Map showing Sei Yup's proximity to Canton, Macau and Hong Kong (original map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siyi, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Sei Yup Native
Pride
Although Albert received most of his schooling in the US, arriving in San Diego at the age of about 9, was proud to say he came from "Hoiping" or "Sei Yup". All Sei Yup means is "Four Counties", and Hoiping was one of the four, along with Toishan, Sunwui and Yanping.
The land was hilly and agriculturally poor, but Gung Gung and his relatives could take pride in the fact that the Quons were one of the area's largest lineages and had supposedly been there since the 13th century.
The land was hilly and agriculturally poor, but Gung Gung and his relatives could take pride in the fact that the Quons were one of the area's largest lineages and had supposedly been there since the 13th century.
Geography
Although Hoiping itself was inland, Sei Yup was situated along China's Southeast coast, adjacent to the Sam Yup or "Three Counties" area and roughly 100 miles southwest of the provincial capital then called Canton (now Guangzhou). The name Canton was used to refer to both the city and the province (now Guangdong), and so was often cited confusingly as the place of origin, broadly speaking, for Albert and others from Sei Yup and Sam Yup.
Indeed, together this wider Canton zone, about the size of Connecticut, became China's people export hub for over a century, starting from the time of the Gold Rush. This small area accounts for perhaps 80% or more of Chinese emigration to the US, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere through the 1970s.
While many areas of China faced similar reasons for emigration--overpopulation resulting in too little land, food and work, and even outright armed conflict, what set the Canton region apart were well-established trade routes. These export channels that had long carried Chinese silks, porcelains and tea, now transported human cargo, as well as goods to territory opening up in the US, Canada and Australia. The newish city of Hong Kong--which was about 2 days' journey from Albert's village--facilitated this exodus.
Indeed, together this wider Canton zone, about the size of Connecticut, became China's people export hub for over a century, starting from the time of the Gold Rush. This small area accounts for perhaps 80% or more of Chinese emigration to the US, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere through the 1970s.
While many areas of China faced similar reasons for emigration--overpopulation resulting in too little land, food and work, and even outright armed conflict, what set the Canton region apart were well-established trade routes. These export channels that had long carried Chinese silks, porcelains and tea, now transported human cargo, as well as goods to territory opening up in the US, Canada and Australia. The newish city of Hong Kong--which was about 2 days' journey from Albert's village--facilitated this exodus.
Dialect
The area has its own family of sub-dialects, similar to but also distinctive from Cantonese, with many variations village to village. Notably, what is usually a "t" sound in Cantonese becomes an "h" sound--so in Toishan dialect, "Toishan" is pronounced more like "Hoishan". The "sh" sound in Cantonese becomes something like a "thl" sound--resulting in Albert's father's name 國瑄 being romanized in one record as "Kwok Thlin".
Needless to say, transcription of all these names was erratic at best, creating a significant challenge for tracing Chinese-American relatives. For example, "Sei Yup" has been chosen here as the romanization for 四邑 (Siyi in Mandarin pinyin) because it's hopefully an easier approximation for English speakers, but you'll also see the spellings Sze Yup, Sze Yap, See Yup, Seiyap, et al.
Needless to say, transcription of all these names was erratic at best, creating a significant challenge for tracing Chinese-American relatives. For example, "Sei Yup" has been chosen here as the romanization for 四邑 (Siyi in Mandarin pinyin) because it's hopefully an easier approximation for English speakers, but you'll also see the spellings Sze Yup, Sze Yap, See Yup, Seiyap, et al.