Chinese Genealogy 101
The Experts' Guide to
Kickstart Your Ancestral Research
MyChinaRoots.com
Getting Started: Names & Places
In the Western world, identity-related documentation has usually
been maintained by central, church, or state authorities.
In China, families and clans kept all the
documentation. So rather than heading to
any central archives, the first step in tracing
your Chinese family history is finding
• Your ancestors’ names in Chinese
• The name of their hometown in Chinese
This guide will show you where to find this
info so that you can start unlocking your
family history!
Step 1: Get organized
Before you start...
Make sure you have a
place to store and save
all your family's info.
Where possible, keep
paper and digital copies
of photos and other
important files.
If you don't have a family
tree yet, head over to our
Family Tree Builder to
start organizing what you
know!
Step 2: Speak to Family
Find your storytellers: In most cases, the eldest member of your family will know
the most about your family history. However, sometimes a younger generation,
like a history-crazed cousin, may well know the info you need.
Come prepared: Having some background knowledge will help you separate fact
from opinion and may even help jog your relative’s memory. Sometimes starting
off with a certain theme or issue helps get the conversation going. This could be
stories about other relatives, what life was like back in their ancestral village or
anything that has meaning to your family.
Set the mood: The setting of the interview is as important as a good, comfortable
environment is more likely to get the memories flowing. A relative will probably
feel more comfortable in their own home and always make sure you are attentive
to their needs. Be sure there are no distractions and that they don’t mind being
recorded.
Some common natural contexts are family dinners, picnics, reunions, and holidays.
These are the times when families are likely to share stories, whether or not you
are there with your tape recorder.
"What if I live
far from
my relatives or
struggle to
communicate
with them in
Chinese?"
You can always hire our bilingual roots translators to help you
connect with your distant family!
We'll join a video call or travel to your Chinese relatives' house to
set up an interview. Get in touch for more info.
Step 3: Look for Clues
— Graves & Tablets —
If your ancestors are buried in a
Chinese cemetery, or there are
Chinese characters on their
tombstone, it is likely that the
tombstone includes:
• Their full name in Chinese
• Their ancestral hometown in
Chinese
Tablets are designated “seats” for Don’t have access to the grave?
deities and ancestors. They also Try contacting the cemetery or
list names and ancestral places. local Chinese association to
check their records, as well as
Tablets can be found on your
• FindAGrave.com
family’s altar or in a local Chinese • Billiongraves.com
Association Temple that your • The Chinese Jamaican
ancestors were members of. Cemetery Project
Step 3: Look for Clues
— IDs & Passports —
The various forms of ID — passports, ID cards and
Overseas Chinese Cards — carried by your
ancestors can all carry clues as to who they were and
their history. Perhaps your family has kept a copy
somewhere at home or in the attic…
Such records typically list:
• Their full name in
Chinese and English
• Their ancestral place
in Chinese
• Their appearance
• Their occupation
• Their age
• Details on their arrival
abroad
"I know my
ancestor's
Chinese
name
already.
What's the
fastest way
to find my
lineage?"
Head over to MyChinaRoots AncestorSearch to check if their name is
in any of our digitized family tree records. Supports searches in
Chinese characters only.
Step 3: Look for Clues
— Immigration & Travel —
Check the following resources
to find documentation of your
ancestor’s journey from China!
• Ancestry.com for passenger
lists, census records and
other travel documents
• If your ancestor migrated to the United States,
search the National Archives (NARA) Catalog for
immigration files including interviews,
photographs, and naturalization files
• If your ancestor migrated to Canada, search for
their name in the Head Tax Database
• If your ancestor migrated to Australia, visit the
National Archives of Australia for immigration and
naturalization records.
Step 3: Look for Clues
— Letters & Remittances —
Keywords to look out for:
Sender
寄件人 (jijianren)
Recipient
收件人 (shoujianren)
收信人 (shouxinren)
Far from home, your ancestors likely stayed Return address
in touch with family in China. Look among 回信地址 (huixin dizhi)
your family’s belongings for envelopes,
letters or photographs with Chinese Recipient address
addresses and names. 通訊地址 (tongxun dizhi)
Many Chinese Overseas also sent their hard- Dear…
親愛的… (qin’ai de…)
earned money back to family in the
motherland, often leaving a paper trail in the
Sincerely…
form of remittances. Look for receipts with 此致敬禮… (ci zhi jingli…)
the names and places you’re looking for!
"Help!
I don't know
how to read
Chinese..."
Simply send us your clues and we'll let you know if they contain any
useful info.
Step 3: Look for Clues
— Newspapers, Obituaries & Association Records —
Your relatives may have carefully kept newspaper clippings
about your ancestors’ lives. Alternately, check out the following
databases for any articles that might mention your ancestors:
• UBC Chinese Newspaper Resources
• Singapore and Malaya Chinese Newspaper Database
Finding themselves in a strange and unfamiliar land, many
Chinese joined a local society or “club” to socialize with others
from the same ancestral place, surname, or dialect group.
Try to find out if your ancestor was part of such a club. These
associations, also known as “tong” in North America or “kongsi”
or “huay kwan” in Southeast Asia, occasionally kept:
• Cemetery records
e.g. Chinese Benevolent Association of Jamaica
• Ancestral tablets
e.g. The Sze Yup Temple of Sydney, Australia
• Commemorative association booklets
• Family tree books of relevance to their members
Step 4: Locate Your Village
Once you have collected your clues, go to MyChinaRoots Village
Database to see if you can identify your village.
You can search using Chinese OR English characters, or filter villages
by surname.
Step 4: Locate Your Village
As you explore potential
matches, check the
administrative level of the
place you are looking at.
For example, Counties
are large areas that count
hundreds to thousands of
villages, so they won't be
very helpful.
Try to narrow down your
findings to the Town or
Village level.
Step 5: Visit Your Village
— Find Your Ancestors' Traces —
Once you have identified your ancestral village
and ancestors’ names, it’s time to connect with
your roots!
Your village is where you are most likely to find:
• Descendants of your ancestors' relatives
• A clan book (zupu / jiapu) with lineages
spanning hundreds of years
• Graves of your ancestors' family
• An ancestral temple
• Houses that belonged to your family
• Stories about your ancestors
• … and more!
"What if I
can't travel
to China to
visit my
village?"
If there's one thing we've learned over the years, it's that you shouldn't delay visiting!
For those that can't travel, we offer to be your hands and feet to capture its surroundings,
temples, stories, families and records, before it's too late. Start a conversation with us to
see what's possible.
Want more helpful tips?
Check out our Blog Search our Surname Database
Or ask us a question!
