Wen Tianxiang

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Wen Tianxiang (文天祥, Wade-Giles: Wen T'ien-hsiang, June 6, 1236 – January 9, 1283), also Man Tin Cheung, Duke of Xingguo, "The Song Dynasty's Top Ranking Scholar and Prime Minister, the West River's Filial Son and Loyal Subject."

Wen Tianxiang is considered one of the most famous symbols of loyalty and patriotism in China. His writings on righteousness are still widely taught in schools today.

Wen was born in 1236 in Luling (Ji'an), Jiangxi Province during the Song Dynasty. In 1256 he was the top scholar in the imperial examinations and eventually achieved the rank of Prime Minister.

In 1278, Wen was captured by the invading Yuan armies of Kublai Khan, "offered" a Yuan post, and ordered to convince the remaining Song forces to surrender. Wen refused both and suffered for 4 years in a military prison before his execution in 1283. During this time he wrote the famous classics "Song of Righteousness" (Zhengqige), and "Passing Lingdingyang".

[edit] Ancestry and descendants

Wen Tianxiang adopted the three sons of his younger brother when his two sons died young. Some researchers claim Wen Tianxian as of Hakka (客家) descent, but there is no solid historical evidence for this assertion.

Legend has the Wen family name existing during the western Zhou Dynasty over 3,000 years ago. Historical lineages can be documented to 1,500 years ago to Sichuan province.

There are now at least five branches of the Wen family in the provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian, and Hong Kong. Local dialect pronunciations would be Man (Cantonese) and Oon (Fujianese). The Man clan are considered one of the original founding families of Hong Kong.

Some descendants from the Chiu-Chow coastal section of the Wen family branch immigrated to Indochina, with Văn a common pronunciation. "Văn" would also be the Vietnamese pronunciation of the Chinese character 文.

The well-known Ming dynasty painter and calligrapher Wen Zhengming also belonged to the Wen family. The mother of Mao Zedong was a descendant as well. The majority of Wen Tianxiang's descendants still live in mainland China.

One of the oldest continuous branches of the Wen family established itself in the Hengyang/Hengshan area of present-day Hunan shortly after AD 1000. A branch of this Wen family settled in the United States in the mid-1940s and is related through marriage to the prominent Sun family of Shouxian, Anhui (Sun Jianai; Fou Foong Flour Company 福豐麵粉廠) and the Li family of Hefei, Anhui (Li Hongzhang 李鴻章).

[edit] Wen Tianxiang monuments

Jiangxi

Wen Tianxiang's hometown in Ji'an, Jiangxi honors the famous national hero with a mausoleum. Exhibitions of paintings, calligraphy, and even army uniforms supposedly left by Wen are displayed in the Wen Family Ancestral Temple in Futian. The Wen Tianxiang Mausoleum is located in Wohushan.

Beijing

The Memorial to Prime Minister Wen Tianxiang was built in 1376 during the reign of the Ming Emperor Hongwu. The location of Wen's execution is thought to be near the entrance to Fuxue Alley in the East City District of Beijing and a memorial has been established on the northern side of the entrance to South Fuxue Alley near Beixinqiao.

"The Song Dynasty's Top Ranking Scholar and Prime Minister, the West River's Filial Son and Loyal Subject," is carved into the columns of the memorial's main hall.

Hong Kong

The San Tin village in the New Territories of Hong Kong, have many surnamed "Wen" ("Man" in Cantonese). The "Wen" villagers trace their ancestry to Wen Tianxiang via Wen Tianshui (Man Tin-Sui), also a famous Song Dynasty general and the cousin of Wen Tianxiang.

A Wen Tianxiang Memorial Park and "Wen" ancestral hall and residences (Tai Fu Tai) in San Tin is a popular historical attraction in Hong Kong.

[edit] Published works on Wen Tianxiang's life and poetry

• Writing Poetry as Diary: Wen Tianxiang's Poem Series Yuan-fang Tung, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• "Writ in Blood": Wen Tianxiang's Lyric Songs Yang Ye, University of California, Riverside

• Intellectual and Aesthetic Contexts for Wen Tianxiang's Poetry Michael A. Fuller, University of California, Irvine