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小会所也可以干出大作为
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小会所也可以干出大作为
——海南吴氏公会二、三事
（摘自新加坡海南会馆2009年9月出版会讯"泉"第62-63期）
海南吴氏公会创立于1936年，目前拥有会员达170人，他们不仅靠自身的努力，购买了自己的会所，多年来，还发扬艰苦创业，团结自主的精神，会员及理事用双手将会所从无到有，从小到大建设起来。
今天，邀请海南吴氏公会的会长吴坤林（注：现任会长为吴生发），深情回忆当年建立会所及其背后诸多的小故事，与你一起分享海南人的一股拼搏精神。
突破常规，购置会所
海南吴氏公会的会长吴坤林（注：现任会长为吴生发），1994年在弟弟的怂恿下加入会所。当时，他正值事业巅峰，是年轻而成功的专业人士，有许多社团向他招手。
“就是为了一个吴字，我毅然加入了吴氏公会”坤林笑一笑“我要让我们的子孙后代知道，我们来自何处，要让他们了解我们的历史和文化”。
也正是基于这样的一种理念，在接下来的社团工作中，他很努力地去实践他的理想。
当时，吴氏公会也像其他一些小型姓氏公会一样，面对许多困难。经过无数次的搬迁，会员不足200人，资金更是严重欠缺。不得已，只好从海南街经过多次搬迁，最后搬去附近的滑铁卢街大牌264座的一个单位。那时，水电费、房租都是大问题。会所前途很不乐观。
2000年，那些热心公会的理事和会员，借着世纪初带给人们的一种新希望和新开始，更加热心积极地为会所寻找出路。理事们普遍认为，应该立即解决会所问题，几个主要理事更是提出购置会所的建议。
可是当时会所存款不足两万元，资金严重短缺。理事会多次讨论无果，有的理事已经失去了信心。
“当时，真的是很无奈，每一次讨论都是大家默默地离开，心情很不好，有的理事干脆不再来开会了”坤林兄说着这些，似乎陷入了回忆。
“说来也是奇迹，可能是大家的诚心、苦心所至吧，在一次理事会即将结束时，当时的副会长也是专业建筑师的吴亚发很突然地提出成立一个领导小组，也就是后来的会所筹建委员会。并且提议每人乐捐两万元，作为一个基金，筹款购买会所。”
坤林兄的眼睛很亮很亮，我想，他应该也是当时最激动的那一位。
“我们在场的4个人——维敏、亚发、生发、我，立即每人捐了两万元。”
这个提议很快得到理事及会员的热烈反应。
“就是这个看似小小的提议，鼓起了大家的信心，为当时似乎无路可走的理事会打开了一扇通往光明的大门”。大家你捐300，他捐5000，我捐80……就这样，很快会所筹得12万元。
为了减轻会所的负担和后顾之忧，理事会决定购置会所不从银行贷款，大家提议，是否从会员处借款，来日再还。可何时还，的确是个未知数，会员没有人响应。在这种情况下，坤林挺身而出，一个人将购置会所的款项扣除会所集资的钱款全部认下。
坤林本身是房地产投资顾问，在购置房屋方面很有经验，所以被委任为该小组组长。
很快，他们看好芽笼11巷门牌20C，也就是现在会所的单位。这个单位是银行逼仓拍卖，条件苛刻，他们不能保证政府允许可以用来办会所。
坤林凭着自己的专业知识和对政府在这方面政策的了解，毅然决定买下这个单位，但是，他们首次捐款的4个人决定，如果标下这个单位，政府不允许此处办会所，他们4个人承担所有费用，与会所无关。
“没想到，投标的当天我急病入院，大家就很紧张。我鼓励他们照常参加投标，我们用电话联系，确定标额，结果110平方米的房子，只用31万标得，而且是永久地契，有一半儿的土地权同楼下店铺共同拥有，真的是相当不错”。
坤林讲述着过去，仿佛又回到当时。“这件事给了会所一个很大的鼓舞，大家都很热心地参与进来。”
团结就是力量自力更生乐趣多
2000年4月28日，正值公会65周年庆典。大家一致决定，借这个机会，募集一些资金，亦可借这个机会把大家团结起来。
亚发副会长自告奋勇担任庆典筹委会主席，恭请马宝山部长为主宾，同时向世界各国吴氏公会发出邀请。计划纪念活动时举办一个千人宴会。会所决定借机会鼓励会员买座，每人S$100元，余款捐给公会。
当然也有不同的声音，认为S$100元太多，有些会员拿不出这个钱会被拒之门外。坤林毅然做出决定，让秘书通过电话联络每一个会员，统计大家可以出多少钱，不足S$100，或完全不能出钱的由坤林补上，这样让每一位会员都有机会参与这个盛会。结果所有参加会员全部付出S$100元，这是大家对公会的一种爱和信任。
坤林说，其实，这次活动相当成功，《特刊》广告费、乐捐集资、包括海外捐款等等，公会筹集资金几十万元。
购所委员会，一方面积极筹备纪念活动，一方面抓紧装修房子。公会本着一切从简的方针，亲自跑市场找材料，尤其是四处寻找断码材料，有些电器干脆购买二手。因为当时钱款不到位，坤林便找来自己的朋友，先开工，后付款。结果，用最少的钱将会所装修起来。
“让大家有了自己的家”。
整个会所购买屋子31万加律师费及装修费共计36万，集资25万，由坤林先垫付11万。“当时我完全没有想到这么大一笔钱，公会在一年之内归还了我。这就是说明团结的力量有多大。我们购买会所，不单纯有了一个会所，我们所得到的远远大于这个会所。这是用钱买不到的”。
坤林说：“有了新的会所，搬迁又成了大问题。因为建屋局让我们将归还的房子恢复原样。这又需要钱，怎么办？结果我们的理事及会员全部动员起来，你拿来一扇门，我找来一箱砖，一草一木都是大家从家里拿来的。而且，我们亲自动手，将房子恢复原样交给政府，没有花一分钱。当时会长吴伟勉（注：应为吴维敏），每天都留在会所给我们买饭买菜，端茶倒水，呵护备至。那种精神，就是大家齐心协力购买会所时所激发出来的，这才是会所应有的精神。”
“每个人都只问耕耘，不问收获，把心贴在会所的会务上，有什么样的会所不能兴旺起来。”
