Hongtong Grand Locust Tree

The Grand Locust Tree of Shanxi, also known as the Hongtong Grand Locust Tree, is located within the Root-Seeking and Ancestor-Worship Park at the western side of Jia Village, about two kilometers north of Hongtong County in Linfen City.

There are two reasons why the Grand Locust Tree in Shanxi became a gathering place for migrants: first, during the Yongle-era relocations, people from Shanxi assembled under this tree; second, when families compiled genealogies, they believed their ancestors had come from under the Grand Locust Tree in Shanxi. This origin story has been regarded as significant, to the point where folk legends and honorary titles have become widely familiar.

A folk song circulates across Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Anhui... and even most of China: “Ask me where my ancestors came from — the Grand Locust Tree in Hongtong, Shanxi,” and “What was our ancestral home called? — the old stork nest beneath the Grand Locust Tree.”.

All of this traces back to the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty.

In the late Yuan and early Ming periods, after over 20 years of war, Zhu Yuanzhang reunified the Central Plains and established the Ming Dynasty.At that time, the land was devastated. Areas such as Shandong, Henan, and Hebei were largely deserted — “ white bones lay exposed in the fields, and for miles around, not a rooster crowed.” To balance the population, develop the economy, and revive agricultural production, Zhu Yuanzhang began implementing a migration policy starting from the Hongwu years. “ According to the ratio of leaving one person for every four households, two for every six, and three for every eight,” people were relocated and resettled throughout the country. 

The registration process for relocation was akin to

Historical records indicate that from the sixth year of the Hongwu reign until the fifteenth year of the Yongle reign — a span of fifty years— there were18 large-scale migrationsunder the Grand Locust Tree in Hongtong, involvingmore than 800 surnames, with the total number of relocated individualsexceeding one million. At the time, Shanxi had a particularly large population, and Hongtong County was the largest and most populous county in southern Shanxi, naturally becoming a primary hub for population relocation. The destinations covered 11 present-day provinces and municipalities, making the scale truly massive. 

Root-Carving Gate

According to Shanxi "Hongtong County Annals"as well as Hongtong County "The Pagoda Tree Annals"record that during the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, local government authorities relocated landless peasants from Ze, Lu, Qin, Fen, and Pingyang, as well as residents with more people than arable land, to the Central Plains region seven times. These relocations were carried out at Guangji Temple, located to the left of the Great Pagoda Tree. The migrants were provided with oxen for plowing, seeds, and travel expenses. Beside the temple stood an exceptionally large Han-era pagoda tree, described by people as: "Its trunk several arm-spans around, its shade covering several acres."”. Local officials processed relocation procedures under this very tree—registering the migrants, issuing them " migration permits and travel funds"—before organizing them into groups according to their destinations and distributing necessary supplies. The so-called "migration permits and travel funds" were akin to travel passes and relocation allowances. 

Ming Dynasty Migration Scene Sculpture

Those being relocated, dragging their children and supporting their elders, left their hometowns with deep reluctance, unable to sever their ties to the land. As they gazed at the great pagoda tree and watched the old egrets nesting in its branches cry mournfully, knowing they might never return in their lifetime, they wanted their descendants to forever remember their homeland.Hoping that one day they could retrace their roots back to their place of origin, they pointed to the easily memorable great pagoda tree and the egrets’ nests above, saying: "Don’t forget—if you ever manage to return home and can’t recall our village, first look for this great pagoda tree covered in egrets’ nests, and then slowly search for your old home.""When you arrive in a new place, where everything is unfamiliar, those who came from under the egrets’ nests of this great pagoda tree must take care of one another!" Thus, the great pagoda tree and the egrets’ nests became symbols of their hometown.

Sculpture of the Migration Scene

But beyond the grand narrative, for each individual family that was uprooted at the time, it was an immense tragedy. The migration policies set by the Ming rulers stipulated that: "Families of four should leave one, families of six should leave two, and families of eight should leave three."Moreover, those sharing the same surname or lineage could not be relocated to the same area, tearing even the closest of families apart. To stay together, some families were forced to change their surnames. 

Such rigid rules inevitably stirred public resentment. Many attempted to flee out of homesickness during the relocation process. Those who were caught faced brutal punishments—some had their ears cut off, others bore knife marks on their faces as branding.

Relief Sculpture of the Migration

Legend has it that descendants of those relocated from under the Great Pagoda Tree have a double-layered or forked pinky toe. One explanation is that to prevent escape, soldiers made migrants remove their shoes and forcibly sliced off a piece of the little toe. Even after healing, the toe would never grow back as one whole.

Another tale goes: At the time, government policy dictated that if a family had more than one son, only the youngest could stay—the rest had to be relocated. To help later identify their biological children, mothers left a mark on their sons’ toes.

And so, the people of Shanxi were scattered far and wide, resettled across the Central Plains or southern provinces.

The psychological torment and emotional scars inflicted upon them lingered for decades—or even generations—among the displaced and their descendants.

Egrets’ Nests

Fortunately, the people of the Central Plains did not forget their roots. No matter where they traveled, those said to come from “under the egrets’ nests” were treated with warmth and kinship. Since egrets were rare in the Central Plains while crows were common, people later began referring to the "egrets’ nests" as... Old Stork's Nest” was mistakenly said as “ Old Crow's Nest”. 

Decades of migration saw over eight hundred different surnames leave their hometowns. At that time, there were even explicit rules forbidding people with the same surname from living in the same village, which forced many close relatives to part ways and scatter across the land.

Ancestral Worship Park

Nowadays, the ancestral temple at the Great Locust Tree enshrines a total of 1,230 surnames. Some of the migrated surnames are even recorded with detailed directions of their departure, making it easier for descendants to trace their roots back to their hometowns.

After the migration, to help the settlers quickly resume production, the government offered many preferential policies—providing farming tools and oxen for free, as well as reducing or waiving taxes. In a short time, wastelands were reclaimed, agricultural production recovered, and the blending of people from different regions also promoted cultural diversity.

Although the great migration was a forced separation, in some ways it was also a price paid to meet the needs of historical development. It influenced China for hundreds of years.