Chapter 19 Section IX Revision

Because genealogy can prove a person's identity and plays an important role in social politics, economy, culture and interpersonal communication, all dynasties have paid more attention to the compilation of genealogy.Before the Tang Dynasty, the political role of genealogy was relatively obvious, and the selection of officials, marriage, and interpersonal communication were all inseparable from it.In order to ensure the authority of the family tree, the family tree is often compiled by the government, and the government sets up a special agency "Genealogy Bureau" to keep it for inspection when necessary.After the Song Dynasty, the political role of genealogy weakened, but the role of recording family history, purifying family lineage, uniting and restraining family members, educating the descendants of the family and improving the prestige and status of the family in social life increased.Except for the emperor's genealogical records, which were compiled and collected by the government, the genealogies after the Song Dynasty were all compiled by private individuals, and the government no longer intervened, nor was it responsible for collecting and keeping them.It was not until the Qing Dynasty that the government made some regulations on the writing and format of genealogy.In the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu genealogy still had some political functions, and bannermen were required to produce officially recognized genealogies as proof when they came to rank or become officials.The difference from the Tang Dynasty is that the family tree of the Bannerman was compiled by the family itself and kept by itself, and it only needs to be sent to the government for inspection when needed.

The genealogies compiled before the Song Dynasty are basically lost due to their long history, and there is no way to investigate their compilation. We can only learn a little bit from the records of the predecessors.Most of the ancient genealogies that have been passed down to the present were compiled in the Ming and Qing dynasties, from which we can have a general understanding of the compilation of genealogies in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, although the compilation of genealogy was a private matter, since the family was the foundation of social rule, a stable family would lead to social stability.Therefore, the government mostly adopts an attitude of support and encouragement for building family temples, repairing family trees and other things that strengthen family unity.The compilation of jade documents in the past dynasties also played the role of indirect advocacy.When Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was in power, he edited the family tree for his family.The Qing Dynasty, which had no habit of editing genealogy before, proposed to edit the family tree for its Aixinjueluo family only 12 years after entering the customs, that is, the twelfth year of Shunzhi (AD 1655).In the genealogy and related documents of the Ming and Qing dynasties, there are frequent records of government authorities encouraging the compilation of genealogy.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was no unified regulation on the time limit for compiling genealogy, and it was basically in a spontaneous state.But regardless of the length of time, it must be continued within a certain period of time to ensure a complete record of the continuation of the family blood.For example, in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor stipulated that it should be renewed every ten years.Other private genealogies are generally renewed every 30 years; some have a minor revision every 15 years and a major revision every 30 years; there are also some families that stipulate that the branch family tree is revised every five years, and the public tree of the joint family is revised every ten years.The genealogy of the Zhang family in the south of Wujin City has the longest interval between genealogy revisions. It is stipulated that the genealogy should be revised once in three generations, usually every 30 years, that is, it should be renewed once every 90 years.The genealogy of Confucius is a minor revision every 30 years and a major revision every 60 years, and the Xu clan in Huizhou also undergoes a major revision every 60 years.In short, no matter how many years you practice, you should practice it when the time comes. If you don’t practice it when the time comes, your children and grandchildren will be regarded as unfilial.Of course, it is understandable if the revision cannot be continued as scheduled due to special reasons such as wars and natural disasters, but it should be explained in the preface of the newly revised genealogy when it is rebuilt.