“会馆是我们寻根问祖的地方，是我们传承和发扬祖先文化和文明的载体。正如我参加海南会馆，只为海南两个字！”坤林说希望让我们海南的子孙后代了解祖先的文化和传统，为我们是海南人而骄傲。
坤林接着说：“很多人提议、鼓励我做会长（海南吴氏公会），我不以为然，做不做会长不重要，重要的是我们为公会作了什么？”
“前几天，我们粉刷会所，没有雇佣工人。我们的理事和会员，自觉组织起来，干了整整一天。我们不是为了节省那几千元钱，大家一起工作是一种快乐，一种生活的体验。值得高兴的是，那天来了三位年轻人，他们同样干得很快乐。这就是我们的目的，通过粉刷会所这个简单的动作，显示大家的凝聚力。而我们做理事的，要懂得通过每一个细节，每一项活动吸引、感染会员，强化他们的信心、责任和归属感。”
Hainan Goh Clan Association Singapore - Hainan Goh Clan Singapore - Hainanese Goh Clan -Hainan Goh Clan
Showing posts with label hainan goh clan singapore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hainan goh clan singapore. Show all posts
Genealogy
Historical Genealogy of Clan Subpopulations
The genealogical information used in this study are courtesy of the respective clan
associations. As these data are based on records generally closed to the public and
esoteric enough to be incomprehensible even if they were to be made public, there is no
effective method of verifying their accuracy. As such, there may well be errors in the
information provided that the author remains unaware of. However, as the clan
associations were enthusiastic and generous enough to put in the time and effort to
provide the required assistance in exchange for so little, it should be taken as a point of
honour that they have done the utmost to provide accurate data, and that any possible
mistakes in the information lie outside their sphere of collective knowledge. To outrightly
assume that the records are false would be to do insult to undeserved parties.
Furthermore, it is not inconceivable that sample confusions could have happened in the
laboratory, while they were under the author's care. Hence, this dissertation will treat the
genealogical data as accurate, but with the understanding that some errors may yet be
present.
Clan Origins
Returning to Figures 3.1-1 & 3.1-2, the flow charts of the Zhang & Wu
subpopulations depict the origins of the subjects participating in this study. The Wu
surnamed is attributed to Tai Bo Kung, who took it on during his lifetime over 3000 years
ago. His descendent, Wu Xian Shou, relocated his entire nuclear family (which in those
days were much larger) to Hainan Island around 805 AD. The members of the Hainan
Goh Clan Association trace their lineage back to this ancestor-founder. The recorded
99generations indicate which generation (from Wu Xian Shou) the respective subjects
belong to. With the exception of subjects 101 and 102, none of the genotyped subjects are
known to have more recent common ancestors.
