Preface to Compiling Ma’s Genealogy in Yongle Period of Ming Dynasty
Since ancient times, the history of the country’s development must be written down. If there is no historical record since ancient times, then our descendants will not know the prosperity and decline of people in the past and the quality of people. However, our ordinary person’s family is the same as a country. A country cannot be without historical records of national development. How can an ordinary person’s family have no genealogy? People with knowledge of the ancestors said that those who understand the ancient legal system could govern the world, and to govern the world, one must rely on the understanding of the ancient legal system. The compilation of genealogy is really a big deal to be handled in a hurry! Our Ma family was originally a descendant of ancient Boyi. In the forty-nine years of King Zhou Zhe, the powerful Qin State attacked Zhao State and besieged Zhao State. He led the troops to repel Qin State’s troops and Zhao Guo Fengshi Ma Fujun; therefore, later great descendants used Ma as their surname. Later, when the State of Zhao was destroyed, the Ma clan moved to Xianyang. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, there have been many successful and prominent figures in the Ma clan. Xiang Muzong is the descendant of General Fubo in the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Tang Dezong period, there was another heroic public named Sui. He defeated Tian Yue, settled in Hezhong, and lived in Ruzhou. His grandson inherited his grandfather’s career and served as the junior supervisor of the palace. He was a great writer at the time. Han Changli, who was also a court official, personally wrote him an epitaph. Later, Mr. Xiaokuan suffered a disaster and moved to Maoshan in the east of Zhejiang. He found that there was sufficient water and the land was fertile, so he settled down here and later passed to Yuan Yangong. He was admitted as a Jinshi in Song Lizong Baoyou. The eldest grandson, Yunxiang, had 30 descendants in his life. The eldest son, Dazheng, originally lived in Maoshan. The second son was Daxinggong, and the third son Daxiangong was the ancestor of the Guangxi branch of our Ma family! In the second year of the Yuan Dynasty’s emperor’s celebration, Da Yougong served as the patrol officer to the east of Zhoushan, Zhejiang. After his term of office ended, he went home to recuperate and took his younger brother to visit many mountains and the water. He said, “I just discussed with my brothers that the beautiful mountains and rivers will surely prosper our future generations. The folkway of this town is simple and honest. Living there is to make long-term considerations for our children and grandchildren, and it is not far from our original place of residence. Why not let’s move there?” So the brothers gathered their finance, and with the fund, they settled in the north and south of Zhenjiang Bridge. It was the autumn of the fifth year of Yanyou in the Yuan Dynasty. From here on, the Ma family members prospered, and people live in harmony and love each other. However, it is a pity that our Ma family tree was destroyed due to repeated wars. If we have not compiled our genealogy until now, then our descendants will be lost. They don’t know the origin of our surnames, the branches of our Ma family, the elders and the inferior, etc., who gave rise to us. The people of the Ma family tree are not afraid of the heavy editing tasks. With the blessing of our Ma family ancestors, they are careful and careful to edit, and they have repeatedly verified and strive to make all the records of our Ma family tree correct, and the branches are clear. We strive to make prosperity. They recorded the rise and decline of our Ma clan’s ancestors, as well as the pros and cons of character. They clearly passed on to future generations. I hope that the descendants of our Ma family will compile our Ma family tree better in the future, and we all count on the virtuous descendants of our Ma family! After our Ma family tree was compiled, this preface which wrote will be placed at the front of the genealogy.
The winter of Xinmao in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty
Written carefully by Ming Ji, the eighth generation grandson of the Ma family.
1.0016A——1.0016B