The compilation of genealogy is usually presided over by retired officials with literary names or the highest positions in the family, or by the patriarch, and very few people outside the clan are hired to preside over it. Wang Anshi once compiled "Xu's Genealogy", Wen Tianxiang also He once compiled a family tree for the Yan family. The "Wuling Jiang Family Genealogy" compiled in the late 1940s employed Wu Zhihui, a veteran of the Kuomintang, as the editor's president.When editing the genealogy, it is generally necessary to set up a temporary organization, arrange the manpower related to all aspects of the genealogy, and then publish the list to the whole family, including those who have moved to other places, requesting that various recent materials be reported and summarized as soon as possible. Some are also summarized on the basis of each house spectrum.Part of the funds for compiling the genealogy comes from the public property of the ancestral hall, and part is donated by family members. There is a minimum amount of donations, which can be money or food. Those who disobey and refuse to pay will be strictly punished according to family regulations, and even be not allowed to register. After entering the genealogy, or after the family tree is completed, they are not allowed to receive the genealogy, that is to say, they will be punished by expulsion from the family.Therefore, when the genealogy is compiled, no matter how poor the tribe is, it will be paid on time.After the genealogy is completed, celebrities are invited to write a preface to promote the virtues of the ancestors.During the period when the literary inquisition was prevalent in the Qing Dynasty, most of them had to be sent to the government for review before engraving, in order to prevent uncontrollable consequences caused by violations of the written language.The completion of the engraving of the family tree is a major event for the whole family. Usually, a family tree sacrifice ceremony is held, wine is placed in the ancestral hall to celebrate, and sometimes an opera troupe is invited to sing for a few days.Then, put a copy of the family tree in the ancestral hall, and distribute the rest to the clan members according to the number for preservation, and keep records for regular inspection. If there is any damage, they will be reprimanded. If the name is removed, the official will be punished if it is serious.In modern times, some families donated one or several copies to relevant libraries for preservation after their genealogy was completed.If it is a branch of some big families, a copy of the repaired family tree must be sent to the big family for record and preservation. For example, after the family tree of Kong surnames in various places is completed, a copy must be sent to the Confucius Mansion in Qufu for future use. Income when editing scores. Thirty years later, this process is repeated again, and the content is not exactly the same each time. In order to distinguish them, most of the existing genealogies are marked with the words "continued revision" and "several revisions".According to the author's browsing, there are more than 20 revisions of ordinary genealogies at most, and as many as 28 revisions of the "Yujian" family tree of the Qing emperors.

The source of data for genealogy compilation is usually daily accumulation. Generally, in the first month of each year, family members will gather in the ancestral hall to record the population changes of each family last year on the genealogy. Due to the old regulations, when a child enters a school at the age of five, he is given a name by his father, ancestor, and teacher. Therefore, at this time, he can only have a nickname.If there is a married person, he must register under his name to be married in a certain place, a certain person's daughter, name, and date of birth. For a married woman, indicate where and who married. Number, burial place, etc., this program is called "Shangpu".The above notation is used as the base notation for revision in the future. Because it is written in ink, it is usually also called "ink notation".In some places, it is not necessary to upload the genealogy once a year. Some families stipulate that newborns are born within three days and those who die within half a year. The family members who have moved to other places have to report their relocation and population changes to the ancestral hall once a year. , even the royal family.Members of the royal family in the Qing Dynasty had to submit a booklet of population changes to the clan mansion in charge of royal affairs before the tenth day of the first lunar month. Once every three months, four times a year.During the Jiaqing period, a group of members of the royal family moved back to Shengjing (now Shenyang, Liaoning), the birthplace of the Manchus. They stipulated that they had to report the population changes to the Beijing Clan Mansion every ten years.There are also some books that are not recorded, but are usually kept by the patriarch for statistics. For example, in some Manchu areas in Northeast China, Mukunda (patriarch) must prepare three books when offering sacrifices every year. One book records the dead, and one records the dead. For the newly born person, the other records the surname and banner of the newly married woman in the clan for use when compiling the genealogy.

In addition to the daily accumulation, the source of the data is: the genealogy data compiled by each branch clan. The time for compiling the genealogy of the branch clan is generally shorter than that of the combined clan. .In addition, various ancestral hall contracts, documents, documents, etc. can also be used. Biographical materials can be copied from various historical books, local chronicles, inscriptions, etc., and ancestral materials and previous lineages can be used directly. That's fine. In the compilation of genealogy, there are usually some specific regulations on the income and use of materials, mainly in the collection of family members.We know that in the compilation of genealogy in the feudal era, the most important thing was blood lineage. Characters, for example: family members have no descendants, if they adopt the son of their own brother, or the son of a close blood in the family, they can be included in the spectrum, but it must be clearly indicated by whom.If you adopt a person with a different surname as a child, you are not allowed to enter the genealogy. Although the illegitimate child is related by blood, it is a matter of immorality and cannot be included in the official genealogy. For those who died under age, the specific genealogical regulations are different.According to the code of etiquette in the feudal era "Rituals and Mourning Clothes", those who died at the age of 16-19 were called Changshang, those who died at the age of 12-15 were called Zhongshang, and those who died at the age of 8-11 were called Xiashang. Those under the age of 8 are called Wufuzhishang.Generally speaking, those below Xiashang are not included in the score, and those above Zhongshang can be bet on their father's name.Wives and step-wives can be included in the genus, but concubines must have children to be included in the genus.Those who marry into the family should change their original surnames, men with different surnames will be cut off, and those with different surnames will not be written. The son's name will be marked with the word "Yang".