For the Zhang subpopulation, the clan association maintains that their lineage can
be traced back almost 5'000 years to Zhang Hui, the 5th son of Huang Ti. Two of the
descendent groups, the Jianhu and Qujiang Shishing, account for most of the Zhang
population sampled in this study. Before proceeding further, note that the tangs take their
names from the province or lineage where they were founded. The Jianhu group
eventually produced the HuiChen and HuiAnn tangs, while the Joo Lim and JinJian
groups were formed from the Qujiang Shishing tang. The Joo Lim group gave birth to the
Ankui, BanQiao, and Sawei tangs. The JinJian group produced the Teochew,
HockChiew, and Hakka lineages, and some of the descendents of the HockChiew group
went on to form the PuTian Heng tang and the YongChoon Yu Qing tang. It is unclear
when a Zhang-surnamed individual established the surname line on Hainan Island, and
thus Subjects 037 & 067 remain 'unrooted'. With these details, it then becomes easy to
see that the lineages will form clusters where those of common origin come together. It
was also supposed that members of these lineage clusters would be more genetically
related to each other than with members of tangs within other clusters.
Genetic Variation
The results of this study indicate that there is little correlation between the
genealogical records and actual genetic data, for both Zhang and Wu subpopulations.
This is effectively visualised in the phylogenetic trees and also in the diversity of Y
haplogroups and haplotypes in the individual tangs. The groupings are not reflected by
100the genetic information, which scatters the members of the various tangs among the tree
branches. The diversity in the Zhang subpopulation appears to begin on the finer tang
level, with all the groups having a mix of haplogroups. The variety of Y chromosomes in
the tangs do not conform to any discernible pattern, suggesting that the effects which
produced the observed admixed distributions are entirely random and uncoordinated.
In lineages with shorter histories (less than 1'000 years old), such as Ankui,
BanQiao, and JinJian Hakka, an identifiable dominant Y Chromosome can be found in
the lineages. The dominant Y in these cases strongly indicate that the particular
individuals have a common ancestor who hailed from the specific lineage. What it does
not confirm is whether the ancestor was the founder of the tang or whether he was an
addition made either recently or early on in the tang's history. There are also observed
instances (Subjects 057 & 088 for example) where individuals from different lineages
share the same Y Chromosome. 057 is from the Ankui tang and 088 from the JinJian
Hakka tang. Assuming that the records are accurate and there have been no sample
misidentifications, this suggests that the history of the Zhang clan is peppered with many
instances of repeated movements of lineages or individuals between tangs and provinces,
much like how small streams break off from one river to join another for a distance
before returning to the parent or joining yet another river. This would account for the
presence of identical Y Chromosomes in such distant arms of the Zhang subpopulation,
for it is highly unlikely that the Y would have been passed down over 4'000 years
unchanged.
Of a more interesting note would be the practical use of the Y haplotypes and
haplogroups in determining the origins of individuals whom the genealogical records are
101unable to place. Subjects 061 & 065 share the same Y Chromosome with 012 & 056, who
belong to the Ankui lineage. It may be of interest to the subjects to determine whether
they share their ancestry. The high degree of admixture in tangs and the possibility of
identical Y Chromosomes being discovered in more than one lineage make it difficult to
assign historical origins with any guarantee of accuracy. However, out of the 8 instances
of identical Y Chromosome groupings in the Zhang subpopulations, only 1 is attributed
to being distributed in more than 1 lineage. Based on current data, the author believes that
Y genotypes comprising 11 STR markers & the Y haplogroup are sufficient for use in
predicting the probabilities of genealogical origins in the Singaporean Han population, so
long as there are other evidence in support (surname, genotype exclusive to or
overwhelmingly-dominating specific lineage / population group).
