From January to August this year, 277 types and 2079 volumes of donated family genealogies were collected

From January to August this year, the Shanghai Library received donations of 277 types and 2079 volumes of family genealogy from readers. Almost every day, readers donated their genealogies through express delivery or on-site delivery. Even in the scorching summer of July, the Shanghai Library still receives donations of 317 volumes of 23 family genealogies; By the end of August, 58 types of 420 volumes of family genealogy have been continuously collected

The list of family genealogies donated by the Shanghai Library this year showcases an unprecedented prosperity in the era of genealogy revision. The librarians in the genealogy reading room of the Shanghai Library warmly welcome and patiently guide readers who come to search for genealogies, roots, and hope to continue their studies; Donating genealogy, issuing donation certificates in a timely manner, keeping records and cataloging, and contributing to the inheritance of excellent traditional Chinese culture with readers.

The reporter learned that the donated family tree 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 newly 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., which can be said to be spread throughout the country. There are also as many as 128 volumes of the "General Genealogy of the Shu Clan in China", which includes a national joint genealogy of 20 provinces and cities, demonstrating the continuity and cohesion of traditional Chinese culture in contemporary times.

Among these newly donated genealogies, there are many family rules and teachings. Some reverently record ancient sayings, inherit traditions, for selection. The "Hu Family Genealogy in the Village" is the genealogy of Hu Dunfu, Hu Mingfu, and Hu Gangfu, the "Three Heroes of the Hu Family" in modern mathematics and physics. The genealogy records the family rules and teachings of the family, warning the descendants of the clan to "first have ambition, second have knowledge, and third have perseverance", "emphasize education and education, be knowledgeable and practical", and "family failure cannot be separated from luxury, and failure cannot be separated from laziness".

The collection and retrieval of family genealogies is a beneficial service provided by the Shanghai Library for many descendants of families to search for their ancestors. As early as December 1996, when the new Huaihai Road Library of the Shanghai Library opened, it opened a genealogy reading room, which provided 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 in the industry.

The East Branch of Shanghai Library, which officially opened in September 2022, has set up a genealogy center on the 4th floor. This is one of the few characteristic themed museums supported by family genealogy collections in China and even around the world, with a significant advantage in both quantity and quality of family genealogy collection resources nationwide.

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.

Text: Cao Zhiguang

*Reprinted from Pudong Release