Another feature of genealogy compilation is to hide evil and promote good. If there are any famous people in the family history, what kind of praise they received, or there are strange talents and strange deeds, those who win the honor of the family must be capitalized and close-up.Women originally had no place in the family tree, but if they were honored by the government and set up a memorial archway, they would be regarded as the honor of the whole family.However, it is inevitable that there will be unworthy descendants in a family. If you write it directly, it will insult the family reputation. Generally, the method of removing the name is adopted, commonly known as "out of the family" or "out of the spectrum".This method of delisting has a long history. In Ban Gu's "Hanshu·Jingdi Benji", it is clearly recorded that Wu Wang Liu Bi [bibi] and others are rebellious, and their affiliation will not be polluted.Emperor Liang Wu of the Southern Dynasty had no choice but to expel his eldest son Xiao Zong because he joined the enemy at the front. "New Tang Book Prime Minister's Genealogy Table" records at the end: "Hou Xiyi died of his lineage, Li Fuguo was a middle-ranking official, Pu Gu Huai'en was also a traitor, Zhu Xi [ci ci], Wang Jian, and Zhu Quanzhong were all cut down and not recorded." What is the specific content? Each family has its own rules. Among them, the "Fang He Genealogy" compiled by He Chengshi and others in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty has the most detailed regulations. There are nine types of people whose names are not published. , Monk, Taoism, righteous men, adultery, robbery, transgression, crimes against ancestral tombs, robbery and sale of cemeteries, marriage regardless of good or low; there are six other things that belong to the outrageous, as long as one of them is involved, one's reputation will be degraded. into the spectrum.First, abandoning ancestors: Anyone who is disobedient and unfilial, violent and rampant, beats brothers to disable, beats clansmen to death, sons born to prostitutes, etc., are all abandoned ancestors and are not allowed to enter the spectrum; second, rebellion against the party: despise the law , Participating in rebellion, treasonous, and those who deceive the king, the country, abuse the people, and cheat for officials, and those who implicate the clan are all rebels, and they are also not allowed to enter the spectrum.Third, criminal punishment: Those who violated the law and were punished, or those who hanged people to death without reason and wanted to deny their escape were all criminal punishments and could not be included in the list.Fourth, corruption: incest, intermarriage with the same surname, etc. cannot be included in the spectrum.Fifth, betrayal of righteousness: among them, those who marry prostitutes, you, clerks, and soldiers, those who lose their genealogy, and those who refuse to pay for the revision of the genealogy are all violators of righteousness and will not be included in the genealogy.Sixth, miscellaneous lowliness: those who are slaves to others, or those who engage in professions such as prostitution, prostitution, slavery, and soldiers, are all self-willed and lowly, and are not included in the spectrum.