If assumptions about the accuracy of historical records and genetic information
hold, the question of how and why the surname groups, supposedly a bastion of kinship
and camarederie that extends through time and space to new circumstances and alien
lands, would be so overwhelmingly diverse genetically as to approach the level found in
a random population of mixed surnamed individuals. The most common and logical
explanations would be adoptions, surname changes (to escape persecution or for other
reasons), marriage of a man into the wife's family, and non-paternity events. The
question that remains unanswerable is whether all the variations observed can be
attributed to and accounted for by these events. It is entirely possible that the surname
line initially contained several genetically-disimilar lineages, which the genealogical
records glossed over for dramatic effect. It is not unheard of for lineages in dynastic
China to merge to generate safety in numbers [Pan 1998]. In these cases, a putative
102ancestor-founder (almost certainly from one of the lineages) were often used. This would
result in a clan of several lineages, though it is not likely that more than 1 or 2 lineages
would be invited to join, in order to maintain the exclusivity of the surname.
In addition, one must not neglect to consider factors of sampling and unique
expansion histories of the respective subpopulations. In the example in Figure 4.1-1
below, the two halves of the tree are contemporaries and equivalent in structure. Due to
the sampling, however, researchers may erronously decide that Subpopulation 1 is less
genetically diverse than Subpopulation 2. Another natural effect that may adversely affect
the outcomes of analyses is depicted in Figure 4.1-2. The 2 halves of the population are
also contemporaries and have equivalent genetic distance. They have equal number of
subjects in the present, sampled generation. Yet, their genetic compositions can be vastly
different due to their different histories. Subpopulation expanded to its present size early
on in its history, and has had a much longer time to accumulate mutations compared to
Subpopulation 2, which has a more recent expansion. This would result in Subpopulation
1 being more diverse than Subpopulation 2. These 2 factors are but some examples of the
unknown properties of populations that complicate population genetics analyses.
4.1.3 Dialect Group Affiliations
The analyses results indicate that there are no Y Chromosomal bases for dialect group stratifications. The distribution of Y Chromosomes appear equally diverse in
various groups (though, admittedly, the sample sizes are undeniably low). This does not
imply that there are no heritable genetic factors on the other chromosomes with
phenotypic effects along the same division lines. However, with recombination and
shuffling of genes every generation, as well as increasing inter-marriage rates among
individuals of different dialect group affiliation, it is highly unlikely that these autosomal
genetic factors would still adhere to dialect groupings.
4.1.4 Limitations of the Study
The primary weakness of this study is the small numbers of subjects in many of
the Zhang tangs. This is a problem in the dialectical group analyses as well. Additionally,
a more comprehensive study of the Han population should involve more surname groups
and a more balanced representation of dialect groups, as this study has an overall
104overrepresentation of Fujianese samples and underrepresentation of Cantonese samples.
The original scope of the project required much more emphasis to be placed on dialect
group differences, but as the sampling failed to effectively collect sufficient numbers of
individuals of each group, this aspect was deemphasized. While the author agrees that
there may be valid criticism that the dialect group comparisons were only performed
within a single surname population, the author also wishes to point out that doing so
eliminates much of the variability a mixed population would possess, and allows the data
to be based entirely on the Y Chromosome with no interference from the autosomes.
Any population genetics study on population history and genealogy will encouter
difficulties in inferrences and postulations extended to populations past. This is a natural
difficulty stemming from the inability to sample (in most cases) populations long since
dead and disposed of. The veracity of genealogical records may also come into question,
as historical records are subject to historian & witness bias, human errors, and the
inability to record all possible details which may prove, in foresight, to be vital.
4.2 Population Comparisons
4.2.1 Taiwan & Beijing
The Han populations of both Taiwan and Beijing were compared with the local
Han population using 7 STR markers. It was discovered that the Beijing Han population
has significant distance from the Taiwanese and Singaporean Han populations. This may
be due to the fact that Beijing Hans are mostly Northern Hans, whereas Taiwanese Hans,
like Singaporean Hans, are descendents of Southern Hans. Lin et al 2001 concluded that
Taiwanese Hans and Singaporean Hans are drawn from the same gene pool based on
HLA allele frequencies. Other studies [Ying et al 1985][Shaw et al 1999][Jin & Su 2000]
also noted the division between Northern and Southern Hans, while Shi et al 2004 argues
further that even finer scales subdividing both Northern and Southern populations are
necessary for accuracy.
4.2.2 British Population: Sykes
Aside from confirming that Causcasian Y Chromosomes are significantly
different from Han Y Chromosomes [Underhill et al 2000], the comparisons with the
Sykes data also served to illustrate the effect of time on the diversity of subpopulations.
