How do I start a Chinese genealogy?

Agree the conventions with relatives, then record your own branch generation by generation from old genealogies, gravestones and oral accounts.

Can daughters be included in a Chinese genealogy?

Yes — many modern genealogies include daughters and their children; the conventions section states the rule.

How to make a Chinese family genealogy

A Chinese genealogy (jiapu or zupu) records a lineage's generations, people and history. Traditionally compiled by clan elders every few decades, today a family can start online with its own branch and merge with relatives later.

Steps

A genealogy usually comes together like this:

Form a small committee, with someone responsible for each branch.
Agree the conventions: the founding ancestor, who is included (daughters, adoptions, in-marrying husbands), script, generation numbering, and how much to record about living people.
Collect sources: old genealogies, gravestones, hall inscriptions, photos and oral accounts; give each household a form.
Build the lineage chart generation by generation, checking order among siblings and marking adoptions and dual heirship.
Write biographies and collect prefaces, family instructions and other writings.
Have each branch proofread its part, then typeset and print or publish digitally.

What a genealogy contains

Typical sections: prefaces, conventions, surname origins, migration records, the generation poem, family instructions, ancestral halls and graves, lineage charts and tables, biographies, literary works, and lists of compilers and donors.

Building it online

KinTraces lets relatives join, claim their own entries and edit their own line; every change is logged and can require approval; the genealogy can be printed in traditional Chinese layouts or Western Register / Pedigree formats and exported as GEDCOM or Excel.

Build your family genealogy online

A family or clan association maintains its own genealogy online. Invite relatives, let each claim "me", keep your own branch up to date, and preview or download the book at any time.

Find my roots Start a genealogy

Frequently asked questions

How do I start a Chinese genealogy?: Agree the conventions with relatives, then record your own branch generation by generation from old genealogies, gravestones and oral accounts.
Can daughters be included in a Chinese genealogy?: Yes — many modern genealogies include daughters and their children; the conventions section states the rule.