On December 14, 2014 (the twenty-third day of the tenth lunar month), a group of five people from the Guangdong Lian clan went to Shen Nong Altar worships the ancestor Lian He. They were warmly received and accompanied by 11 people including Wu Youfu, an employee of the Qinyang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and his friends Xu Guoqing, Du Bao, Su Yudong, Dong Yaping, Feng Shifei, Zheng Wenliang, Qin Xiaoming, Shen Shun, Zhang Lianfang and Zhu Xiaoyu. At the end of 2013, Lian Hongjia (a native of Chashan Town, Xinyi City, Guangdong Province), the 55th descendant of Lian He, got in touch with the author (Li Qingbao) and stepped up publicity efforts.
It is reported that this is the fourth time that descendants of the Lian family from Guangdong have visited Qinyang City to find their roots and pay homage to their ancestors. On June 3, 2005, four people including President Lian Tianhan, Vice President Lian Yusong, Secretary-General Lian Qilin and Lian Hongjin of the Chinese Lian Clan Association went to Qinyang to trace their roots. Lian Qilin (a native of Guangzhou), the 53rd descendant of Lian He, records according to the "Lian Family Genealogy": "Lian He lived in Hanoi County (today's Qinyang City) and was buried in Zijin Tan (renamed Shennong Tan in 1999) more than 20 kilometers northwest of the county. ), the 2nd generation and the 3rd and 4th generations next to him, were buried in Sanjianshan and Zhiling." However, after checking the household registration at the Qinyang City Public Security Bureau, no one with the surname Lian was found. On July 3, 2007, the second people who went to Qinyang to find their roots were Lian Qilin and Lian Guancheng. They checked the "Huaiqing Prefecture Chronicles", "Qinyang City Chronicles" and other documents in the Municipal Chronicles Office. Although they could not Ancient and modern information about the Lian family was found, but records with the names of Zijin Mountain, Zijin Tan, Sanjianshan, and Zhiling (all in Ziling Town, Qinyang City today) were found, which were consistent with the Lian family genealogy, so they were identified Shennong Altar is the place where Lian He, the founder of the surname Lian, lived. The two of them ascended the Shennong Altar to express their longing for their roots. On February 2, 2014, three people who went to Qinyang to find their roots were Lian Yuedong, Lian Yulin, Lian Yunan, Lian Wengui, Lian Jinhao, Lian Wenyan, Lian Wenfang, Lian Wenxiu, Lian Sifu, and Lian Wenyan. Fifteen people, Sichen, Lian Siyuan, Lian Sijun, Lian Junjie, Lian Sibo and Lian Si Jian, went to the Shennong Altar to worship their ancestor Lian He and searched for the 2nd generation Lian Shunqi, Lian Shunlin and the 4th generation in Sanjianshan. For the cemetery opened by Lian Xian, look for the graves of the third generation Lian Youqin, Lian Youwen, Lian Yousi, Lian Youde, Lian Youyou and the fourth generation Lian Xianxiang in Zhiling.
Lian He, surnamed Bendong, courtesy name Zijun, was a native of Hanoi County during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty. In the late spring and early summer of 645, in order to recover the Liaodong area occupied by Goguryeo (today's North Korea), Li Shimin personally led an army to conquer the Korean Peninsula. Marshal Li Ji surrounded Liaodong City tightly, but could not capture it for a long time. It was May, it was muggy and hot, and gusts of southwesterly winds were blowing. Dong He was so anxious that he became wise and offered fire to Li Shimin to attack and burn the city. He led thousands of elite cavalry soldiers to quickly break through the city and win. After the war ended, on Wuwu Day in October (the 23rd day of the 10th month in the lunar calendar), Li Shimin presided over the celebration of carving stones to record merits, discuss merits and reward them at Hanwu Terrace in Linyu Pass. He was granted the title of Marquis of Qishan in the east with the surname "Lian" because he was "well-trained in military affairs and accomplished in attacking with fire". Marshal Li Ji praised: "Shun was a virtuous descendant of a friend, the Marquis of Qishan, and Zhenguan was kind to him. He gave him the surname Qiyu, a crown in poetry and books, and a beautiful plan." Later, Lian He used Marshal Li Ji's praise as a ranking character for the names of his descendants. . "Lian's Genealogy" records: He Gong begets Shun, Shun begets friends, friends begets virtuous, virtuous begets descendants, descendants beget Qi, Qisheng begets mountains, mountains beget marquises, Hou begets dignitaries,... It can be seen that Lianhe uses the word generation of descendants to have descendants. Always remember the glorious history of granting surnames to feudal lords. These contents are recorded in ancient books such as "Zizhi Tongjian", "Shangyoulu", "Old Book of Tang", "New Book of Tang", and "Sikuquanshu". In addition, there is a dialect word in Jiaozuo called "experienced", which means experienced, experienced and seasoned. It is also a word often used in the Lian family settlements in the south. Descendants of the Lian family in Guangdong believe that this term comes from the name people used to call Lian He during the Tang Dynasty. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 100 villages with the word "Lian" in their names across the country, of which Yongcheng City in Henan Province has the most, with more than 30. Which of these villages are related to the practice of surnames remains to be further verified.
According to Lian Hongjia, descendants of the Lian family designate the 23rd day of the 10th lunar month as "Lian's Birthday" every year. The 23rd day of the 10th lunar month in 2015 is the 1,370th anniversary of the birth of the Lian family. At that time, descendants of the Lian family from all over the country will hold a grand ancestor worship event at the Shennong Altar.