China Collection of Genealogies

What is in This Collection?

This collection is comprised of Chinese genealogy records collected from various institutions and sources in China, North America, and some Southeast Asian areas.

The records are mostly about families who have lived in various provinces in China for several generations. They consist of clan genealogies, civil records, compiled biographies, histories, and genealogy charts. Although some genealogies reach as far back as 1239, the time period and content of the records will vary from one genealogy to the next. They also include records from Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Southeast Asian countries.

The size, generational depth, and type of information included in clan genealogies is varied. Some of the records have been obtained from private households and collectors in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and the United States. These records may be hand-copied, single volume manuscripts that only contain information about recent generations in a few pages of pedigree charts. Other records may be published in a standard format or have a deeper wealth of information. Most of the records are easily readable, although some documents have been damaged due to aging, water droplets, and tight bindings.

Records in this collection primarily contain information between the Qing dynasty and the Republic era (1700s to early 1900s), though some material from earlier and later dates is included. Most of the genealogies that have been microfilmed in the various library collections are printed books that average ten volumes per title. Clan or lineage genealogies constitute the major source material for Chinese family historians and genealogists. Scholars have shown that clan genealogies can be a valuable source for research into Chinese history.

The objectives of Chinese genealogical research have changed tremendously over time. Researchers are now studying Chinese genealogies as a supplement to other research areas, such as social and economic history, geographical history, history of law, population history, religion and culture, history of overseas Chinese, inheritance practices, and biography of historical figures.

In the history of the Chinese people, there are three elements that are significant: (a) China's history, (b) the local gazette, and (c) a clan's genealogy. Of these three elements, clan genealogies have the longest history and are the most influential. Family genealogies were recorded first as objects tied onto knotted rope and later by writing on turtle shells, cow bones, and bronze. These purpose of these records was to memorialize changes in a family's lineage and honor that family's ancestors.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

Reading These Records

These records are written in Chinese. For help reading these records see Chinese Research Helps and Chinese Translation.

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for China Collection of Genealogies.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

• A brief history of the origin of the family and the dispersion pattern of some of the branches
• A list of male ancestors’ names according to generation order
• The birth year or death year of the ancestor, if known
• The maiden name or surname of the spouse, if known
• The number and names of the male descendants of each couple, if known

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  Genealogy record 1

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  Genealogy record 2

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  Genealogy record 3