As the existence time for an established lineage increases, so does the Y Chromosome
diversity of the lineage. The 700 year-old Sykes lineage has a haplotype that is both
exclusive to the surname and of dominant numbers within the surname. Han surname
subpopulations do not display an identical structure, until the subpopulation is broken
into even finer scale and the vintage taken into consideration. The Sykes and Han
populations likely have very different historical backgrounds, and the different structures
of their Y Chromosome pool are a reflection of that fact.
The Sykes study made use of only 4 STR markers, which may not have sufficient
discriminatory power. But even with this low power, the Zhang subpopulation proved
itself to be of a very admixed disposition. The Wu subpopulation resembles the pattern of
the Sykes subpopulation more. It however is only a third of the size of the Sykes
subpopulation. It is impossible to predict which way the Wu subpopulation will swing
(increasing diversity or decreasing diversity) should more subjects be sampled. While
Sykes concluded that it is possible to associate specific haplotypes to surnames in the
106English population, it is doubtful that the method would be applicable in modern Han
populations without the aid of other supportive information.
4.3 Y Markers
4.3.1 Y-STRs
The primary concern in the use of STR markers in identification work is that they
may have population-specific variabilities. An informative marker in one population may
prove to be entirely uninformative in another. As the markers used in this study were
developed mostly by caucasian-prominent populations, there is always the chance that
they are insufficiently optimised for Han populations, and that a different mix of markers
would do a finer job of teasing out population structures in the Hans. This is always a
possibility that can never be entirely removed. However, the use of the Minimal and
Extended Haplotypes, as defined by the International Society for Forensic Genetics, is
relatively established on the forensics arena, and repeated usage by the international
community have reported few inadequacies overall. The database of the YHRD {1} is
built by contributions from the worldwide community using exactly these markers.
Several questions remain unanswered in regards to the novel dinucleotide
markers. There are some minor sizing discrepancies in the allele products, such as
inconsistent gap sizes between alleles, which could presumbly be solved by an efficient
sequencing of the amplified region. Though not reported in the earlier parts of this
dissertation, attempts were made at sequencing the affected markers, but were not
successful in producing reliable results. This did not change the evaluation that the novel
107Y STR markers evaluated in this study likely had low polymorphism information content
in Han subpopulations.
As the author had no access to the samples themselves, the Control subpopulation
was not included in the analyses of the Mq11.2.3 marker. However, judging by the
similarity of the results of the Zhang and Wu 11 marker comparisons to the 10 marker
results, including the Mq11.2.3 locus into the Control subpopulation would not likely
have a significant effect on the outcomes of the analyses.
Y-SNPs
The Y Chromosome Binary SNPs used in this study streamed the sampled
chromosomes into haplogroups defined by the Y Chromosome Consortium haplogroups
[The Y Chromosome Consortium 2002]. The process of identifying SNPs and
experimentally predicting their vintage are ongoing processes. As with the STR markers,
this work is pioneered by and based mostly on caucasian populations. Much still remain
to be discovered and mapped on most ethnic groups. More generic haplogroups (marked
with an *) still require refinements, as they often contain various related chromosomes
which are in need of further separation with as yet undiscovered markers. This may
explain why such substantial differences exist between haplotypes in some of the
haplogroups (such as O3*).
As expected, the majority of the Singaporean Hans fall into the O haplogroups.
89.16% of the Control subpopulation, 91.24% of the Zhang subpopulation, and all of the
Wu subpopulation belong to the O haplogroups. Underhill et al 2000 reported similar
figures (90.48% of Hans) in China, while Taiwanese Hans had a 98.70% proportion.
Deng et al 2004 estimated that as much as 65% of all males in China (of various ethnic
groups) belong to the O haplogroups. There would be more data for comparisons among
global Han populations once the genotyping kit used in this study becomes widely
available.
The genealogical information used in this study are courtesy of the respective clan
associations. As these data are based on records generally closed to the public and
esoteric enough to be incomprehensible even if they were to be made public, there is no
effective method of verifying their accuracy. As such, there may well be errors in the
information provided that the author remains unaware of. However, as the clan
associations were enthusiastic and generous enough to put in the time and effort to
provide the required assistance in exchange for so little, it should be taken as a point of
honour that they have done the utmost to provide accurate data, and that any possible
mistakes in the information lie outside their sphere of collective knowledge. To outrightly
assume that the records are false would be to do insult to undeserved parties.
