via Vice.com, 21 December 2020: A documentary traces the descendants of the Sulu Sultanate who ended up in China’s Shandong province in the 15th century.
How did the descendants of Sulu royalty end up settling down in China? According to the documentary, this was the result of an unfortunate tragedy.
In the early 15th century, during a trip to China to see the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the East King of Sulu passed away from ill health on his journey back home to Sulu. While his eldest son returned to Sulu to succeed him as the new king, his remaining two sons and their families stayed behind in China, where the king was laid to rest. Subsequent intermarriages with Chinese Muslims created generations of Muslim tomb guards who now populate an entire village, known today as Beiyingcun. These descendants adopted the Chinese last names “Wen” and “An.”
Today, there are over 5,000 descendants of the East King of Sulu scattered around China, many of whom have lost contact with their roots. But those in Beiyingcun are proud ambassadors of their royal ancestry and ready guardians of an ancient tomb — albeit that of a bygone relative from a foreign land. They are also trying to restore broken links in their vast royal family, in an attempt to retrace their bloodline and complete their family tree
Source: Documentary Follows Forgotten Royal Filipino Clan in China
