Who is the ancestor and first-grandmother of a family? If the ancestor had several wives, who was the legitimate wife and who was the concubine? How many sons do they have each, and what are their names? Who are their wives, and how many sons do they have? How are the various branches of the family passed down from generation to generation? Who are the fathers, ancestors, great-grandfathers, great-grandfathers, etc. of many people today? Who is cousin to whom? From which generation of the old family did the founder of the new family split off? How has it been passed down from generation to generation? In short, the various complex blood relationships of all members of the family must be clear. In the absence of writing, blood relationships were passed down orally from generation to generation and stored in people's memories. Over time, memories would inevitably have errors. After writing came into being, people used words to record this blood relationship. This is family tree.
Family tree, also known as genealogy, family tree, general genealogy, unified genealogy, world genealogy, branch genealogy, house genealogy, ancestral genealogy, genealogy, etc. The names are different, but their connotations are the same, only the denotations are different. Now they are generally referred to as family trees and genealogies or genealogies. A special genealogy in the form of a genealogy that records the reproduction of a family lineage and the deeds of important figures based on blood relationships. Book genre. Genealogy is an atlas that records the patrilineal family lineage and characters as the center, and uses the surname as the identifier of "a certain ancestral blood group" to record the blood relationship between family members with a certain surname.
Writing family trees is an expression of respect for ancestors. Chinese people have very pure and simple ancestor beliefs. In China, genealogy has a history of about 3,000 years, and has always been called the three major historical documents along with national history and local chronicles. According to historical records and the oracle bone inscriptions unearthed from the Yin Ruins in this century, Chinese genealogy originated in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. A family tree is the history of a family. In order for a family to develop and grow, in addition to strong material conditions, it also needs spiritual conditions that are sufficient to "strengthen the clan and strengthen the family." The formation of a good family tradition is one of the foundations and contents of such spiritual conditions. Genealogy is a family history, a compilation of family historical materials, a type of history, and belongs to the scope of history. This has been established. Today, when the concept of family has been weakened, many concepts and behavioral norms related to family have also changed. The family motto in the family tree plays an irreplaceable and subtle role in educating the tribesmen in filial piety, harmony, sacrifice, family affection, and nostalgia. Family tree maintains not only a family, but also a nation. In China, the migration and spread process of a family is vividly described as "spreading branches and spreading leaves". Fallen leaves always return to their roots. In the eyes of wanderers, family trees are a symbol of roots. Based on blood relations, it flaunts respect for ancestors, maintains family ties, expresses remembrance, and prays for blessings.
If a family tree can integrate books, pictures, histories, tables, and aspirations, its use value will be greater. Nowadays, genealogy mainly consists of textual content, followed by pictures. Most of them adopt European style: also known as horizontal style, which was created by Ouyang Xiu, a writer in the Northern Song Dynasty. The characteristics of the European style are: generations are divided into grids, running horizontally from right to left, with dozens of generations forming one table, which is very convenient to use. There are two portraits at the top of the table, one male and one female, symbolizing the earliest elders in the family, who are called ancestors, also known as ancestors and ancestors. The left and right tables below the portrait are filled with densely packed names, all arranged according to seniority. The left and right are opposite each other. Men write their full names, and women fill in some surnames. (In the old society, most women in families did not have names. (Reason) When filling in, sometimes you need to skip spaces. One is that the deceased man did not marry a wife, so there are spaces in the corresponding places. The other is the position left for the living old man according to the ranking of buddies. The "Xingdaizipai" of genealogy is the main rule contained in genealogy. Xingdaizipai is also called "祧zi", which are some characters that are used in names and to distinguish seniority and ranking. The Xing generation style is a restriction on the words used in the names of people of each generation. For example, people of a certain generation use the word "福" in their names, while people of another generation use the word "福" in their names, and so on. Xingsei style is usually formulated by a cultured elder in the family. Many of them are compiled into a few auspicious words, and some literati can even write them into poems. For example, "Fu Lu Yong is prosperous, harmonious and good, the world is beautiful, and wisdom is auspicious." Some Xingdaizi schools use it on the first character of a name, and some use it on the last character. The former type is mostly used. When considering the Xingdai style of characters, we must consider both its meaning and pronunciation. The character shape is suitable for people's names, and it can also be combined with a large number of characters to create a name, so that names will not be duplicated due to too many people. When the Xingdaizi sect was about to be used up, the highly respected brigade commander in the family would extend it again. Therefore, in modern people's consciousness, family trees not only serve to commemorate ancestors, but also serve as a basis for naming the next generation.
A family’s genealogy must be updated regularly.
