In the final days of the Yuan dynasty, there lived six brothers, thick as
thieves they were.
The second and the fourth were capable enough to become ministers of the state;
the sixth was also a capable commander of the provincial army.
However, their achievements soon proved to be their downfall. As the Yuan
fell, the officials of the past dynasty were to be, by tradition, purged so
as to ensure that the court stays loyal to the new king.
The six, realising this fact, quickly took their families and escaped to the
rural countryside in bid to hide from their fate. At a certain juncture, number
two and four realised that being together with their brothers will inevitably
implicate them and afflict them further thus, they decided to split up and go
their own ways.
But, they had also wanted to keep in touch with each other, or rather,
provide means for their descendants to recognize their kin in time to come.
It was then, that they created a secret code in which to do the
aforementioned. A last name.
Six brothers, six brush strokes, my families' new identity. And so, we moved
each taking refuge in the province of Putien, China.
500 years later, the houses of the Guan families in Putien still have boards
outside their house displaying their last name, a secret code to all our kin
out in the world that they...we still remember.
-Zarae.LessonsOfThePast.
