Genealogies from all over the country flock to Shanghai! Chinese genealogy showcases the continuity and cohesion of traditional Chinese culture
The reporter learned from the Shanghai Library that from January to August this year, the library has received donations of 277 types and 2079 volumes of genealogies from readers. Almost every day, readers donate genealogies through express delivery or on-site delivery, showcasing the flourishing era of genealogy revision.
In the scorching summer of July, the above picture shows 317 copies of 23 donated family genealogies. By the end of August, an additional 58 types and 420 copies of family genealogies have been collected. The staff of the genealogy reading room warmly welcome readers who come to search for genealogies, roots, and hope to continue their studies, providing patient guidance; Promptly issue donation certificates to genealogical donors, keep them on file for cataloging, and contribute to the inheritance of excellent Chinese culture with readers.
The family tree donated in this year's chart covers more than 100 different surnames, including big surnames such as Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu, Chen, as well as rare surnames such as Si, Ban, Bian, Yun, Qin, Gong, Gai, etc. Among them, the recently donated "Pengshui Chunshi Genealogy" in July is the first Chunshi genealogy collected by the Shanghai Library, filling the gap in the collection. These genealogies are not limited to Shanghai, but mostly come from more than 20 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions including Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Gansu, etc. Among them, there are also national genealogies such as the "General Genealogy of the Shu Clan in China", which have as many as 128 volumes and cover 20 provinces and cities, demonstrating the continuity and cohesion of traditional Chinese culture in contemporary times.
The newly donated "Chinese Shu Family Genealogy" image provided
These newly donated genealogies contain family rules and teachings to inspire future generations. Some reverently record ancient sayings, inherit traditions, for selection. The "Village Front Hu Family Genealogy" is a genealogy of the "Hu Family Three Heroes" in the modern mathematical field, including Hu Dunfu, Hu Mingfu, and Hu Gangfu. The genealogy records the family's rules and teachings, warning the descendants of the clan that "the first must have ambition, the second must have knowledge, and the third must have perseverance", "emphasis on education and education, and understanding and application", "family failure cannot be separated from luxury, and failure cannot be separated from laziness". Some of them bring forth new ideas and keep pace with the times, such as the "Jiangshi Genealogy in Qingkou, Ganyu", which drew on the socialist concept of honor and disgrace and wrote "Jiangshi Eight Honors and Eight Shames": above all, filial piety is a source of honor, while inhumane and unfilial piety is a source of shame; Take pride in brotherhood and respect, and shame in abandoning righteousness in the face of profit; Take pride in family harmony and shame in the division of neighbors; Take pride in remembering bitterness and sweetness, and shame in admiring vanity; Take pride in self-improvement and self-reliance, and shame on not striving for progress; Take pride in being knowledgeable and rational, and shame in relying on talent and arrogance; Take pride in diligence and simplicity, and shame on extravagance and waste; Take pride in valuing education and shame on ignorance and backwardness. The family tree reflects the combination of excellent traditional Chinese culture and contemporary Chinese values.
The collection and retrieval of family genealogies is a traditional practice of the Shanghai Library to search for ancestors for many descendants of families. As early as December 1996, when the new Huaihai Road Library of the Shanghai Library opened, it opened a genealogy reading room, providing 12000 kinds and 100000 copies of genealogy to Chinese people at home and abroad. It became the first open genealogy reading room in Chinese Mainland, and tens of thousands of people came to seek their roots and ask their ancestors. "Looking up a family tree and going to the picture above" has become a catchphrase for industry experts and readers.
In January 2016, Shanghai Library launched the "genealogical knowledge service platform" for the first time. Since then, "searching for the root of one's surname" is no longer limited to the physical space of the library, but can be carried out through the convenient Internet. In May 2019, the "Genealogy Knowledge Service Platform" launched a new feature. In addition to further increasing the amount of data and adding a family rules and family training search based on genealogy content, the most important thing is to accept online donations, online identification, and online revision of genealogies, which is equivalent to crowdsourcing the work previously limited to experts and scholars to a wider range of enthusiasts and ordinary people. The East Pavilion opened last year has a family tree themed museum.
At present, the total number of family genealogies in the collection of the Shanghai Library has increased to 40000, about 400000 volumes, involving 524 surnames. Among them, there are 26000 ancient book family genealogies compiled before 1949, making it the institution with the most original family genealogy collections both domestically and internationally, and enjoying the reputation of being a "half hearted country" in Chinese family genealogy.
