In the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), Zengzi was given the honorific title of Duke Zongsheng and became the third Confucian Saint, only after Yan Yuan and Confucius himself. However, the Zeng clan was reluctant to serve the Mongolian imperials and the whole clan left the Court for nearly one century.

Since the Open Door Policy in 1979, the family was invited by the China State Council to showcase the upper-class traditional Chinese lifestyles with the world and enhance cultural interactions. Therefore, more than 3000 prestigious guests from many different countries visited the family's Beijing Courtyard located in the south of Zhongnanhai over the years. Later, the family life was filmed as a documentary and broadcast in Europe.

During Yang Yugeng's decades of work in the Central Government of China, he was the founding and organising committee member of many national large-scale sports events, such as the First and Second National Games of China in the 1960s, and the famous Sino-US Table Tennis Friendship Tournament (as known as the Ping-Pong Diplomacy) in the 1970s. On behalf of China, he was passionate about promoting sports and peace worldwide, including the organisation of sports events and the sponsorship of sports equipment to African and South American countries.

Niu Zhenmin (Shelley's great grandfather) started his international trading business between China, Russia, Mongolia and Japan in Ulaanbaatar. The business was forced to end due to the Mongolian Revolution of 1911. Thus, Niu joined the then Chinese government to serve the country. He led several battles to protect the people during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Niu was also famous for establishing schools during the War to ensure students to continue their education. To protect the family from assination, he left his role as the District Mayor of Nangong at the end of the War.

In the second year of the Tang Dynasty Guangqi period (886), Zeng Yanshi (20th Generation) was ordered by the Emperor to lead his family to assist his brother Wang Chao and Wang Shenzhi to enter Fujian and remove the local separatist forces. He moved to Fuzhou, Tingzhou, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and finally settled in the Longshantou area of Jinjiang County, Quanzhou. The descendants of Zeng Yanshi prospered and multiplied into a big family, known as The House of Longshan.

Other than international import and export business, the family had been developing integrated industries in Indonesia to magnify the family influence and promote modern industrial reform. In the early 20th Century, the family investment in the industrialisation of rice mills was a great success which changed the rice production industry completely and generated enormous wealth for the family.

Yang Yugeng (Shelley’s grandfather) started his political career in the Central Commission of the Communist Youth League of China after he graduated from the National Central University. He was fully devoted to the construction of New China with great passion. Yang has proudly participated in the Beijing Workers Stadium construction project. It was one of the Ten Great Buildings constructed in 1959 for the 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

Together with Zisi, Zengzi was the founder of the Confucian tradition that would later become famous under Mengzi. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712-755) of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Zengzi was given the honorific title of Earl of Cheng.

The Zeng Clan Ancestor Zengzi (505-425 BC) was a Chinese philosopher, the disciple of Confucius, revered as one of the Four Sages of Confucianism. Under the guidance of Confucius, he became the author of The Classic of Filial Piety, a work that examined the importance of this tenet in the Confucian system. After the death of Confucius, Zengzi assembled disciples around him and preached the way of Confucius.

In 1943, Niu Zhenmin established Taiji Coal Mine in Beijing. The family stepped into the energy industry since then. With his outstanding business talents, Niu Zhenmin became one of the Four Big Tigers of the booming energy field, who also owned construction materials and railway business in China. Meanwhile, Niu Zhenmin's brother who served as the Party Secretary of Eight Route Army 120 Division, North China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and the Beijing University of Science and Technology, had been honourably awarded by China Premier Zhou Enlai.