Furthermore, it is not inconceivable that sample confusions could have happened in the
laboratory, while they were under the author's care. Hence, this dissertation will treat the
genealogical data as accurate, but with the understanding that some errors may yet be
present.
Clan Origins
Returning to Figures 3.1-1 & 3.1-2, the flow charts of the Zhang & Wu
subpopulations depict the origins of the subjects participating in this study. The Wu
surnamed is attributed to Tai Bo Kung, who took it on during his lifetime over 3000 years
ago. His descendent, Wu Xian Shou, relocated his entire nuclear family (which in those
days were much larger) to Hainan Island around 805 AD. The members of the Hainan
Goh Clan Association trace their lineage back to this ancestor-founder. The recorded
99generations indicate which generation (from Wu Xian Shou) the respective subjects
belong to. With the exception of subjects 101 and 102, none of the genotyped subjects are
known to have more recent common ancestors.
For the Zhang subpopulation, the clan association maintains that their lineage can
be traced back almost 5'000 years to Zhang Hui, the 5th son of Huang Ti. Two of the
descendent groups, the Jianhu and Qujiang Shishing, account for most of the Zhang
population sampled in this study. Before proceeding further, note that the tangs take their
names from the province or lineage where they were founded. The Jianhu group
eventually produced the HuiChen and HuiAnn tangs, while the Joo Lim and JinJian
groups were formed from the Qujiang Shishing tang. The Joo Lim group gave birth to the
Ankui, BanQiao, and Sawei tangs. The JinJian group produced the Teochew,
HockChiew, and Hakka lineages, and some of the descendents of the HockChiew group
went on to form the PuTian Heng tang and the YongChoon Yu Qing tang. It is unclear
when a Zhang-surnamed individual established the surname line on Hainan Island, and
thus Subjects 037 & 067 remain 'unrooted'. With these details, it then becomes easy to
see that the lineages will form clusters where those of common origin come together. It
was also supposed that members of these lineage clusters would be more genetically
related to each other than with members of tangs within other clusters.
Genetic Variation
The results of this study indicate that there is little correlation between the
genealogical records and actual genetic data, for both Zhang and Wu subpopulations.
This is effectively visualised in the phylogenetic trees and also in the diversity of Y
haplogroups and haplotypes in the individual tangs. The groupings are not reflected by
100the genetic information, which scatters the members of the various tangs among the tree
branches. The diversity in the Zhang subpopulation appears to begin on the finer tang
level, with all the groups having a mix of haplogroups. The variety of Y chromosomes in
the tangs do not conform to any discernible pattern, suggesting that the effects which
produced the observed admixed distributions are entirely random and uncoordinated.
In lineages with shorter histories (less than 1'000 years old), such as Ankui,
BanQiao, and JinJian Hakka, an identifiable dominant Y Chromosome can be found in
the lineages. The dominant Y in these cases strongly indicate that the particular
individuals have a common ancestor who hailed from the specific lineage. What it does
not confirm is whether the ancestor was the founder of the tang or whether he was an
addition made either recently or early on in the tang's history. There are also observed
instances (Subjects 057 & 088 for example) where individuals from different lineages
share the same Y Chromosome. 057 is from the Ankui tang and 088 from the JinJian
Hakka tang. Assuming that the records are accurate and there have been no sample
misidentifications, this suggests that the history of the Zhang clan is peppered with many
instances of repeated movements of lineages or individuals between tangs and provinces,
much like how small streams break off from one river to join another for a distance
before returning to the parent or joining yet another river. This would account for the
presence of identical Y Chromosomes in such distant arms of the Zhang subpopulation,
for it is highly unlikely that the Y would have been passed down over 4'000 years
unchanged.
Of a more interesting note would be the practical use of the Y haplotypes and
haplogroups in determining the origins of individuals whom the genealogical records are
101unable to place. Subjects 061 & 065 share the same Y Chromosome with 012 & 056, who
belong to the Ankui lineage. It may be of interest to the subjects to determine whether
they share their ancestry. The high degree of admixture in tangs and the possibility of
identical Y Chromosomes being discovered in more than one lineage make it difficult to
assign historical origins with any guarantee of accuracy. However, out of the 8 instances
of identical Y Chromosome groupings in the Zhang subpopulations, only 1 is attributed
to being distributed in more than 1 lineage. Based on current data, the author believes that
Y genotypes comprising 11 STR markers & the Y haplogroup are sufficient for use in
predicting the probabilities of genealogical origins in the Singaporean Han population, so
long as there are other evidence in support (surname, genotype exclusive to or
overwhelmingly-dominating specific lineage / population group).
