brief: thirty-two years.

Unwittingly providing future chroniclers with clues to assign approximate or even exact dates to historical events, Chinese emperors frequently gave auspicious or inspiring names to the phases of their reign. For instance, also posthumously known as Emperor Wu, Xiao Yan announced at the commencement of his reign the “Tian-jian” (天監; Heavenly Supervision) era, which lasted seventeen years. His second period was promulgated as the “Putong” (普通; Ordinary) era, which lasted seven years. During his forty-seven year rule, the emperor had the satisfaction of seeing southern China through a period of relative stability and prosperity. He was an enlightened Buddhist and a devoted Confucianist. Emphasizing education, he established universities. He was also a patron of the arts.

Serving under him was a bureaucrat, Feng Rong (冯融), the hereditary Governor (or Regional Inspector; ci shi) of Luozhou. According to both the official History of the Sui completed under Tang official Wei Zheng’s supervision in 636 A.D. and Li Yanshou’s mid-seventh century unofficial History of the Northern Dynasties, Feng Rong’s ancestor was a Northern Yan (409-439 A.D.) royalty. Li’s work added that the ancestors were Miao people. Because his was not a state-commissioned publication, Li’s accuracy was susceptible to dispute. Many Chinese historians insist that the royal Fengs were ethnic Han, who had adopted Miao customs through their years of living with the northern Miao people. I am following this discussion with intense interest. Am I related to Feng Rong? Am I also of Miao descent?

Feng Rong’s son was also an employee in the emperor’s service. Born in 509 A.D. in Guangdong, Feng Bao (冯宝) was the Prefect or Grand Protector (太守; taishou) of Gaoliang County (west of modern Yinjiong in Guangdong Province).

Somewhere in Gaoliang (高凉; modern Gaozhou, Maoming City), in Lidong Village (俚洞村; now 雷垌村, Leidong Village), a young girl was studying martial arts and military strategies under an unnamed master, which explains her later bravery, charisma, and fortitude. As a member of the leading clan, Miss Xian Ying (冼英) inherited some of the leadership responsibilities. She led many battles, earning her people’s trust and obedience. And she also taught the value of harmony and kindness to her kin and countrymen. She was upright and frank. She admonished her rich and powerful brother, the leader of one county, when he unnecessarily invaded neighboring counties. Because of her impartiality, even people from as far as Nanhai and Danzhou counties in Hainan brought their disputes for mediation. That was a charming story some Maoming mothers repeated to their children.

Lady Xian’s family home, Lidong Village, Gaozhou, Maoming City, Guangdong Province
冼夫人的家, 雷垌村, 高州, 茂名市, 广东省

According to official history, because of her moral rectitude and discipline, more than a thousand households from Hainan pledged their allegiance to her rash but later reformed brother. Lady Xian’s clan members had “for generations been leaders of the Nan Yue”, adjudicating over the lives of more than a hundred thousand non-Han families. During her early years, the Chinese commandery of that region effectively controlled only about five thousand Han households. If an average household had five members, the Xian leader was overseeing the affairs of half a million non-Han people while the Feng prefect was overseeing only twenty-five thousand Hans.

When the Luozhou governor heard about the remarkable achievements of the maiden in her twenties, he sought her marriage to his son. Given the prevailing prejudice against non-Han people, that was a remarkable request: the Fengs were (if seventh-century Li Yanshou was wrong) ethnic Hans from northern China whereas Miss Xian was a Li from southern China. Yet what is even more remarkable is that this accidental and seemingly insignificant prudential union would provide the opportunity to this young interracial couple and their offspring to contribute directly to the political and racial unification and unity of an expanding China, the China of today. This episode is, or should be, enlightening not only to the Feng clan but also to Chinese throughout the world.

Although the prefect, Feng Bao discovered to his frustration that his orders were often ignored by the Li people living within his small domain. But his marriage to the Li lass in 535 A.D. soon transformed the situation. His rules were framed according to her counsel, which she strictly enforced, even among the non-Han communities. With the efficiency of his administration lifted, peace returned to the southern region. Facilitating the implementation of Chinese legal system in Nanyue, this interracial marriage strongly bonded the Han and non-Han, a bond that lasted through the centuries.

In 549 A.D., Feng Bao was forty years old when his son Feng Pu (冯仆; traditional: 馮僕) was born. His wife was thirty-seven (or twenty-nine).

An old man of eighty-five, emperor Wu was trapped in his palace in Jiankang (modern Nanjing) by the troops of his general, who had started a rebellion the previous year. Hou Jing was a former Eastern Wei general. Other self-interested Liang generals failed to send the necessary military aid. Although a good emperor, Wu’s leniency had permitted corruption to flourish among his officials. When food supplies were depleted, he died, apparently from starvation. His son (emperor Jianwen) was enthroned but under Hou Jing’s control.

