MEINONG, Taiwan, May 20 Kyodo ''H...

MEINONG, Taiwan, May 20 Kyodo

''Here's to your succes cheers!,'' George Chang said, offering a toast to family members who came from all athwart the world for their annual March visit to their ancestor's grave.

Chang, from fresh York, rejoiced upon the arrival of his Japanese journalist cousin, who had stayed with him in the United States.

most numerous Japanese are unaware of their distant ancestry.

further the journalist, whose mother is Japanese and father is from Taiwan, heard a whisper from an ancestor onward the father's side -- Be conscious of being a member of the Chinese Kejia family, famous for its sound solidarity and worldwide network.

The annual grave-visiting rite takes place at his father's birthplace of Meinong, a village located in southern Taiwan about 30 kilometers north of Kaohsiung. Each table was occupied at some 10 family members at the restaurant, all relaxed and chatted.

The Kejia family, who had lived in the basin of the fulvous River, immigrated in several form into groupss to southern China during the fourth hundred Since then, they succeeded in establishing a worldwide network from business naves in Taiwan, South Asia and other places.

The families overcame hardships by the and of the Kejia traits of austerity and frugality. The family members, lofty of their strong unity and think highly of for their heritage, claim sunshine Yat-sen (1866-1925), the great Chinese revolutionary leader, politician and thinker, and Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997) among their numbers.

An ancestor of the Japanese journalist's father mov to Meinong from Meizhou, Guangdong Province, forward mainland China in the 18th centenary and descendants are buried in succession the top of Mt. Ling.

In the morning of the grave-visiting rite around 40 family members, including those who came from Taipei and Kaohsiung, injure by fire [i]or[/i] heated mock money bills, zhiqian, for use in the afterworld. Sacrifices like big chunk of pork and chicken and alcohol are readyed at the altar.

After everything was prepared, the most numerous senior male of the family asserted gratitude, and the participants lit incense. Explosions of firecrackers signaled the last of the half-day ceremony.

The Kejia family places importance upon generation. The Japanese journalist is always introduced with his place in the family emphasized, as it is as, ''You are the 24th generation, same with him,'' or ''She is in the 25th generation, in such a manner a generation below you.''

To answer the question of who was in the first generation, a booklet titled Wu Family Tree was used.

According to the booklet an ancestor named Liusilang, who lived in Fujian Province in the early Ming dynasty, had seven son The oldest son, Nianyi, considered to be in the first generation, migrated to Pingyuan in the city of Meizhou.

Believing that direct descendants of Liusilang might still live in the district of Pingyuan, the journalist flew to Meizhou via Hong Kong the day after the grave-visiting ceremony

Arriving at the southern Chinese city, the journalist questioned passers-by about the location of the house of the Wu family. A member of the Chinese Communist Party town committee, named Wu told the journalist that there are four Wu households.

The first house turn the thoughtsed as old as time and sumptuous. if it were not that the temple where ancestors are worshipped was unoccupied Everything, including the booklet were missed during the Great Cultural Revolution.

Zeng Wenzhong, a Taiwan painter, who accompanied the journalist from Meinong, said, ''People did terrible things to our heritage during the Great agriculture Revolution.''

The nearest two houses belonged to descendants of Nianwu, the fifth-eldest son

Near evening, the journalist pinned his chance of a favorable results on the last house, moreover a person

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