In the compilation of genealogy in the feudal era, in order to enhance the status and prestige of the family, when tracing the ancestors, it must be traced back to a celebrity or emperor before giving up, even if it is a false attachment.If we only look at history from genealogy, we may come to such an interesting conclusion that the bad guys in history have neither grandparents nor descendants.This bad habit of raising one's self-worth and showing off one's ancestors has existed since the Han Dynasty.Most of the genealogies compiled in the Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties, and even the Ming and Qing Dynasties are like this. Those surnamed Xiao must be descendants of Xiao He, and those surnamed Fan must be descendants of Fan Zhongyan.At the same time, when narrating the family origin, most of them are close to the most famous birthplace of their surnames. The prefecture of the Xu surname must be Donghai, the Wang surname must be Langya, the Li surname must be Longxi, the Liu surname must be called Pengcheng, and the Zhou surname must be both. Runan and so on.As for how it was passed down, it is unclear, as if otherwise, it would not be possible to settle down in society.Even some famous people cannot get rid of this custom.After Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the world, he wanted to build a family tree for himself, but he was born poor and had no prominent family background, so he wanted to pretend to be a famous ancestor to raise his status. The most famous person with the surname Zhu in history was a Dali scholar in the Southern Song Dynasty Zhu Xi.Haven't made up my mind yet.One day, seeing a small official surnamed Zhu, Zhu Yuanzhang asked him if your ancestor was Zhu Wengong of the Southern Song Dynasty, and he replied no.It was only then that Zhu Yuanzhang realized that if a small official refused to pretend to be a famous person as his ancestor, why should I, as the king of a country, give up the idea.In addition, some presumptuous words that do not match the identity are often used in the writing of genealogy. These words were originally used by emperors. For example, the first move of the ancestors is called Kaiji; It was called Zhongxing again, and the tomb was called dragon shape, phoenix shape, etc. As a result, in addition to satisfying vanity for a while, it may cause some unnecessary troubles.As for those who have not been an official in the writing, it is even more common to call them an official, and a small title is called a big title. Women have no rank and are called Shuren, Ruren, etc., etc.These behaviors have brought great harm to the seriousness of the genealogy and affected the historical value of the genealogy.

Before the Tang Dynasty, the political role of genealogy was stronger, and the north was the center of China's politics, economy, and culture.After the Song Dynasty, the compilation of genealogy was a personal matter, and the government no longer interfered. The compilation of genealogy must be based on a certain level of economy and culture. The economy and culture in the south are relatively developed, and the people have a strong sense of history. more than the North.Generally speaking, there are more inland than frontier, and more Han people than minorities. In terms of the style of genealogy compilation, the genealogy of the previous generation focuses on lineage, while the genealogy of the descendant focuses on characters and deeds. Therefore, the continued genealogy usually has a lot more content and space than the previous genealogy.Although the genealogy of the descendants is not as intuitive as the previous generations, it has more preserved materials and relatively higher value.

In the 1990s, some new features appeared in the compilation of genealogy in mainland China, the most typical of which was the involvement of enterprises.According to the "Guangming Daily" report, Xingyang City, Henan Province established the "Zheng Family Celebrity Garden Construction Committee" and "Zheng Yuan Industrial Co., Ltd.", and jointly printed several issues of "Xingyang and the Zheng Family", which were distributed to various places for the study of the history of the Zheng clan. Collect data, provide information and research results.In addition, "Yan Jinxiu Zongyuan Co., Ltd." was established in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, which published "Genealogy of Chinese Surnames", reformed and innovated the content and format of the old genealogy, and strived to introduce the company's research results and new pattern of genealogy to the society In order to promote the healthy development of folk genealogy, it provides guidance and consulting services for the compilation of genealogy to the society in the form of enterprises.

In recent decades, in Chinese societies in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and the West, seeking roots, recognizing clans, organizing clan associations, and renewing family trees have become a trend, and there are signs of continuous expansion and deepening, especially in Taiwan. most active.Originally, the number of genealogies in Taiwan was relatively small. Over the past 20 or 30 years, Taiwan has set off new and continued genealogy activities, and the study of genealogy is also very in-depth. Even the teachers of some general history courses in universities have assigned students to write their own genealogies. family tree as homework. In 1981, Taiwan's "United Daily News" Cultural Foundation established the National Studies Archives, which collected a large number of genealogy materials from Hong Kong and other places and abroad, and copied the Chinese genealogy film collected by the Utah Genealogical Society in the United States for public use, which further stimulated Taiwan. The ethos of new genealogy.Therefore, in just 30 years, Taiwan's genealogy has reached a considerable number. According to the "Taiwan Area Genealogy Catalog", there are about 10,600 types of genealogy materials of various types, and there is still a growing momentum.