Field-trip report on Yuen Long Deng Wai-sip’s Grave宋封稅院郡馬自明鄧公之墓
The general plot of how the Deng’s family obtained the princess as their bride had remained roughly concordant in historical discourse. To say it simply, it happened during the early Southern Song 宋室南渡 period, when Wuzhu 金兀朮 encroached southward across the Yangzi River, the Princess followed Empress Meng 隆祐太后to seek asylum in Kanchow 赣州. Yet she then ran into a group of bandits led by Peng Youshi彭友時 and was lost in the battlefield. Fortunately, she was later found by Deng Wai-sip’s father Deng Sin鄧銑, who was the Kanchow county magistrate at the time, and afterward she was married to Wai-sip. However, regarding how did this marriage happen and when did it get recognized by the royal court, there are some observable discrepancies between early historical texts and the later version of the story by the Deng’s descendants. For example, in the 《鄧氏祖母皇姑趙氏紀略》written by the Ming 太史Lau Chuen-yip劉存業 in 1489, it narrates that “銑子自明得尚皇姬，該姬陛辭還朝（應為還朝陛辭），仍歸東莞，許之……（後）遇光宗皇帝登極，恩卹懿親，綸言方出，姬感微疾而薨。伯韶厲公點穴卜葬於石井獅子嶺坤申向之原。長子林持母手書上光宗詔稱皇姑”. The marriage was agreed and endorsed by Gaozong, and “皇姑” was just an additional honorary title that later conferred by Guangzong. And in 《鄧氏祖母宋皇姬趙氏墓誌銘》penned by內閣學士蔡升元 in 1721, it states that the Emperor had betrothed his daughter to Wai-sip as a reward for his father’s military effort勤王 in protecting the Southern Song regime（時值南渡，國勢倥傯，贛令勤王有功，故其子惟汲遂得上婚帝室，恩封稅院郡馬）. And even on the grave stele that as shown in the above photo, which was built in 1932, it maintains similar account（鄧銑勤王有功，以配其子，時宋亂未平，公與姬隱於錦田庄舍，至紹熙年間，公已歿，皇姬命長子林持手書上光宗，封祖為稅院郡馬）. Intriguingly, about one and a half year ago when I visited the Loi Tung village萊洞村 in a school field trip, the Deng’s family there, who were the descendants of Wai-sip, presented me with one of their publication《鄧氏祖妣宋皇姑趙姬墓重修紀念特刊》, and it introduces the story of Princess Chiu in a considerably altered version,
「元亮公提兵入衛，遇宋幼姬於兵燹塵中，她因有所懼，故不敢透露身分，即使被元亮公收養，仍守口如瓶……故惟汲公也不知自己已擁有的特殊身分……惟汲公辭世後，趙姬人老懷根，遂修書命長子鄧林進京朝見宋光宗，得到相認，尊稱姑姐為皇姑，並追封已故鄧惟汲為稅院郡馬……光宗擬接皇姑返京，以便皇室照顧，但她感童年身世，寧留東莞過平民生活……」[3]
As seen above, the identity of the Princess was not made known even until her husband’s decease. The whole royal court was also completely unaware of the Princess’ survival until she had decided to “inform” her nephew Guangzong. And in a book《坐言集之錦田鄧族》 by an anecdotal author Soo Man-hing蘇萬興, it also concord this version of the story,
「鄧自明於宋孝宗已丑年逝世，趙氏撫育四子成才。當時宋光宗即位，而趙氏亦老，於是命長子鄧林持其手書及當年高宗之信物上朝，面見光宗。光宗帝查明真相，大為感動，立即相認，並稱趙氏為皇姑，封為郡主，追贈鄧自明為稅院郡馬，長子鄧林授迪功郎，其餘三子封為國舍，皇姑辭歸京師，仍居東莞。」[4]
