Key events in the history of the Shi (施) surname

9 dated events in the history of the Shi (施) surname, as recorded in Chinese sources.

1. Ming Chongzhen era (崇禎)

   Zheng Zhilong (鄭芝龍) recruited large numbers of coastal farmers to cultivate wasteland in Taiwan, many of whom were from Quanzhou (泉州), including some surnamed Shi (施).

2. The 22nd year of Kangxi (1683)

   Shi Lang (施琅) led troops to pacify Taiwan; subsequently, large numbers of Shi (施) clan members from Jinjiang (晉江) migrated to and settled in Taiwan.

3. The 49th year of Qianlong (1784)

   The Qing dynasty approved the establishment of a cross-strait ferry route between Hangan (蚶江) in Jinjiang (晉江) and Lukang (鹿港) in Taiwan, triggering a large-scale migration of Shi (施) clan members to Taiwan.

4. Eight years later

   A cross-strait ferry route was opened between Hangan (蚶江) and Baliqun (八里坌), the estuary of the Danshui River (淡水河), further promoting Shi (施) clan migration to Taiwan.

5. The 60th year of Kangxi

   Zhu Yigui’s (朱一貴) uprising broke out in Taiwan; Shi Shipiao (施世驃) led troops to suppress it.

6. The 58th year of Kangxi

   Shi Shibang (施世榜) organized people to construct the Babao Canal (八堡圳), also known as the Shicuo Canal (施厝圳), which became the largest water conservancy project in Taiwan during the Qing dynasty.

7. Southern Song Shaoxing era (紹興)

   Shi Bing (施炳), a jinshi (imperial examination graduate), served as a judge at the Supreme Court of Justice (Dali Si, 大理寺); he is revered as the founding ancestor of the Xunhai Shi (潯海施) lineage.

8. At the end of the Ming and beginning of the Qing dynasties

   Shi Dahuan (施大寰) crossed the sea to Taiwan and settled in Xinying (新營), Tainan (臺南), becoming the founding ancestor of this branch of the Shi (施) clan in Taiwan.

9. Kangxi era (康熙)

   The imperial examination system was newly established in Taiwan; among the Shi (施) clan members were Confucian scholars (rusheng, 儒生) and martial scholars (wusheng, 武生) who sat for examinations and entered official schools.