Because every once in a while, children will be born in the family, wives will be married, the population will increase, old people will die, and new graves will be added. Regularly renew the family tree to reflect the above-mentioned new changes to the family tree, so as to ensure that the family blood relationship is clear and accurate. Most families set the interval between renewals as thirty years or three lifetimes. "The genealogy must be revised every three generations. I'm afraid that over time, everything will be lost. The disadvantages of deviation are not small." If a family does not edit the genealogy for thirty years, it is considered unfilial. "It is not suitable to repair the genealogy over time. The ancients It says: The genealogy should be revised every thirty years. If you don't follow this, it will be unfilial." The family tree should be revised every thirty years, which can generally connect two generations of the family. Thirty years is a time for a generation to grow up. By renewing your family tree every thirty years, you can accurately record the changes in family relationships over the past thirty years while the older generation is still alive and the new generation has grown up. If the interval is too long and the elderly die one after another, the changes in the population of the clan will not be accurately remembered, which will inevitably cause confusion in blood relationships. When editing a family tree, it is necessary to update old family trees from the past. When a family tree is promoted, it actually means it is burned. Saying it is promoted is a sign of respect. Usually they are taken to the cemetery and burned. According to the rules, newly revised or newly requested family trees must be consecrated. Usually, cinnabar and rooster blood are used, and all the names on the family tree are dotted with the tip of a needle. This way the family tree can be officially enshrined.
An important part of offering a family tree is to prepare offerings and sacrificial utensils, which mainly include offering tables, wax stands, candles, incense burners, burning paper, etc. Offerings include fruits, snacks, steamed buns, rice, dumplings, etc. Generally, steamed buns are steamed and offered on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. When steaming, five jujubes are added to the buns, and they are stacked on both sides of the offering table, making a pile of five. The three at the bottom are stacked two on top. To serve rice, put the cooked rice into a glass cup, compact it, and pour it into a bowl to form a regular cylindrical shape. There are also five bowls. Then put five pairs of chopsticks, five small wine glasses filled with wine, and five large bowls of dishes (including fish and meat, a combination of meat and vegetables, bright colors; placing fish means having more than enough every year, and with lettuce, bringing wealth every year), in order Place. When the Han people worship their ancestors, they usually make fish and meat bowls, which are served in high bowls, which is quite similar to eating with bells and cauldrons. Banner people worship their ancestors, which is different from Manchuria and Mongolia. Mongolian Banner people offer yellow rice noodles fried in butter, which are fried in sesame oil and dipped in white sugar when they are removed, which gives them a different flavor. Manchurian bannermen worshiped their ancestors and offered walnut cakes, hibiscus cakes, apples, and plain wax sandalwood, which was extremely quiet and solemn.
Usually on the morning of New Year’s Eve, before the sun comes out, family trees are hung up and sacrifices are placed. When it gets dark, I carry a lantern to the crossroads to welcome the New Year and invite my ancestors to go home for the New Year. Burn paper at the intersection, talk about the ancestors returning home to celebrate the New Year, and then kowtow. Hold a lantern and go home, and you are not allowed to look back on the way. If you look back, it means that your ancestors have not returned yet and you are watching. When you return home, you should use a stick to block the door. This stick is the stake used by ancestors to tie their horses. Open the door, burn a few pieces of paper and invite them inside. When you come to the family tree, you should light candles and incense and bow three times. From this time on, you have to kowtow to your ancestors morning and evening, offer incense regularly, and put two dumplings on the table for every meal to show respect. On the third night of the Lunar New Year, it is time to send off the New Year. All offerings must be removed, the family tree rolled up, and put away for later use. Paste the word "大福" in the middle of the place where the family tree was removed, and paste couplets on both sides. Generally, couplets are written like this: "Zu Dou will last forever, and this branch will last for hundreds of generations." "Respect your ancestors for a long life and wealth, and be filial to your parents." Horizontal comment: "Zu Dou will live forever, this branch will last for hundreds of generations, and he will always express his filial piety and thoughts." It will not be until the fourteenth day of the first lunar month that the family tree is presented, then invited, and then sent to the sixteenth day. When cooking Yuanxiao, you must also offer it to your ancestors. There may be different forms of ancestor worship, but most of them are hanging shadows on New Year's Eve and the offerings are withdrawn on the night of the Lantern Festival. Relatives and friends who are close to each other must also visit the ancestor hall when paying New Year's greetings, not only to pay attention to the distant past. According to such rules, family trees are worshiped during the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival. After completing this sacrificial process, roll up the family tree and wait for it to be presented next year.
A family often imposes strict requirements on the collection and storage of family trees in its family laws and regulations. If the family tree must be put into a special wooden box and placed in an ancestral niche or hidden in a study room, it must not be left randomly to desecrate the family tree. The wooden box is not allowed to be used for other purposes, and the family tree is not allowed to be eaten by rats, stained by oil, rotten, lost or scattered, transcribed privately, or lent to people with other surnames for viewing. Violators will be punished according to family laws. If the person who leads the genealogy dares to hide it from the public for profit, sell the genealogy by selling the genealogy, or sell the family genealogy, it will be regarded as unfilial and severely punished.
Writing family trees is not only a folk tradition of the Chinese nation, but also a kind of moral culture. As descendants of China, we must pass on this way of commemorating our ancestors from generation to generation!