Qiyun Tower

　　Qiyun Tower was built in the 18th year of the Wanli reign during the Ming Dynasty (1590), making it over 600 years old. It is the earliest known circular earthen tower and is hailed as the "Mother of Towers," proving that Hua’an is the birthplace of Fujian’s round earthen towers.

　　The Guo family of Qiyun Tower is a prominent clan. According to two treasured editions of the “Genealogy of the Guo Clan” preserved at Qiyun Tower, their founding ancestor was Shu, the younger brother of King Wen of Zhou, whose most ancient ancestral home was Taiyuan, with other notable lineages from Huayin and Fengyi. By the Tang Dynasty, Guo Ziyi helped restore the Tang Dynasty and was granted the title “Prince of Fenyang.” His descendants adopted “Fenyang” as their family hall name, honoring Guo Ziyi as the first-generation patriarch. Guo Ziyi had eight sons, the eldest being Guo Yao, who fathered Yan and Song. When Wang Shenzhi entered Fujian during the Tang Dynasty, Guo Song accompanied the army into the region and settled at Gukeng at the eastern foot of Zhishan Mountain in Zhangzhou, becoming the progenitor of the Guo clan in Zhangzhou. After more than thirty generations of complex migration, the 30th-generation descendant of Guo Ziyi—Guo Shuzi—established a base in Shajian Daishan Village, Hua’an, during the Yongle era (1403–

　　1442) of the Ming Dynasty under Emperor Yongle.

　　The Guo clan flourished in Daishan for seven or eight generations, and by the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty had grown into a powerful family. After the construction of Qiyun Tower, up until the end of the Qing Dynasty, a significant number of the Guo family migrated outward, with the largest concentration moving to Taiwan. The late Qing-era “Genealogical Record of the Great Guo Clan of Daishan” documents up to the 18th generation in Daishan. The record states that from the 10th to the 18th generation—over nine generations—a total of over 300 male members of the Daishan Guo clan migrated to Taiwan to establish new roots. Each generation saw no fewer than 40 individuals relocating to Taiwan, marking a substantial wave of migration. Throughout the Qing Dynasty, descendants of the Daishan Guo clan in Taiwan frequently returned to Qiyun Tower to pay homage to their ancestors and reconnect with relatives.

　　Descendants of the Guo clan are spread throughout Taiwan. The clan’s generational motto is: “Wen Jing Wei Zhong Shu, Yuan Shi An Ru Qi. Shi Zhi Zhen Guang Zong, Yun Long Ji Yu Shi. Cheng Xian Qi Lai Yi, Shao De Yong Wei Ji. Tian Ci Wo Che Zuo, Qian Qiu Qing You Yu.”