If assumptions about the accuracy of historical records and genetic information
hold, the question of how and why the surname groups, supposedly a bastion of kinship
and camarederie that extends through time and space to new circumstances and alien
lands, would be so overwhelmingly diverse genetically as to approach the level found in
a random population of mixed surnamed individuals. The most common and logical
explanations would be adoptions, surname changes (to escape persecution or for other
reasons), marriage of a man into the wife's family, and non-paternity events. The
question that remains unanswerable is whether all the variations observed can be
attributed to and accounted for by these events. It is entirely possible that the surname
line initially contained several genetically-disimilar lineages, which the genealogical
records glossed over for dramatic effect. It is not unheard of for lineages in dynastic
China to merge to generate safety in numbers [Pan 1998]. In these cases, a putative
102ancestor-founder (almost certainly from one of the lineages) were often used. This would
result in a clan of several lineages, though it is not likely that more than 1 or 2 lineages
would be invited to join, in order to maintain the exclusivity of the surname.
In addition, one must not neglect to consider factors of sampling and unique
expansion histories of the respective subpopulations. In the example in Figure 4.1-1
below, the two halves of the tree are contemporaries and equivalent in structure. Due to
the sampling, however, researchers may erronously decide that Subpopulation 1 is less
genetically diverse than Subpopulation 2. Another natural effect that may adversely affect
the outcomes of analyses is depicted in Figure 4.1-2. The 2 halves of the population are
also contemporaries and have equivalent genetic distance. They have equal number of
subjects in the present, sampled generation. Yet, their genetic compositions can be vastly
different due to their different histories. Subpopulation expanded to its present size early
on in its history, and has had a much longer time to accumulate mutations compared to
Subpopulation 2, which has a more recent expansion. This would result in Subpopulation
1 being more diverse than Subpopulation 2. These 2 factors are but some examples of the
unknown properties of populations that complicate population genetics analyses.
4.1.3 Dialect Group Affiliations
The analyses results indicate that there are no Y Chromosomal bases for dialect group stratifications. The distribution of Y Chromosomes appear equally diverse in
various groups (though, admittedly, the sample sizes are undeniably low). This does not
imply that there are no heritable genetic factors on the other chromosomes with
phenotypic effects along the same division lines. However, with recombination and
shuffling of genes every generation, as well as increasing inter-marriage rates among
individuals of different dialect group affiliation, it is highly unlikely that these autosomal
genetic factors would still adhere to dialect groupings.
4.1.4 Limitations of the Study
The primary weakness of this study is the small numbers of subjects in many of
the Zhang tangs. This is a problem in the dialectical group analyses as well. Additionally,
a more comprehensive study of the Han population should involve more surname groups
and a more balanced representation of dialect groups, as this study has an overall
104overrepresentation of Fujianese samples and underrepresentation of Cantonese samples.
The original scope of the project required much more emphasis to be placed on dialect
group differences, but as the sampling failed to effectively collect sufficient numbers of
individuals of each group, this aspect was deemphasized. While the author agrees that
there may be valid criticism that the dialect group comparisons were only performed
within a single surname population, the author also wishes to point out that doing so
eliminates much of the variability a mixed population would possess, and allows the data
to be based entirely on the Y Chromosome with no interference from the autosomes.
Any population genetics study on population history and genealogy will encouter
difficulties in inferrences and postulations extended to populations past. This is a natural
difficulty stemming from the inability to sample (in most cases) populations long since
dead and disposed of. The veracity of genealogical records may also come into question,
as historical records are subject to historian & witness bias, human errors, and the
inability to record all possible details which may prove, in foresight, to be vital.
4.2 Population Comparisons
4.2.1 Taiwan & Beijing
The Han populations of both Taiwan and Beijing were compared with the local
Han population using 7 STR markers. It was discovered that the Beijing Han population
has significant distance from the Taiwanese and Singaporean Han populations. This may
be due to the fact that Beijing Hans are mostly Northern Hans, whereas Taiwanese Hans,
like Singaporean Hans, are descendents of Southern Hans. Lin et al 2001 concluded that
Taiwanese Hans and Singaporean Hans are drawn from the same gene pool based on
HLA allele frequencies. Other studies [Ying et al 1985][Shaw et al 1999][Jin & Su 2000]
also noted the division between Northern and Southern Hans, while Shi et al 2004 argues
further that even finer scales subdividing both Northern and Southern populations are
necessary for accuracy.
