Jia Pu, a memory of time

Who am I? Where did I come from? Where should I go? These self-conscious questions are eternal philosophical issues that exist in everyone’s heart—and the Jia Pu will answer all of them for you.

In the history of the Chinese people, there are three important elements that are significant: China’s history, the local gazette and a clan’s Jia Pu. Amongst these three elements, the Jia Pu has the longest history and is the most influential.

“Jia Pu,” also known as “Zu Pu” in China, meaning “family tree” or “genealogy,” is the study of clans and the tracing of their lineage and history. A classical Jia Pu contains entries about the migrations of the people and social evolution. It tracks the growth of the clan members by recording in detail their political, military and academic achievements. It also eulogizes the clan’s ancestors and encourages future generations to pursue worthy causes to maintain the good name of the clan.

What was the first Jia Pu like? Which dynasty was it written in? Was it an official document or a private one? Due to lack of records, historians have not yet found the answer to these questions.

But from research into characters and historical literature from unearthed inscriptions on oracle bones or tortoise shells, bronze objects and stone tablets, we do know that, before the invention of writing, Chinese genealogical information was recorded by tying knots on ropes. Objects such as miniature arrows, shoes, cradles, bronze coins, and kneecaps of goats and pigs were tied to the knots to show the number of generations and number of members (male and female) in a family. This information was also verbally passed on to later generations. Such were the earliest forms of Chinese genealogical records.

Confucius family tree is regarded as the world's longest Jia Pu, recording more than 80 generations of the Confucius family.

The oldest written Jia Pu in existence, Ni’s Family Tree, dates back to as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, which is now in the British Museum. Before the Qin Dynasty, there were already several genealogical manuscripts spread widely throughout the country, such as Zhou Guan and Shi Ben. During the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, keeping a Jia Pu became increasingly popular because, during this period, an honorable ancestry became a more and more important consideration regarding one’s marriage and official career, and the Jia Pu became a main evidence. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the custom of compiling Jia Pu’s spread to every clan, and the update of each generation would be considered a major event among people of the same surname.

A royal Zu Pu compiled in 1724.

A Jia Pu usually begins with the primogenitor who first settled or moved to a place and started his family there, and ends with the current generation tracing the genealogy. The intermediate ancestors are to be enumerated in between. The primogenitor’s sons and descendents compose the first six generations, and are tabulated on one form. The primogenitor’s first-born son and subsequent first-born grandsons are listed vertically downward on the right, while the brothers of the first-born are listed laterally on the left. Descriptions of each generation are confined in relatively narrow, horizontal divisions of the form. These spaces contain information such as the ancestor’s name and aliases, date of birth and death, and official rank. The proceeding generations are recorded in a similar manner.