The Kwan Family

Origins

The Kwan family traces its roots to Kwan Zhaoyi (關肇冶, 946–1019), a Song Dynasty government official who was transferred from Fujian Province to Guangdong. Upon retirement at Gangzhou County (present-day Xinhui), he settled there with his family. His descendants established the Xilang Branch in Panyu county near Canton in 1444.

Kwan Yuen Cheung (關元昌, 1832–1912)

An 18th-generation descendant, Kwan Yuen Cheung is the founding patriarch of our modern family. His father, Kwan Yat (關日), was baptized in Canton in 1832 through the missionary work of the London Missionary Society — one of the earliest Chinese Christian converts in the region.

Kwan Yuen Cheung trained as a dentist in the United States and returned to Hong Kong to become the first Western-trained dentist in China. His home and family became a hub for the intersecting worlds of Christian mission, western medicine, and Chinese reform politics in the late Qing era.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Founder of the Republic of China, was a classmate of Kwan Yuen Cheung's son Dr. Kwan King Leung (關景良) at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese — established by the London Missionary Society in 1887. Through this friendship, Sun Yat-sen came to know the Kwan family and drew on their support throughout his revolutionary work.

The Family Today

Eight branches of the family have grown into the sixth generation, numbering over 1,500 descendants. Scattered across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and Great Britain, Kwan descendants have pursued careers in medicine, engineering, architecture, business, banking, education, music, the arts, social work, and Christian ministry.

The family has gathered for nine reunions since 2003, reconnecting cousins across four continents. The 9th Kwan Family Reunion takes place in Portland, Oregon, July 30–August 2, 2026.

The Family Code

The Kwan Family Code is a numerical system created by Steve Kwan (6-3-3) to denote each member's position in the family. Numbers indicate birth order in descending generations from Kwan Yuen Cheung's own children. The suffix "S" denotes a spouse; "A" an adopted member; "R" a relative.

For example: Peter Kwan (7-2-1) is the eldest son of Kwan King-Tong (7-2), who is the second son of 7th Great Uncle Kwan King-Leung.

Family Resources

The Kwanopedia wiki is a private, member-contributed encyclopaedia of Kwan family history, biographies, and photographs. Request an account via the reunion website.

The family genealogy — first compiled in 1937 by Kwan Sung-Sing (6-1) and Kwan Wai-Heng (7-3), partially translated into English by Peter Kwan (7-2-1) in 1982, and continuously updated — is the authoritative record of the family's branches and generations.