Nam Hung Fu

and

Ji Gei Li

(AKA Ji Gei Hong)

Ghengis Kahn conquered the northern part of China (AKA the Northern Sung Dynasty) in 1127 AD, pushing the Sung rulers to Hangzhou where they founded the Southern Sung Dynasty, which generally got along with the Mongols to the north. However, after Kubla Kahn conquered Manchuria he came after the Southern Sung. To escape the Mongols, many Chinese migrated further south and one of the major cities they ended up was Nam Hung Fu [], located at the northern border or pass through the mountains into what is today Guangdong Province.

Nam Hung was the capital of Chi Hing county and was very crowded. Security was very tight because of the military concerns of the Southern Sung. In addition, soldiers were in Nam Hung at this time searching for an escaped concubine of the emperor's, as well as for bandit militia groups. Because of the security situation people were not allowed to freely leave Nam Hung, adding to the crowding.

As Nam Hung became larger, a group of migrants from a region in Zhejiang (near Shanghai) set up a community or a village (Ji Gei Lei or Ji Gei Hong) on the edge of the city. The people in this 'suburb' village of Nam Hung had their own distinctive dialect, which had developed in Zhejiang and which was the basis of the Toisan dialect.

The Ji Gei Li villagers had heard of a rich land further to the south in the delta below the mountains, so all of the 97 families in Ji Gei Li, submitted a petition in 1165 to migrate into the delta. After they were investigated by government officials and found to to be free of trouble makers, they were permitted to migrate. They then went to the Toisan - Sunwui - Zhongshan delta lands (which were originally the single county of Gong Jau).

Among the 97 families who migrated from Ji Gei Li, there were 10 Lew families. The Lei Ow people are descendant of one of the family headed by Lew Siew Hung.

Many of the Chinese of the Pearl River Delta trace their lineage back to this, and other similar, migrations from Ji Gei Li and the city has now become a major tourist destination for southern and Overseas Chinese.

Go to the Lew of Ling Name

Go back to the Han Empire - Lew Chong

Or go to the End of the Chew Southern Sung in Sunwui