The following year, Hou Jing conspired with Guangzhou Governor Xiao Bo and Gaozhou Governor Li Qianshi to enmesh Feng Bao into their wider stratagem. They invited him to a purported conference, where he would be detained as hostage if he should turn uncooperative. Unaware of their guile, Feng Bao was ready to attend. But forewarned by his wily wife, he did not move. As predicted, Governor Li led a rebellion in Gaozhou a few days later. A well-known strategist was delegated to crush Feng Bao.

Following his wife’s advice, Feng Bao avoided a military engagement with General Du Shi, which would have resulted in heavy losses on both parties, but still leaving Governor Li the winner. The brave lady scripted a risky ruse: she would lead a train of porters bearing both gifts to Du Shi and Feng Bao’s conciliatory message to negotiate peace terms, thereby luring Li into a false sense of security and a state of unreadiness for a surprise attack. Feng Bao would have sleepless nights over the wisdom of the deception plan. Anything could easily go wrong.

When he received news of the gifts, the governor was elated, believing that Feng Bao had capitulated. Madam Xian and her retinue of a thousand carefully-chosen warriors, posing as gift-bearing servants, were given a rousing welcome in Gaozhou. Once inside the city stronghold, they discarded their disguises and attacked the unsuspicious defenders with concealed weapons. Although Li escaped, peace was restored in Gaozhou. Lady Xian and her forces then rallied with a loyal general, Chen Baxian. She was impressed with his capability, and reported it to her husband.

Meanwhile in Jiankang in 551, Hou Jing ordered the regicide of emperor Jianwen. The governor of Jing Province (modern western Hubei) bid his time to exact revenge for his brother’s death. The following year, the prince defeated Hou Jing and declared himself as emperor. For her loyalty, emperor Yuan showered middle-aged Lady Xian with honors. During his brief reign of two years from winter 552 to winter 554, the country was however wrecked with internal wars.

Around this time, Feng Bao became seriously ill, thus leaving his wife to act in his stead. In 555, chaos broke out in Lingnan, except in the districts under Lady Xian’s control. At the start of the year, emperor Yuan was captured and killed by the Western Wei army. Taking advantage of the turmoil, Northern Qi installed his cousin (Xiao Yuanming) as the fourth Liang emperor. However, a disaffected Chen Baxian captured Jiankang and forced Xiao’s abdication, thus paving the way for the enthronement of the late emperor’s son. The destabilized Liang capital came under frequent attacks from the north but was saved by the capable general.

After several victories over enemies and rebels, the exasperated general finally staged a coup in 557, forcing emperor Jing to abdicate. Thus, the Chen dynasty was founded.

Having witnessed General Chen’s military capability and also popularity among the people, Lady Xian was pragmatically persuaded to recognize his new dynasty. Around this time, in 557 or 558, Feng Bao died. To prevent a political vacuum, Lady Xian dispatched their nine-year old son to Nanjing to seek the emperor’s endorsement of her administration. Chen (known posthumously too as Emperor Wu) appointed Feng Pu as Grand Protector of Yangchun (陽春郡守; Yangchun junshou) under her regency.

In 559, emperor Wu died from an illness. His nephew and successor Chen Qian died also from an illness in 566. The latter’s son was deposed three years later by his paternal uncle Chen Xu.

Emperor Xuan ruled for thirteen years. During his second year (570), a Guangzhou magistrate Ouyang He summoned Feng Pu to Nanhai Commandery. The twenty-one year old inexperienced Grand Protector was captured and coaxed to participate in a revolt. The ensnared lad sent a messenger to inform his mother of his predicament. Reiterating her loyalty to the Chen emperor, Lady Xian advised her son against rebellion. Meanwhile, she advanced troops to the border. Reinforced with the emperor’s forces, they captured and beheaded Ouyang.

The emperor knighted her rescued son as Duke of Xindu (信都侯; Xindou Hou) and awarded him the honor “Leader of Court Gentleman Who Quelled the Yue” (平越中郎将; Ping Yue Zhonglang Jiang). He was later made the governor of Shilong (石龙太守; Shilong taishou). In addition, the emperor conferred upon Lady Xian the title “Grand Consort of Shilong” (石龙太夫人; Shilong taifuren), a four-horse carriage, a military band, a staff, and honor guard equivalent to a regional inspector. She moved to Shilong Sheng (Stone Dragon City), an ancient town in Gaoliang District.

