澳大利亚华人历史博物馆《澳洲华人百年历史回顾》古柏千丛迎赤子 心香一炷祭先祖

Ancient Cypress Groves Welcome Clansmen; A Wisp of Sincere Incense Honors Ancestors

广东台山雷氏大宗祠清明祭祖盛典

Qingming Ancestor Worship Ceremony at Lei Clan Ancestral Hall, Taishan, Guangdong

古柏千丛迎赤子，心香一炷祭先祖。

3月29日，广东台山雷氏大宗祠内锣鼓喧天、鞭炮齐鸣、瑞狮欢腾，一场凝聚海内外雷氏宗亲血脉亲情的清明祭祖盛典隆重举办。四海雷氏儿女齐聚故里，寻根问祖、敦亲睦族，共赴这场跨越山海的宗族之约。

遥溯十九世纪初，近代华侨迁徙浪潮席卷南粤大地。台山、中山、海宴等地的雷氏先辈，怀揣家国情怀与谋生希冀，毅然远渡重洋，奔赴美国、加拿大、澳大利亚等国。他们不畏征途艰险，或投身金矿辛勤谋生，或参与修建太平洋铁路挥洒汗水，或躬耕种菜扎根异乡，以坚韧不拔的意志与勤劳质朴的品格，在海外打拼立足、开创新业，书写了雷氏族人勇毅开拓、砥砺奋进的华侨奋斗篇章。

追根溯源，雷氏一脉源自陕西大荔县冯翊郡，宗族血脉同源，五百年前本为一家。明成祖朱棣永乐年间迁都北京，至今已逾六百年。为恢复国力、均衡人口布局、稳固南方治理，永乐朝相继颁布多项移民政令，其中以山西大槐树为核心集散地的北方迁民运动规模浩大，数以万计的家族自北向南辗转迁徙。

在这一历史背景下，雷氏始祖雷积善公奉旨自陕西冯翊郡启程南迁，历经千里跋涉、颠沛流离，最终抵达香山（今中山梅岭乡）落籍开基。自此，雷氏家族在岭南大地扎根繁衍，历经一代又一代岁月更迭与移民浪潮，子孙后代开枝散叶、遍布全球，成为中山侨乡极具影响力的宗族之一。

青山埋祖脉，故土系乡愁。众多雷氏子孙不远万里从海外归来，传承台山拜山寻根的乡土文化传统，怀着无比虔诚之心，祭拜宋代大理寺正卿復翁公。先祖为官清正、德泽绵长，庇佑后裔繁衍生息。如今雷氏族人遍布世界各地，血脉绵延不绝，家族文脉薪火相传！

祭祖盛典之上，海内外雷氏宗亲代表齐聚一堂，共祭先祖、共叙宗情。台山雷为有先生、中山雷志唯先生、澳洲雷灿仪CharIie Louie先生亲临现场，加拿大雷祖烈（Michael）先生亦专程归国，奔赴祖祠缅怀先祖功绩，传承家族优良文脉，共话宗族同心情谊。

此次渡头村雷氏宗亲赴台山祭祖，参与人数众多，宗族凝聚力尽显。活动筹备组特意安排三部旅游巴士方便宗亲出行，更配备专职医生随行，悉心照料随行年迈长者。中山雷志唯先生全程扶老携幼、事必躬亲，悉心统筹各项事宜，确保此次寻根祭祖之旅圆满顺遂，尽显雷氏族人孝亲敬长、团结互助的优良家风。

文/澳大利亚华人历史研究会

2026年4月1日

Ancient cypress groves welcome clansmen; a wisp of sincere incense honors ancestors.

On March 29th, the Lei Clan Ancestral Hall in Taishan, Guangdong was filled with the din of gongs and drums, bursts of firecrackers, and lively lion dances. A grand Qingming ancestor worship ceremony, bonding the blood ties of Lei clan members at home and abroad, was solemnly held. Descendants of the Lei clan from all over the world gathered in their hometown to trace their roots, strengthen clan bonds, and answer the cross-oceanic call of their ancestral lineage.

Dating back to the early 19th century, the wave of modern overseas Chinese migration swept across southern Guangdong. The ancestors of the Lei clan from Taishan, Zhongshan, Haiyan and other areas, cherishing patriotism and the hope of making a living, resolutely sailed across the oceans to the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries. Fearless of hardships, they toiled in gold mines, sweated during the construction of the Pacific Railway, or settled in foreign lands by farming and gardening. With indomitable will and diligent, simple character, they strove to gain a foothold and build new lives overseas, composing a glorious chapter of the overseas Chinese struggle marked by the courage and perseverance of the Lei clan.

Tracing the origin, the Lei clan traces its roots to Fengyi Commandery, Dali County, Shaanxi, sharing a common bloodline as one family five hundred years ago. It has been more than 600 years since Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, moved the capital to Beijing during the Yongle reign. To restore national strength, balance population distribution and stabilize governance in the south, the Yongle court issued a series of immigration decrees successively. Among them, the northern migration movement centered on Dahuaishu in Shanxi was grand in scale, with tens of thousands of families moving south from the north.

Against this historical background, Lei Jishan, the founding ancestor of the Lei clan, was ordered to move south from Fengyi Commandery, Shaanxi. After thousands of miles of arduous trekking and hardships, he finally settled and founded the clan in Xiangshan (now Meiling Township, Zhongshan). Since then, the Lei clan has taken root and multiplied in the Lingnan region. Through generations of changes and waves of migration, their descendants have spread all over the world, making the Lei clan one of the most influential clans in Zhongshan, a renowned hometown of overseas Chinese.

Green mountains bury the ancestral roots; homeland ties the nostalgia of wanderers. Numerous descendants of the Lei clan returned from overseas across thousands of miles, inheriting the local cultural tradition of ancestor worship and root-seeking in Taishan. With utmost piety, they paid homage to Fu Wengong, the Grand Justice of the Supreme Court in the Song Dynasty. The ancestor was upright in office and his benevolence endured, blessing his descendants to thrive. Today, the Lei clan members are spread all over the world, with an unbroken bloodline and a lasting family heritage passed down from generation to generation.

At the grand ceremony, representatives of the Lei clan from home and abroad gathered to worship ancestors and renew clan bonds. Mr. Lei Weiyou from Taishan, Mr. Lei Zhiwei from Zhongshan, Mr. Lei Canyi from Australia attended the ceremony in person, and Mr. Michael Lei Zulie from Canada also returned specially to the ancestral hall to commemorate the ancestors' merits, inherit the fine family culture, and share the kinship of the clan.

A large number of Lei clan members from Dutou Village attended the ancestor worship in Taishan, fully demonstrating the clan's cohesion. The organizing committee specially arranged three tourist buses for the convenience of the clansmen, and assigned full-time doctors to accompany and take good care of the elderly clansmen. Mr. Lei Zhiwei from Zhongshan accompanied the elderly and children throughout the trip, attending to every detail personally to ensure the complete success of this root-seeking and ancestor-worship journey, fully reflecting the fine family traditions of the Lei clan: respecting the elderly, filial piety, unity and mutual assistance.

Text by Australian Chinese History Research Association

April 1, 2026