A KNg Dynasty Lineage Registry of Those Who Served the Throne, the Court, and the People

Across eras, branches of the 伍 clan stepped into roles of strategy, governance, military leadership, and diplomacy. Below is a verified lineage honor-roll those whose names carved themselves into the scrolls of Chinese history.

1. 伍子胥 (Wu Zixu) – Spring & Autumn Period

Role: Statesman & General of the State of Wu
Served: King Helü & King Fuchai of Wu
Legacy:

One of the most iconic strategists of early China.
Elevated the State of Wu into a regional superpower.
Adviser, builder of the great defensive works of Wu, symbol of loyalty and righteousness.
Known for his uncompromising integrity against tyranny.

2. 伍参 (Wu Can) – State of Chu

Role: High Minister during early Chu governance
Served: Rulers of the ancient Chu kingdom
Legacy:

Held governing authority and was granted fiefs.
Considered a foundational ancestor of major 伍 lineages in Hubei/Hunan.
Represents the earliest documented 伍 official service.

3. 伍举 (Wu Ju) – Spring & Autumn Period

Role: Senior Chu Minister
Legacy: Known for moral courage and political clarity in one of the most politically volatile eras.

4. 伍奢 (Wu She) – Spring & Autumn Period

Role: Minister of Chu
Legacy:

Father of Wu Zixu.
Remembered as a loyal and upright counselor whose unjust execution became one of the literary tragedies of Chinese antiquity.
Anchors the famous multigenerational narrative of integrity within the 伍 clan.

5. 伍尚 (Wu Shang) – Chu–Wu Transition Era

Role: Chu noble & official
Legacy: Demonstrates the political depth of the 伍 clan across generations within the Chu ruling structure.

6. 伍祐 (Wu You) – Han Dynasty

Role: Scholar-official
Legacy:

Served the Han imperial bureaucracy.
Represented the 伍 lineage in the Confucian scholarly renaissance that shaped East Asian governance for centuries.

7. 伍乔 (Wu Qiao) – Tang Dynasty

Role: Imperial Court Official
Legacy:

Held administrative positions under the Tang court.
Symbolizes the spread of the 伍 name into the central imperial structure.

8. 伍泰亨 (Wu Taiheng) – Song Dynasty

Role: Inspectorate & Administrative Official
Legacy:

Served in provincial oversight roles.
Embodies the Song dynasty’s era of bureaucratic sophistication.

9. 伍文定 (Wu Wending) – Ming Dynasty

Role: Court official & regional administrator
Legacy:

Contributed to regional governance during early–mid Ming.
Part of the southward-expanding 伍 lineage clusters.

10. 伍秉鉴 (Wu Bingjian — also known as Howqua) – Qing Dynasty

Role: Merchant-official / government-appointed Hong leader
Legacy:

The richest man in the world of his time.
Represented China in official trade with Western nations under the Qing monopoly system.
Managed state-sanctioned foreign trade and diplomacy through the “Cohong.”
A towering 伍 figure in global history.

11. 伍廷芳 (Wu Tingfang) – Late Qing / Early Republic

Role: Qing Ambassador, Legal Reformer, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Served: Guangxu Emperor (Qing); later the early Republic of China
Legacy:

Master diplomat.
Architect of early legal modernization.
Symbol of intellectual positioning through national transformation.

12. 伍连德 (Wu Liande / Dr. Wu Lien-teh) – Qing & Republican Era

Role: Court-appointed medical officer; global medical pioneer
Legacy:

Commissioned after the Qing court faced the Manchurian Plague.
Inventor of the early N95-style mask.
Elevated to international leadership in pandemics.
First Chinese doctor nominated for the Nobel Prize.

🐉 THE 伍 FAMILY–ANCESTRY PAGE

🔥 THE FIVEFOLD HOUSE OF 伍

“Strength in Unity. Honor in Lineage. Legacy Across Dynasties.”

THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME

The surname 伍 began in the river-mist kingdoms of early China where the Chu state rose with drums, bronze vessels, and oracle-etched oaths.

The name meant Fivefold Company a military unit of five, a symbol of discipline, loyalty, and unified action.

From that symbol came a people whose legacy marched across dynasties.

THE ROOT ANCESTOR

伍参 — The Minister Who Stood at the Birth of a Clan

In the early Spring & Autumn period, a minister named 伍参 served the lords of Chu with clarity and foresight. He won land, trust, and standing and from his house grew the early 伍 clan.

Generations later, this branch produced some of the era’s most legendary figures: among them, the heroic general 伍子胥, whose name thundered through history as the embodiment of loyalty and righteous courage.

THE HERITAGE MAP OF 伍

Where your ancestors walked and where their name traveled

1. Chu Heartlands (Hubei • Hunan)

Birthplace of the clan.
A region of river kingdoms, shamans, and warriors.
This is where the 伍 story first wrote itself into bamboo strips.

2. Jiangsu & Zhejiang (Wu Kingdom Territories)

The era of Wu Zixu where the 伍 name rose into the political and military core of an ascendant kingdom.

3. Lingnan South (Guangdong • Guangxi • Fujian)

As dynasties shifted, many branches migrated south:

Seeking opportunity
Serving in provincial courts
Engaging in maritime trade

These southern branches would later become the roots of the overseas 伍 diaspora.

4. Southeast Asia (Malaysia • Singapore • Indonesia)

During Ming and Qing maritime migrations, 伍 families traveled across oceans:

Merchants
Diplomats
Skilled workers
Clan association founders

The name became Ng, Ngo, and Woo still the same ember of the 伍 lineage burning in new lands.

5. North America, Australia, Canada

Modern migrations expanded the map again.
In the West, the name evolved through romanizations:
Wu, Ng, Ngo, Eng, Woo.
Different spellings, same root.

THE KNg DYNASTY INTERPRETATION

What the 伍 legacy teaches modern heirs

🔥 1. Fierceness is inherited.
The 伍 clan did not wait for royal blood; they earned honor through service, truth, and strategy.

🔥 2. Migration is a mark of resilience.
From Chu’s misty heartlands to global cities, 伍 families adapted without losing their core identity.

🔥 3. Names change, but lineage doesn’t.
Whether you carry Ng, Wu, Woo, or Ngo, your name traces back to the Fivefold House fierce, strategic, loyal.

🔥 4. Legacy is a choice.
You stand in the line of ministers, generals, diplomats, and pioneers. You are the next chapter.

🐉 THE 伍 ANCESTRAL HALL OF HONOR