Emperor Xuan died in 582 and was succeeded by his incompetent son Chen Shubao (who was to destroy the Chen dynasty seven years later.) During the latter’s Zhide (至德; Extremely Virtuous, 583-586 A.D.) period of rule, Feng Pu died. Feng Pu was only a young man of thirty-four in 584 (or thirty-five in 585). His “concubine”, also surnamed “Xian”, was presumably a member of his mother’s clan. With her, he had three well-known sons: the eldest, Feng Hun; the second, Feng Xuan; and the third, Feng Ang.

Here is an interesting observation on ethnicity: if Feng Pu was half-Han and half-Li, then his children were one-quarter Han and three-quarter Li. It was obviously this factor that led the later Tang imperial court to deem, with engrained traditional prejudice, the Feng children as “barbarians”. This is intriguing. If they should turn out to be my ancestors, then I am a “barbarian” too, with the genetic DNA of “barbarians”. Am I a “barbarian” too? Am I uncultured and refined? Never did I realize that my journey to my ancestral Hainan would raise such provocative questions in me of my ethnic origin.

Over in Northern Zhou kingdom, prime minister Yang Jian’s daughter was the royal consort. When the king died, the queen became regent to her stepson. In 581, her father seized the throne to inaugurate the Sui dynasty. By 587, emperor Wen (Wendi, his posthumous title) had united the warring kingdoms in the north. His attention then turned to the south.

The following year, he consigned a formidable army of ninety generals and five hundred and eighty thousand soldiers to destroy the Chen dynasty. The south trembled in fear. The governors and generals nominated the elderly Lady Xian, now in her mid-seventies (or late sixties), to lead their army to the border and guard vital passes.

Entrenched on the hilly buffers, the two opposing armies stared at each other, posing patiently for the gory showdown. As Lady Xian’s army was well trained and disciplined, the northern general did not strike. During the following year, however, the Sui army succeeded in capturing the southern capital and its emperor.

When the lady and her generals received instruction to surrender from the imprisoned ruler through his messenger who also conveyed as credential his rhinoceros-bone staff, which was her gift to him, they recognized the inevitable end of the dynasty which they had faithfully served for thirty-two years. They wept.

To save the southern counties from a bloodbath, Lady Xian pledged her loyalty to the Sui. She sent her eldest grandson to welcome General Wei Guang. The emperor honoured Lady Xian with the title “Commandery Mistress of Songkang” (宋康郡夫人; Songkang Jun furen), and Feng Hun with “Unequal in honor” (仪同三司; Yitong sansi). Deposed emperor Chen was transported to Sui capital Chang’an, where he was treated kindly until his death in 604.

Increasingly heavier taxes imposed to finance building and reconstruction projects led Wang Zhongxuan in Panyu (present Guangzhou) to revolt against General Wei Guang in 590. The tribal chief was soon joined by other generals. Wei Guang moved his army from Guangzhou to Hengling Pass, where he was subsequently besieged. Lady Xian charged her second grandson Feng Xuan to rescue the ambushed troops. Possibly in his early twenties and hence politically inastute, the young commander restrained his army from taking action against his friend General Chen Fozhi, who was one of the rebel leaders.

His inaction provoked the fury of his grandmother when she was notified. Authorizing agents to imprison him, the stern lady instructed her third grandson to assume command. Born around 570, Feng Ang (冯盎) fought the rebels and killed Chen Fozhi. With General Lu Yuan, he then attacked Wang Zhongxuan’s army.

Donning military attire, Lady Xian in her seventies also entered the fray and killed Wang. Fronting her cavalry, she escorted the imperial emissary Pei Ju on a tour of all the counties under her control. Wherever she went, the people pledged their loyalty to the new Sui emperor.

Lady Xian was knighted as “Qiaoguo Furen” (谯国夫人; “Consort of State Qiao” according to Sherry J. Mou’s translation, or “Lady Defender of the Country” according to Geoff Wade’s translation). Showered with jewelries and fine clothing by the empress, she was given the authority to run the administration of six districts in the south. Emperor Wen pardoned her second grandson and made him Governor of Luozhou. He also appointed her third grandson as Prefect of Gaozhou. Finally, the emperor bestowed upon her late husband the posthumous titles “Qiaoguo Gong” (谯国公; “Duke of State Qiao” or “Duke Defender of the Country”) and “Commander-in-Chief of Guangzhou” (广州总管; Guangzhou zongguan).

