Chapter 16 Section 6 Value and Utilization

The Chinese nation has a history of genealogy for more than 3,000 years. During this long period of time, our ancestors compiled countless genealogies. These genealogies, in their times, in their social, political, economic, and cultural activities played a certain role.From the Shang and Zhou Dynasties to the Han Dynasty, the main function of genealogy was to worship ancestors, prove bloodlines, and identify lineage. At the same time, it was also the basis for power and property inheritance.After entering the aristocratic society of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the importance of genealogy in political and social life has greatly increased. The main function of genealogy is to prove the family status. Family documents turned into a political tool.During the Sui and Tang dynasties, most scholars were selected by the imperial examination, and the political role of genealogy in the selection of officials was weakened, but its role in marriage and other aspects increased.After the Song Dynasty, family status was not valued in selecting scholars and marrying, and members of various social classes rose and fell frequently, and the political role of genealogy basically disappeared.Compilation of the family tree has become an internal matter of the family, and the role of the family tree has also changed accordingly.The compilation of genealogy in Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties is mainly to record family history, purify family lineage, respect ancestors, respect ancestors, harmonize clan, unite and restrain family members, educate future generations, improve the status and prestige of the family in society, and educate the family tree. The functions have been strengthened, and a large number of benevolent deeds and honors of family ancestors and various family precepts and family mottos appear in the genealogy, which played a certain role in spreading feudal ethics and stabilizing social order.Therefore, whether it was before the Tang Dynasty or after the Song Dynasty, the compilation of family trees was often supported and encouraged by the government.In addition, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was a certain number of places in the imperial examinations in various places. Some candidates often moved their hometowns, avoiding more and taking less, in order to easily pass the exam. For this reason, lawsuits were often caused. effect.Bannermen in the Qing Dynasty needed to show their genealogy as evidence when they came to the throne or became an official. This can also be regarded as a remnant of the political role of genealogy.

In today's era, genealogy, as a historical document, still plays an important role in our understanding of the past.Its value is roughly manifested in the following aspects: First of all, for the study of ancient figures, it has quite authoritative data value.We know that the search for ancient figures is mainly through biographies in official history, ancient anthologies, notes, and local chronicles.It is difficult to find some lesser-known characters in these materials, and if there are, there are only a few words.Even some famous figures sometimes have such problems, and it is difficult to meet people's needs for character studies.The genealogy is different. The feature of the genealogy is to record the family members. In the genealogy, under each person, it is indicated which branch, which house, name, character, number, line number, date of birth and death, year of death, Wives, children, and cemeteries, especially the records of fame and official ranks, etc. are relatively detailed. The art and literature also include relevant career records, biographies, epitaphs, and other materials, and important figures also have special biographies.Although there may be praises in these materials, most of them are reliable.Through the family tree, we can not only know the situation of the person we want to know, but also his lineage, that is, the situation of the ancestors and the situation of the children.In recent years, scholars have gradually turned their attention to genealogy, using genealogical data to correct many doubts in the study of historical figures in the past.For example, someone used "Wuqingtang Reconstruction of the Genealogy of Cao's Family in Liaodong" to verify that the author Cao Xueqin's ancestral home was Liaoyang, and later moved to Shenyang, not Fengrun, Hebei, as people usually think.Cao Xueqin’s ancestors were military officers of the Ming Dynasty who surrendered to the Manchus during the war. They first belonged to the Han Army Banner and later changed to Manchuria’s Zhengbai Banner. The flag issue was resolved.Someone also verified through Quanzhou's "Lin and Li Genealogy" that Li Zhi, a thinker in the Ming Dynasty, was originally surnamed Lin and named Zaizhi. His father and ancestors all believed in Islam, and he himself had Arab or Persian blood.The "Jiashan Beiwan Sun Family Genealogy" recently discovered in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, has important reference value for further clarifying the grandson's life experience, name and relationship with Sun Bin.In the past, the academic circles generally believed that the grandson's name was Wu, with the word Changqing, and the eighth grandson of Tian Wan.The genealogy of Sun Bin is also recorded as grandson and great-grandson, and his lineage is that Kai (grandson) begets Ming, Ming begets (氵kai), and (氵kai) begets Bin. The periods of activity were more than 140 years apart. In the past, some scholars suspected that there seemed to be a missing generation among the three generations, but there was no evidence. The discovery of this genealogy solved these doubts easily.In addition, in recent years, such as "Hong Family Genealogy", "Xin Family Genealogy", "Ziyang Zhu Family Jian'an Genealogy", "Yue Family Genealogy", "Yang Family Genealogy", "Song Family Genealogy", "Futian Wen Genealogy of the Clan", "Genealogy of the Zhao Family", "Genealogy of the Bao Family of Runzhou" and other genealogies have been discovered successively, allowing us to understand and study the history of Hong Xiuquan, Xin Qiji, Zhu Xi, Yue Fei, Yang Jiajiang, Song Yingxing, Wen Tianxiang, Zhao Kuangyin, Bao Zheng, etc. The early life of the characters and the deeds of their descendants provide a lot of valuable information.

