Modern and contemporary can usually be divided into six parts.

1. Preface

The preface is similar to the preface of modern books. It can be written by a highly respected person in the clan or by an outsider. Mainly, the genealogy is viewed through the eyes of another person or persons. Normally, the new sequence comes first, and the old sequence is included and placed behind the new sequence.

2. Introduction

Not many people can fully understand their own family, so

You need to introduce your family first. You can provide The contents covered include: common genealogy engraving procedures, participants in the creation (revision) of this genealogy, time, and why it needs to be revised; what is the basis for this coding; the overall situation, history, migration history, current distribution, and number of people of the family; The sect and generation of the clan, that is, the naming rules of each generation are recorded; the location of the ancestral tombs and the distribution map of each generation in the ancestral tombs; and the examination and verification of ancestral affairs.

In short, this is not a specific person, but an overall description of the entire family.

3. Character History

In fact, a family tree itself is a record of characters, but usually, one or more outstanding typical characters or groups will be recorded in the family tree. When recording these outstanding figures, there are often various formats, including the person's biography, articles and manuscripts written by him, honors, official names, pictures, portraits, inscriptions, etc. What needs to be noted here is that historical celebrities with the same surname must not be forced into this family tree, even with small reminders. Because when future generations continue the genealogy, they often pass on lies because they believe it to be true this time.

4. Genealogy table

Genealogy is the most important item in the family tree. The simplest family tree sometimes only has one genealogy table.

A pedigree table records the relationship between each person in the family. In computer terms, this one-to-many structure is a "tree" structure, but in practice it is often more complicated. When a family is large and has many people. There will be phenomena of succession (through adoption, adoption, giving away), and migration in and out.

5. Genealogy table

Usually, a family tree with only a genealogy table is meaningless. In the face of some names that are not celebrities, except for these few words, What else can you know? A good way is to add a family history table, which is a table that records the resume of each clan member in the lineage table. This part can be combined with the genealogy table, or it can be listed separately. I think a single column is better, because combining the two into one often results in the lineage table being too fat and too large, making it very troublesome to find a member.

In many genealogies, the genealogy only records the father’s name, married wife, number of children, and number of names. Although this writing looks quite standard overall, it actually doesn’t make much sense, because the genealogy table itself can represents this information. I think it is not possible for everyone to have a complete resume in Shilue, but at least it should include: date of birth and death, main position, professional title, main place of life and work, personal work resume, main achievements, wife’s name, wife’s marriage The place of birth, the name of the wife’s father, the wife’s resume, the names of the children, the place where the daughter was married, and the name of the married person. In this way, not only can the wife's family tree be traced to the family through the family tree, but the family can also be traced to the daughter's family through their own family.

6. Postscript

Just write some thoughts in the postscript.

Extended information:

The clan system began to take shape:

It aims at respecting ancestors, respecting clans, and harmonious clans, and formulates clan rules based on the ethical principles of Neo-Confucianism. Law to restrain the clan members. "Respecting the ancestors" must recite genealogies, "respecting the ancestors" must build ancestral halls, and "mudging the clan" must provide relief to the clan members. There are naturally more family activities such as establishing genealogies and ancestral halls, setting up voluntary schools and voluntary villages, cultivating charity fields, and managing ancestral temple properties. The content of family trees has gradually changed from recording a single blood lineage to a more comprehensive record of the overall situation of the family, with more and more content and larger and larger lengths. However, compared with the genealogy of the Qing Dynasty, the content of the genealogy of the Ming Dynasty is still relatively simple. Generally, there are only genealogical prefaces, postscripts and genealogy diagrams (tables). After history entered the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, the number of genealogy compilations increased sharply, and the content continued to increase. As far as the overall situation is concerned, it roughly includes the following aspects:

A spectrum sequence. The preface is an indispensable part of every family tree, including prefaces written by the whole family or a few clan members, gift prefaces written by celebrities at the time, and postscripts, etc. The content of the preface and postscript mainly introduces the origin of the family lineage, the inheritance relationship, the reason and process of compiling the genealogy, and the personnel in charge. It is a direct entry point for familiarizing and studying a family tree, and is an important material for understanding the origin of the family lineage.

Two musical notation examples, musical notation and table of contents.

