The origin of the Lem surname has been traced back over 3000 years to Prince Bi Gan, a descendent of Huang Di (The Yellow Emperor) and member of the Royal Family of the Shang Dynasty.  He was the younger brother of Emperor Di Yi, and the uncle of Emperor Di Xin, to whom he served as a high official in the Royal Court.  While Bi Gan was described as a trusted sage for nobles and commoners alike, Di Xin was described as a cruel and corrupt tyrant, known for extreme excesses and severe punishments.  Amidst unrest and rumors of rebellion, Bi Gan tried to persuade his nephew to change his ways.  Enraged by the criticism, Di Xin accused Bi Gan of treason and ripped out his still beating heart.   Bi Gan's pregnant wife narrowly escaped execution by taking refuge in Changlin (The Long Forest), where she soon gave birth to their son. Acting under a "Mandate of Heaven", the neighbouring state of Zhou invaded and the Shang Dynasty was easily conquered when many of Di Xin's soldiers refused to fight.   Di Xin committed suicide and King Wu ascended to the throne of the Zhou Dynasty.   In his first act of benevolence, King Wu sealed Bi Gan's tomb and restored his newborn son (Jian) to his rightful place by gifting him a fiefdom and aristocratic peerage, as well as granting him the surname Lin (林 = forest).   ​Today, descendants of Lin Jian have have migrated well beyond the ancestoral homeland of Bi Gan near modern day Weihei City in Henan Province and the surname has expanded across dialects to Lem/Lim/Lam in Toisanese, Lum/Lumb in Cantonese and Lin in Mandarin.  Yet no matter the location or the pronunciation, millions worldwide proudly share our family name, connected by the many clan associations and strengthened by the ancestors before us.