Second, it has important historical value for the study of population history.The lineage in the family tree is the most basic part of the family tree. There are detailed records of the birth and death of the clan members, which are much more detailed and reliable than official records.Through the genealogy, we can know the population size, population structure, population increase and decrease speed and reasons, the social composition of the population, occupation, cultural status, marital status, life expectancy, etc. in each period of the family.For example, from the jade documents of the Qing Dynasty, we can count such a number. The emperors of the Qing Dynasty had a total of 103 princes (not including the emperor) and 82 princesses. However, their average life expectancy is 32 years old for the princes and 26 years old for the princes. years old, a large number died before the age of five.For example, Emperor Kangxi had a total of 35 princes and 20 princesses. There were 12 princes and 10 princes who died before the age of five; only 20 princes and 8 princes who lived to be over 18 years old.Most of the remaining princes and princesses died in middle age around 40 years old.The sanitation and living conditions of the royal family are much better than those of the common people, but there is still such a high death rate, especially the death rate of royal women is higher than that of men, and the average life expectancy is shorter than that of men. This phenomenon is worth studying.Such information cannot be obtained from other sources except genealogy.

Third, for the study of immigration, it provides first-hand information.Any genealogy must record the origin and migration of the family, where the family came from, the reasons for the migration, where they settled here, etc., must be clearly explained one by one.In addition, which branch of the family moved out after the family settled down, the reasons for the migration, the number, where they moved, the life of the immigrants, the relationship between the immigrants and the local aborigines, and the relationship between the relocation and the original house, etc. are all recorded.For example, by investigating the genealogy of the She nationality in Zhejiang, it can be learned that the She nationality compatriots living in Zhejiang today only migrated in after the early Ming Dynasty, and there was no She nationality in Zhejiang before the early Ming Dynasty.In recent years, there has been a wave of root-seeking among overseas Chinese and compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. Their ancestors left their hometowns for various reasons, settled down in foreign countries, married wives, had children, and reproduced. The roots are still in the mainland, and they want to know about their ancestors, and they return to their hometowns to recognize their ancestors whenever they have the opportunity. In 1988, during his visit to China, Philippine President Corazon Aquino made a special trip to recognize his ancestors in Hongjian Village, Longhai County, Fujian Province, the hometown of his great-grandfather Xu Yusong.With the increase in cross-strait exchanges, a large number of Taiwan compatriots have returned to the mainland to visit their relatives and seek their roots.Most of the early immigrants in Taiwan came from Shaanxi, Guangdong, and Fujian, especially Fujian.Someone studied the genealogical data of Fujian Province and learned that the earliest record of Fujian's emigration to Taiwan was the Su surname at the turn of the Song Dynasty.The ancient mainland’s immigration to Taiwan experienced three climaxes: the first was during the Tianqi period at the end of the Ming Dynasty, when more than 3,000 poor people from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou moved to Taiwan, and tens of thousands more during the Chongzhen period. This was an organized immigration.The second time was after Zheng Chenggong regained Taiwan and followed Zheng Chenggong.The third time was when the Qing government unified the Zheng regime in Taiwan during the Kangxi period, opened the sea ban, and the number of immigrants reached hundreds of thousands.From the relevant genealogy, we can know the number, composition, reasons of immigrants, their marital status, distribution characteristics and relationship with the mainland.For the unification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, it is a very important measure to use genealogy data to connect relatives.

Fourth, it provides the most basic information for the study of the clan system in the feudal era.The clan system is an important part of the feudal patriarchal relationship, the foundation of feudal rule, and an important content of Chinese traditional culture.The introduction and reflection of the feudal clan system in the genealogy is very comprehensive.The genealogy records the composition of the relevant clan, the organization, structure, and functions of the ancestral hall, the type, quantity, formation, mode of operation, and use of income of the ancestral hall.The family covenants, clan rules, family precepts, and family mottos in the genealogy use feudal ethics and morals to restrict the thoughts and concepts of the clan members.Ancestral temple regulations and family rites stipulate various sacrifices, wedding and funeral etiquette.Feudal theocracy, family authority, and husband authority are all clearly reflected in the genealogy. It is difficult for these materials to be so concentrated in other types of documents.

In addition, genealogical data also provide a large number of credible data for the research of local history, family structure and function, social structure, women's status, eugenics, folklore, economic history, scientific and technological history, religious history, and the history of Sino-foreign relations. is of great value.In fact, the ancients have paid great attention to the value of genealogy. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Pei Songzhi annotated "Three Kingdoms", Liu Xiaoannotated, Wei Shou wrote "Wei Shu", and Ouyang Xiu wrote "New Tang Shu" in Song Dynasty. Genealogical data were used.Zheng Qiao from the Song Dynasty, Zhang Xuecheng from the Qing Dynasty, and Yi Xiwu from the recent past also introduced and commented on the value of genealogy.

However, because genealogy is compiled by private individuals, some records are often flashy and exaggerated, especially in the aspects of ancestors' fame, official history, marriage, etc., and some contents are even pretentious and intentionally fabricated. We should pay attention to distinguishing these contents when using them. Do not follow blindly.However, the main parts of the genealogy, such as the lineage, clan regulations, family precepts, ancestral halls, population, art and literature in the fifth generation, are generally credible.In addition, when we use genealogical materials, we also need to pay attention to the revisions of the genealogy. Whether the materials used are copied from the original or newly added, and the materials of different eras should be used differently, which will also help to improve the value of the materials themselves.All in all, genealogy has high data value, but there are also some untrue contents. Therefore, when we use genealogy, we must pay attention to different treatment, eliminate the false and preserve the true.