Although accurate, Mou’s translation of the honorific titles leaves out emperor Wen’s subtle message; for gifts in Chinese tradition often convey an implied wish or salutation as well. For example, a donor’s painting of five bats (蝠; fu) expresses his blessing of the five “good fortunes” (福; fu) - health, wealth, long life, love of virtue, and good death - upon the recipient. Similarly, “Qiao” (谯) is homophonic of “qiao” (瞧; look). “Looking after the country” is the allusion illuminated by Wade. Lady Xian’s protection of a united China under the Sui emperors even led Premier Zhou Enlai to hail her as “the first female heroine in China’s history”.

Chou En Lai (Former Chinese Premier): Madame Xian is China’s historical first heroine
周恩來: 冼夫人是中國歷史上第一位巾幗英雄

Ill-treated Guangzhou natives rose in revolt against their corrupt governor the following year. Disregarding Lady Xian’s encouragement on good governance, he imposed martial law and executed some of the native leaders, fueling the unrest. As a result, emperor Wen commissioned Lady Xian to investigate and resolve the natives’ grievances. She impeached the corrupt governor and peace returned. She was rewarded.

In 593, the emperor awarded her the Fief of Linzhen (臨振縣; Linzhen County, now Sanya) and its one thousand five hundred households. Feng Pu was conferred the posthumous awards of “Area Commander-in-Chief of Yazhou (崖州總管; Yazhou zongguan)” and “Duke of Pingyuan” (平原郡公; Pingyuan jun gong).

The formidable grand warrior passed away at the ripe old age of eighty-nine (or eighty-one) in 601. Given a state funeral, she was buried in Dianbai District. Emperor Wen awarded her the posthumous honor “Mistress of Sincerity and Respect” (诚敬夫人; Chengjing Furen). Her bravery and virtuous life won her widespread respect. By the tenth century, many temples sprout out in southern Guangdong and Hainan Island to her memory, the Lingnan Sacred Mother (岭南圣母; Lingnan Sheng Mu).

“Lingnan Sacred Mother” inscription, Niang Niang Temple, Shandou Village, Diancheng Town, Dianbai District, Maoming, Guangdong
“嶺南聖母” 铭 (simp: 岭南圣母); 娘娘庙, 山兜村, 电城镇, 电白区, 茂名, 广东

Today, more than a hundred Xian Furen temples are scattered throughout Guangdong and Hainan. There is even one at the corner of Jalan Kepong and Jalan Jinjang Aman 4 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He Xi, a professor of History from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has pinpointed the locations of fifty temples in Hainan. In Guangdong, the Gaozhou Xitai (洗太夫人; Xi tai furen) Temple, built in 1535, houses numerous ancient statues, sculptures, and stone inscriptions. Prior to the 1949 written language reform in China, the character 洗 was pronounced as “Xian”.

Xian Tai (Furen) Temple, corner of Jalan Kepong and Jalan Jinjang Aman 4, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
冼太(夫人)庙, 边角Kepong路和Jinjang Aman 4路, 吉隆坡，马来西亚

“Since I was born in Hainan, do you think I could be a descendant of Lady Xian and Feng Bao?” Meekly, I ask Du Rui Dao (杜瑞道), the secretary of Xian Furen Memorial Temple in Xinpo, that far-fetched question.

“Of course, Feng Ang and his children came to Hainan. You are their descendant.”

“Is that so?” I replied incredulously. The gentleman has not even studied my genealogical history. How can he be so sure?

Interestingly, if Mrs Feng the warrior-goddess is my ancestor, am I divine too? With that egocentric thought flashing through my mind, I generously purchase nine copies of a pictorial history written by Feng Suo Hai and illustrated by Feng He Xiao on her life and times. Are these two Fengs my distant relatives too?

Lady Xian, book cover
冼夫人, 本书封面

Hitching a ride with us on our way back to town, Du cheerfully tells me that we are fated to meet. His positive comment strengthens my faint hope and optimism of successfully tracing my lineage. Cai Hong asks a question.

He is a geomancer, providing consultancy for clients in Haikou. Aged sixty, he is married with three children. His arms are broad and muscular, typical of a gongfu practitioner. I enquire if he has some form of martial arts training. Yes, he replies. He has practised wushu since his childhood. He alights along the way. The lady operator says that she has heard of him. He has made a name for himself here in the capital. Cai Hong drops off along Haifu Road, leaving the lady to bring us to the hotel.

Du Rui Dao (杜瑞道), Xian Furen Memorial Temple secretary, Xinpo: We are fated to meet
杜瑞道, 冼夫人庙秘书, 新坡镇, 说: 这就是缘分，我们见面

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Note:

To catch a bus to Xinpo, go to Haikou South Station (海口南站; Haikou Nan Zhan). The two terminals are shown on the bus front screen: 南站 (Nan Zhan; South Station) – 新坡 (Xinpo; literally: New Slope).