In contrast to the matter-of-fact narrative of the older accounts, the new story is imbued with a remarkable humane warmth that is likely to make it more captivating and memorable, and the plot is also central on a “recognize again”相認 theme which was very typical in traditional Chinese dramas. Most importantly, it has emphasized the Princess’ agency instead of merely rendering her as a trade reward for Deng’s family’s military contribution. There should be little doubt that the events had been distorted and reforged during their family’s oral transmission, as we can see in the later embellished and legendized version of the story, this historical marriage of Deng Wai-sip and the Princess was not only signifying the glory of the family, but for the central figure in the story, namely皇姑, it also had the potentiality to be developed into a mature religious cult, given that many of her virtues had also been affirmed and praised by scholars (e.g “以東莞津渡，賜為脂粉資，岡山林麓，賜為湯沐資。姬悉以公之邑人。今邑有山墳而無稅者，皆姬之賜也……誠為國戚僅事，况以天家帝妹，不眷戀闕廷而從夫告假南歸，其淑德懿行，非有大過人者能如是耶？”, from《鄧氏祖母宋皇姬趙氏墓誌銘》). And from my experience during my visit to the Loi Tung village, many villagers would also happy to tell the story of their 皇姑 with relish. To them, the veneration of 皇姑 was not just a tradition, but was also an essential practice to strengthen the cohesion of their community, as well as a vital “talking stock” (談資) whenever they were inquired by outsiders about their historical origin and identity.
The preservation of the site
The grave was in fact a famous Feng Shui spot picked by the Deng’s family, called “Fox crossing a river” 狐狸過水, as it was say that the location could help the family to prosper (穴結低窩，藏風聚氣，發富發丁).[5] The water was clearly referring to the Kam Tin River next to the grave, and the fox was likely named because of the shape of the佛凹嶺 nearby. The site might now seem unimpressive in our eyes, but in the past, it was such a valuable Feng Shui location that even different lineages of the Deng’s family struggled to gain this spot and so as to bury their ancestor here. According to an incident called 郡馬祖坆紀變 recorded by the《錦田師儉堂家譜》, the original 郡馬’s grave was once clandestinely displaced by the descendants of his cousin Deng Cong-gwong鄧從光, who was also the ancestor of the Deng’s Pingshan屏山 lineage, and the event had also led to latent conflict between the Kam Tin lineage and Pingshan’s one (see appendix). Today, both Wai-sip and Cong-gwong are buried next to each other, along with some of their descendants. The grave is unsheltered, though its stonework has been preserved pretty well by the Deng’s family. And on the grave top we can see there is some 壓紙錢, so this could tell that the grave is regularly visited by its owner’s posterity. However, speaking of its Feng Shui heritage, we could see that it had been greatly undermined by the construction of modern infrastructures (e.g. the highway and the railroad), and without a doubt, its surrounding environment that we see nowadays should be starkly different from what its original selector intended it to be.
3 May, 2021
Footnotes
[1] 明寧國府正堂鄧彥通（1382年受封）在族譜中的《田賦記》記載：「余先祖吉水人也，始祖承務公自宋開寶六年入嶺南，創業於東莞，之岑田，遂家焉。」Quoted from 鄧族遷岑的真實年代 - 一頁千年史的小考究。From (https://web.archive.org/web/20090129203809/http://pingshan.com/ts-qc-Whole.html)
[2] 1471 年錦田舉人鄧廷楨主持東莞城都慶堂鄧氏宗祠重修，欽命提督樊澤達撰《鄧都慶堂五大房間派宗祠重修碑記》：「始祖漢黻公仕宋為承務郎，於開寶六年宦游至粵，卜居於莞之九都圭角山下。」Quoted from Ibid.
