Ying Dai

People’s keen interest in exploring their family trees, as evidenced by the popularity of websites like Ancestry.com, is not just a modern Western phenomenon but also has deep historical roots in China. Unlike Western genealogies that track lineage through both paternal and maternal lines starting from the individual upwards (see “What a big family you have, Grandma!), Chinese genealogies typically begin with a common ancestor and document all descendants downwards. This key difference reflects the distinct roles of genealogies in each culture. In the West, genealogical research is often driven by personal curiosity, whereas in China, it has significant socioeconomic functions, deeply intertwined with the transformation of the country. 

Illustration of western and Chinese genealogies. Drawn by author.

From imperial roots to modern revival 

Chinese genealogical records, originally reserved for royal and noble families, gained broader societal importance during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1636–1912) dynasties. During this era, lineages were crucial for collaboration in business and the organisation of villages. The lineages owned collective properties, established business networks, and supported education and poor relief. The practice of documenting lineage membership based on common descent was crucial here, leading to widespread compilation and updates of genealogies across wider society. 

A Chinese family sit around a small cooking stove eating by the side of the road. Coloured lithograph after W. Alexander. Wellcome Collection.

In the first seven decades of the 20th century, these genealogies were criticized as part of a patriarchal ‘old culture’ that was believed to have resulted in China’s ‘backwardness’. Between the 1950s and the 1970s, with the dominance of class and collectivism in social organisation, the lineage lost many of its traditional socio-economic roles. As a result, the practice of compiling and maintaining genealogies significantly diminished. 

In the 1980s, China saw a revival in the practice of compiling genealogies. The reintroduction of market institutions reemphasized the importance of blood and marital ties, both within the country and between domestic and overseas Chinese. Economic progress enabled more families to afford the compilation, maintenance, or updating of their genealogical records. This revival reflects a renewed appreciation for China’s traditional values. 

Both photos depict contemporary genealogies. The photo on the left features genealogies bound in traditional covers, whereas the one on the right displays genealogies in modern book formats. Photographed by the author at Zhejiang Library.

Tradition partially transformed 

The revival of genealogy compilation is not a return to tradition. Two main trends characterize this new generation of Chinese genealogies:

1. Occupational information is documented more comprehensively. Traditionally, only notable individuals had their occupations recorded, but now, some of the new genealogies captured the occupational information of ordinary workers like peasants, petty businessmen, and factory workers. The comprehensive recording of occupations in the new genealogies sometimes serves merely to keep a fuller record of lineage members. However, it often reflects a deliberate intent to change traditional practices that highlighted only distinguished individuals. A notable example is the genealogy of the Yang Lineage in Jiangsu, in which “lineage members are all equally included with their biographies so as to change the old norm of making biographies for the [distinct] minority”. 
2. Women’s information is recorded much more comprehensively. Traditional genealogies typically traced only male descendants, answering the question ‘Who is my father’s father’s father’s … father?’ However, a small proportion of the new genealogies now track female descendants and their offspring for one to three generations, allowing some individuals to know ‘Who is my mother’s … mother?’ Furthermore, female lineage members were now given individual entries, instead of being listed under their fathers’ or husbands’ names, and the contents of women’s entries also begun to align with those of men’s. 

Registration form of the Qian Lineage for genealogy compilation. Provided by Xiaoqin Qian.

The new trends reflect modern values of occupational and gender equality. However, the transformation of traditional genealogies is only partial. For instance, only about two per cent of the new genealogies I reviewed have comprehensive occupational records. It is also notable that the documentation of women’s information remains less comprehensive compared to men, and female descendants’ offspring are tracked for fewer generations.

Understanding social transformation through genealogies 

Despite the partial nature of the transformation, comparisons of the occupational and educational data from the genealogies and censuses for the Yangtze Valley, where more than 40 percent of the national population resided, suggest that genealogies could broadly represent the wider population. The new generation of genealogies allows us to understand the social structural transformations of China in the 20th century, which witnessed devastating wars, radical political revolutions, and, recently, very rapid economic development that lifted hundreds of millions from dire poverty. 

The Yangtze Valley and the distribution of individuals with occupational records from genealogies the author collected. Drawn by author.

In 1982, 74 percent of China’s labour force was employed in agriculture. By 2020, this figure had dropped to 21 percent, with the majority shifting to manufacturing and services. This is the fastest economic and social structural transformation ever identified in world history.

Genealogical data from the Yangtze Valley highlights several key aspects of this shift.

• Occupational change over a lifetime: For those born before the 1940s, agriculture was the destination of most people who changed their occupations. But for those born after the 1940s, it became more common for peasants to move into non-agricultural occupations. 
• Dual occupations: A large number of peasants participated in non-agricultural production, playing significant roles in industries such as construction and the production of building materials and woodwork. 
• Household labour division: Alongside the more traditional arrangement where the husband works outside the home while the wife manages agricultural production, it has become increasingly common for both partners to leave their home to work in non-agricultural sectors while the elderly remain behind to farm and look after the children. 
• Intergenerational occupational mobility: The linked genealogical data of the Qian lineage from Lower Yangtze suggest that out of the 448 male peasants born in the 1940s, only 32 (seven percent) of their 499 male descendants continued to work in agriculture, while 467 (93 percent) shifted to non-agricultural sectors. 

The illustration shows occupational mobility between generations, occupational changes over the life time (separated by ‘->’), dual occupations (separated by ‘&’), and gender difference. Drawn by the author based on the genealogy of the Li Lineage in Yunnan province.

Chinese genealogies also contain individual biographies detailing the working experiences of a broad social spectrum. The quantitative and qualitative evidence in these genealogies can finally allow us to understand the working lives of 20th-century China from the perspectives of both macro structures and micro experiences. 

Further reading

Y. Dai, ‘Lineage genealogies as a new source for researching the occupational structure of twentieth-century China: Tradition (partially) transformed’, Historical Methods, XXX.