An example concerning Tan's home town of Jimei is mentioned in his memoirs Nan-Chiao Reminiscences. The townsfolk were all of the same origin and even shared the same ancestry, yet although the residents numbered no more than 2000, they had seen several large-scale feuds in which dozens of people were wounded or killed, with people holding bitter grudges against each other.
譬如在陳嘉庚的「南僑回憶錄」裡，他談到家鄉集美，雖然完全同源同宗（陳姓），居民不過兩千多人，卻經歷過幾次大規模械鬥，死傷數十人，彼此成見很深。