[3] 謝德隆編，《鄧氏祖妣宋皇姑趙姬墓重修紀念特刊》，宋皇姑墓管理委員會，2014年，頁30。
[4] 蘇萬興，《坐言集之錦田鄧族》，（香港：超媒體有限公司，2008年3月），頁33-34。From (http://www.somanhing.com/recommend/book/book/ebook/kamtin.pdf)
[5] 李國騰，狐狸過水 - 香港唯一宋朝郡馬穴。From
(http://www.leekwoktang.com/12-2014-09-25-11-23-19/60-2014-09-30-08-58-43)
Bibliography
鄧族遷岑的真實年代 - 一頁千年史的小考究. From (https://web.archive.org/web/20090129203809/http://pingshan.com/ts-qc-Whole.html)
蘇萬興，《坐言集之屏山鄧族》，（香港：超媒體有限公司，2008年9月）。From (http://www.somanhing.com/recommend/book/book/ebook/pingshan.pdf)
蘇萬興，《坐言集之錦田鄧族》，（香港：超媒體有限公司，2008年3月）。From (http://www.somanhing.com/recommend/book/book/ebook/kamtin.pdf)
謝德隆編，《鄧氏祖妣宋皇姑趙姬墓重修紀念特刊》，宋皇姑墓管理委員會，2014年。
師儉堂家譜。From
(https://hkhiso.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/history/node/3986)
(https://www.facebook.com/yuenlongrunningtour/posts/1688945441263649/)
李國騰，狐狸過水 - 香港唯一宋朝郡馬穴。From
(http://www.leekwoktang.com/12-2014-09-25-11-23-19/60-2014-09-30-08-58-43)
Appendix
明弘治二年（1489）太史劉存業書，《鄧氏祖母皇姑趙氏紀略》節錄：
「宋皇姑趙氏乃高宗之女。時金兀朮渡江南侵，從隆祐太后避兵虔城，適遇土寇彭友時作亂，倉卒驚走，吾邑孝廉廷禎鄧君之祖諱銑為宋承直郎贛縣令，勤王入衛，獲姬於兵燹中。銑子自明得尚皇姬，該姬陛辭還朝（還朝陛辭？），仍歸東莞，許之，賜東莞橋路津渡，為姬脂粉資，岡山林麓，賜為湯沐資。邑百姓自葬並邑，大姓有祖墳而無山稅者，猶謂皇姑之予焉……（後）遇光宗皇帝登極，恩卹懿親，綸言方出，姬感微疾而薨。伯韶厲公點穴卜葬於石井獅子嶺坤申向之原。長子林持母手書上光宗詔稱皇姑。」
內閣學士兼禮部侍郎蔡升元撰，康煕五十一年（1712）立，《鄧氏祖母宋皇姬趙氏墓誌銘》節錄：
「時值南渡，國勢倥傯，贛令（鄧元亮）勤王有功，故其子惟汲遂得上婚帝室，恩封稅院郡馬，陛辭歸里，許之，以東莞津渡，賜為脂粉資，岡山林麓，賜為湯沐資。姬悉以公之邑人。今邑有山墳而無稅者，皆姬之賜也……誠為國戚僅事，况以天家帝妹，不眷戀闕廷而從夫告假南歸，其淑德懿行，非有大過人者能如是耶？晚年光宗即位加恩，懿戚尤膺異數，乃綸音甫及，而姬行年八十有七，無疾而薨。國師厲伯韶為卜葬於石井（獅子）嶺坤申向之原……由宋而來，子孫蕃衍，迄今環居東新二邑十有餘鄉，克紹詩書，簪纓不絕，可謂能世其家矣。」