4.2.2 British Population: Sykes
Aside from confirming that Causcasian Y Chromosomes are significantly
different from Han Y Chromosomes [Underhill et al 2000], the comparisons with the
Sykes data also served to illustrate the effect of time on the diversity of subpopulations.
As the existence time for an established lineage increases, so does the Y Chromosome
diversity of the lineage. The 700 year-old Sykes lineage has a haplotype that is both
exclusive to the surname and of dominant numbers within the surname. Han surname
subpopulations do not display an identical structure, until the subpopulation is broken
into even finer scale and the vintage taken into consideration. The Sykes and Han
populations likely have very different historical backgrounds, and the different structures
of their Y Chromosome pool are a reflection of that fact.
The Sykes study made use of only 4 STR markers, which may not have sufficient
discriminatory power. But even with this low power, the Zhang subpopulation proved
itself to be of a very admixed disposition. The Wu subpopulation resembles the pattern of
the Sykes subpopulation more. It however is only a third of the size of the Sykes
subpopulation. It is impossible to predict which way the Wu subpopulation will swing
(increasing diversity or decreasing diversity) should more subjects be sampled. While
Sykes concluded that it is possible to associate specific haplotypes to surnames in the
106English population, it is doubtful that the method would be applicable in modern Han
populations without the aid of other supportive information.
4.3 Y Markers
4.3.1 Y-STRs
The primary concern in the use of STR markers in identification work is that they
may have population-specific variabilities. An informative marker in one population may
prove to be entirely uninformative in another. As the markers used in this study were
developed mostly by caucasian-prominent populations, there is always the chance that
they are insufficiently optimised for Han populations, and that a different mix of markers
would do a finer job of teasing out population structures in the Hans. This is always a
possibility that can never be entirely removed. However, the use of the Minimal and
Extended Haplotypes, as defined by the International Society for Forensic Genetics, is
relatively established on the forensics arena, and repeated usage by the international
community have reported few inadequacies overall. The database of the YHRD {1} is
built by contributions from the worldwide community using exactly these markers.
Several questions remain unanswered in regards to the novel dinucleotide
markers. There are some minor sizing discrepancies in the allele products, such as
inconsistent gap sizes between alleles, which could presumbly be solved by an efficient
sequencing of the amplified region. Though not reported in the earlier parts of this
dissertation, attempts were made at sequencing the affected markers, but were not
successful in producing reliable results. This did not change the evaluation that the novel
107Y STR markers evaluated in this study likely had low polymorphism information content
in Han subpopulations.
As the author had no access to the samples themselves, the Control subpopulation
was not included in the analyses of the Mq11.2.3 marker. However, judging by the
similarity of the results of the Zhang and Wu 11 marker comparisons to the 10 marker
results, including the Mq11.2.3 locus into the Control subpopulation would not likely
have a significant effect on the outcomes of the analyses.
Y-SNPs
The Y Chromosome Binary SNPs used in this study streamed the sampled
chromosomes into haplogroups defined by the Y Chromosome Consortium haplogroups
[The Y Chromosome Consortium 2002]. The process of identifying SNPs and
experimentally predicting their vintage are ongoing processes. As with the STR markers,
this work is pioneered by and based mostly on caucasian populations. Much still remain
to be discovered and mapped on most ethnic groups. More generic haplogroups (marked
with an *) still require refinements, as they often contain various related chromosomes
which are in need of further separation with as yet undiscovered markers. This may
explain why such substantial differences exist between haplotypes in some of the
haplogroups (such as O3*).
As expected, the majority of the Singaporean Hans fall into the O haplogroups.
89.16% of the Control subpopulation, 91.24% of the Zhang subpopulation, and all of the
Wu subpopulation belong to the O haplogroups. Underhill et al 2000 reported similar
figures (90.48% of Hans) in China, while Taiwanese Hans had a 98.70% proportion.
Deng et al 2004 estimated that as much as 65% of all males in China (of various ethnic
groups) belong to the O haplogroups. There would be more data for comparisons among
global Han populations once the genotyping kit used in this study becomes widely
available.
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