Surnames in Tamsui

Tamsui has always been a tight-knit community. Even now, it always reverts back to the old Tamsui as soon as the last train with tourists on board left Tamsui MRT Station. The history of this small town also has been carefully recorded. Not only the official version 淡水鎮志, more often than not, 家譜 (family lineage records) were brought along during the first-generation migration and passed down from generation to generation. Together as a community, while not always a harmonious cohabitation, Tamsui-lang did (still do) share the same language, heritage, religion and deities, tradition and customs, and not the least, culinary culture.

So who are Tamsui-lang and where did they come from?

According to a 1956* census, among the 32,653 residents, the top ten surnames in descending order were 陳Chen/Tan, 張Chang/Tio, 李Li/Li, 林Lin/Lim, 王Wang/Ong, 盧Lu/Lo, 黃Huang/Ng, 高Kao/G'o, 吳Wu/Goh, and 鄭Cheng/T'ee. By 2010, the population had ballooned to 143,482, and 盧, 吳, and 鄭 surnames (having relocated to Taipei and elsewhere) were replaced by 蔡Tsai/Chua, 楊Yang/Yeo, and 劉Liu/Lau. [*After Japanese immigrants were sent back to Japan (1946) and refugees from China moved in (1949).]

The time of arrival of the first-generation Tamsui-lang is well-documented. Take the top three surnames for example:

(1) 陳Chen:
1. 1693 (康熙KanXi Year 32): 陳文
2. Also around 康熙 period: 陳智可
3. 1723 (雍正YongCheng Year 1): 陳學正
(2) 張Chang:
1. 張文鳳 first arrived in Changhua in 1725 (雍正 Year 3), then moved to Tamsui in 1773
2. All together, 9 branches of this Chang clan also came, 3 stayed in Tamsui, 6 to 木柵MuZa
(3) 李Li:
1. 1741 (乾隆QianLong Year 6): 李敬珍 and 李敬球 brothers
2. Also around this time: 李求 and son 李換
3. 1751 (乾隆 Year 16): 李鼎成 whose grandchildren subsequently moved to 中田寮庄 (now 忠寮里)

Each clan can also trace their geographic origin back to Hokkien Province in China.The vast majority of people of Tamsui, all Hoklo, came from 3 areas in 泉州府 (ChuanChou Prefecture), i.e.,

(1) 三邑 (the Three Counties) including 晉江 (JingJiang), 惠安 (HuiAn), and 南安 (NanAn, also Koxinga's hometown),

(2) 同安 (TungAn), and
(3) 安溪 (AnShi, to the northwest of TungAn).

The rest were from 漳州府 (ChangChou Prefecture) 南靖縣 (NanJin), 汀州府 (DingChou) 永定縣(YongDing, now 龍岩市, Hakka territory), and 永春州 (YongChun) 大田縣 (DaTian, now 三明市). A few other Hakka came from 興化府 (ShinHua), 粵東 (East Canton) 嘉應 (JiaYin) and 潮汕 (ChauChou and Swatou).

It is also possible to pinpoint exactly where each clan was from. For example, this map from the Qing era (below) shows all the towns in 同安 (TungAn):

A Qing map of 同安TungAn, ancestral homeland of many Tamsui-lang

The Hoklo's from 泉州, 漳州, 潮州, and 永春, plus 汀州 Hakka ["Hakka's that do not speak Hakka"], i.e., pretty much everybody in Tamsui, all spoke/speak Hokkien (and starting in 1895, also learned to speak Japanese, and in 1946, Mandarin Chinese).

[Main source: 淡水鎮志 Sec 3, eds 張家麟 and 卓克華教授]