《宋封稅院郡馬自明鄧公之墓碑》：
「祖諱惟汲，字自明，號吉山，乃元亮公之子，尚高宗原封康王，故莞誌載，姬宋康王女遭亂播遷，鄧銑勤王有功，以配其子，時宋亂未平，公與姬隱於錦田庄舍，至紹熙年間，公已歿，皇姬命長子林持手書上光宗，封祖為稅院郡馬，賜祭田十頃莞之山場餉渡並賜焉，後皇姑有渡送資福寺，今資福寺供奉祿位如故，祖母趙氏稱皇姑稱姬不稱公主，蓋光宗所命而言也。公葬於錦田村西前佛凹嶺卯甲向，狐狸過水之形，皇姑趙氏葬於東莞石井獅子滾球坤申向，生四子，林、杞、槐、梓。
宋封稅院郡馬自明鄧公之墓
奉祀裔孫
勳臣 董琴、慶堂、鳳廷、沃周、銀良、錫禕、伯裘仝敬立
民國廿一年（1932）歲次壬申臘月穀旦重修」
《重修八世祖自明公墓誌》：
「重修八世祖自明公墓誌
公諱惟汲，字自明，號吉山，乃宋官五品承直郎江西省贛縣知縣元亮公之子，宋紹興初年，得尚 宋高宗皇姬趙氏，受封稅院郡馬，生四子長林公封迪功郎，次杞公、三槐公、四梓公，俱贈國舍，歷代簪纓世冑，詩禮傳家，子孫殷蕃，分佈寶安東莞各地，溯 公初隨父居莞城莫家洞，於乾道辛卯年回居錦田莊舍，享年六十有三歲，卜葬於佛凹嶺狐狸過水佳城卯甲向之原，戊辰初夏，新界龍躍頭大埔頭萊洞錦田厦村各房集資重修 妣趙氏郡主墓及己巳重修元亮公墓後，各房父老兄弟念及 祖墓未修，乃聯同前往拜謁，見墓碑苔蘚斕斑，墓地松揪凋謝，螭頭半圮馬鬣僅存，良深歉咎乃詹於庚午八月重修，今工程告竣，墓表重光，從此曰禴曰嘗，百世崇春秋享祀，為昭為穆，萬年荐俎豆馨香，瓜瓞綿綿，藉此先靈之蔭庇，螽斯蟄蟄，啟後嗣之蕃昌，爰誌其事勒諸貞珉，以垂久遠。
鄧族重修祖墓委員會同人敬立
一九九零年歲次庚午九月十九日勒石」
《錦田師儉堂家譜》：郡馬祖坆紀變
「稅院郡馬自明（惟汲）公墓。明因移居失祭後，屏山房冒為伊祖。別族稍言之，有一堪輿亦力言之，此地大旺丁財，彼鄉人事未足，當此我房欲與爭不得據。適廈村侶旦公年尚少，隨父習讀於屏山潔臣家，閱莞舊誌載宋邵馬鄧自明墓在九都佛凹嶺，即今新安五都錦田鄉前面所環山也。旦見而訝，潔臣急匿其書，旦遂言于五生公。公聯族人與屏山潔臣等詣墓爭辨，時墓碑朽壞，加以灰墁字蹟難辨，右側聯峰（逢）公墓載有郡馬二字亦被刮去。五生公將所擄來茗浸洗碑石見阝灬 字樣，命各書祖銜校對，伊書八世祖考處士萬里（從光）鄧公墓，余書八世祖考宋稅院郡馬自明鄧公墓。五生公拉潔臣而觀曰：汝祖稱呼，曷得有此字樣？惟我祖郡馬二字適湊，逐（遂）率眾開穴。潔臣大哭，眾皆錯諤，五生公厲聲曰：哭則伊祖孰不能哭耶？且鋤下必有據。鋤未盈尺，果與皇姑墓磚仝式，乘而掘之，右塚廓然，中一石塊鑿一孔，僅可容得一罐，用是白其侵無礙（疑）焉。潔臣理屈折節，哀求謂：自明公與萬里公本同堂兄弟，弟有巨室，兄寧不可托庇于下乎？時人心古茂，逐（遂）聽之。仍舊封塚各開塋穴，郡馬居正，萬里左側，至今本鄉三月祀墓必致五生公胙，以酧其力。後數十年歲在乾隆丁己屏山于彼穴內兩豎立墓碑工皆夜作，或謂當時所葬實潔臣私祖，欲藉眾力以與余爭，故假名萬里。今所新立善長公迺其真者。然有詭秘其聞，亦未可知」
粵冠公墓 （攝於二零二一年五月一日）
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