Genealogy examples, also known as general rules, mainly explain the principles and styles of genealogy compilation and the reasons for the arrangement of categories in the form of articles. The genealogy examples emphasize the purity of family bloodline, maintain the male-centered ethics, and follow the genealogy principle of "faith is used to convey information, doubts are used to convey doubts". Genealogical treatises generally excerpt important quotations from previous dynasties' masters

scientific names and Confucian treatises on genealogies. Some also directly publish the emperor's "Yu Min Bang" and "Yu Min Edict" in front of the genealogy to warn the clansmen. The table of contents, also called the general catalog, indicates the number of volumes of the spectrum and the main content of each volume. Examples and catalogs are an introductory guide to reading music, and you can only explore the secrets if you have the right path.

Three grace records. Also known as enronglu, praise, edict, edict, suoji, etc. It mainly records the gifts and praises given to family members by emperors of the past dynasties and government officials at the central and local levels, including edicts, orders, edicts, imperial inscriptions, sacrificial inscriptions, and plaques.

Four notes. Generally, family trees have ancestor portraits and biographies, and the portraits of prominent ancestors of the family are recorded in the genealogy, along with portraits and biographies. Most genealogies not only include portraits of ancestors, but also biographies, including biographies and deeds of people of the clan who are famous or have set examples of virtue, including chaste women and martyrs, and are accompanied by chronology, longevity prefaces, epitaphs, memorial inscriptions, narratives, inscriptions, etc.

Five clan rules and family training. This is a must-have content in every genealogy. To respect the clan and bring it together, it will not work without certain clan rules and laws. The content of clan rules and family mottos is very complex. In addition to the traditional patriarchal content, there are also such things as property inheritance, marriage disputes, prohibitions on theft and gambling, and mountain and forest closures.

Six codes. Including crown ceremony, hairpin ceremony, wedding ceremony, sacrificial ceremony, etc., some records are unified by etiquette, including ritual texts, funeral patterns, utensils and the production of sacrifices. Some genealogies also include the management regulations and deeds of ancestral temple regulations, ancestral property, free studies, and sacrificial fields in the system.

Seven tomb pictures and epitaphs. The tomb map shows the place name, orientation, and the junction of the four sites; the epitaph introduces the life of the tomb owner and the construction of the tomb. Hunan genealogy attaches great importance to tomb maps. Many genealogies list them in a separate volume, and some even have several or more than a dozen volumes.

Bapai language. Also known as generational poems, class poems, etc., there is no unified name. It records the ranking of clan members. Some genealogy lines or classes are as many as eighty or one hundred generations. Pai language plays a very small role in the genealogy, but it is extremely important. It is the basis for naming male members of a family. It directly reflects the vertical and successive relationships between members of different generations within the family, as well as the relationships between members of the same generation. Horizontal and parallel relationship.

Nine donations and receiving scores. The revision of genealogy is a matter shared by the clan, and everyone must donate money. This is the clan's recognition and responsibility for the revision of the genealogy. The name of the genealogy is the registration record issued to each house and clan after the genealogy is completed. Family trees are distributed according to house and district number, and cannot be obtained falsely. Some of the numbers are based on the "thousand-character script", some are based on the Eight Diagrams, some are based on the twelve zodiac signs, some are numbered based on the purpose of compiling the genealogy, and so on.

Ten lineage diagram. There are many Hunan genealogy pictures called hanging silk diagrams. As the name suggests, they represent the endless line of descendants, like the silk threads of a weeping willow. The pictures are actually tables, mostly in European style. Five generations are used as one picture, and the next five generations are completely different. The first ancestor is called the first generation or the first ancestor. This sequence is clear and testable. Some spectrums are divided into outer and inner centuries. In the outer century, it starts from the ancestor who received the surname to the ancestor who respected the genealogy (or the ancestor who moved first), while in the inner century, the ancestor (or the ancestor who moved first) was regarded as the ancestor of the first generation or the ancestor of a sect.

(11) Genealogy table. Hunan is often called Zhilu. According to the family's seniority and the order of elder and younger, each family has its name, business name, birth and death years, official rank, marriage, and children.

The content of genealogies from the Qing Dynasty and after the Qing Dynasty is generally as mentioned above, but it is not the same. There is no unified category setting requirement, but mutual reference. Therefore, the content of different genealogies may increase or decrease, and may differ or merge, but genealogy diagrams and genealogy tables are essential, otherwise it would not be a "genealogy".

Reference materials:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Genealogy