Whether you live in China or have ancestors who did, we can help you identify your family’s origins and trace your Chinese ancestry.
Overcoming Obstacles in Chinese Genealogy Research
Chinese family history research is very different from many other countries in the world. Not only because of the language barrier, but also because of the hierarchy of government and the types of records that have been kept. If you have Chinese ancestry and don’t speak or read Chinese, and/or don’t have the ability to travel to China, you might feel that you have hit a brick wall and can’t work on your family history. If that is the case, we can be of service to you.
Using Records to Trace Chinese Ancestry
China’s administrative hierarchy includes, from top to bottom: national level – province – prefecture (large city) – county (normal city) – town – village – hamlet. In order to begin Chinese research it is important to know at least the county level city your ancestors were from, because often the best records for learning more about your Chinese heritage are family history books (jiapu) or clan history books (zupu), and these are generally still kept with the descendants of each family. (If you know the county level city, the government institutions there can often help identify the village based on the family name.) It is also helpful to have the Chinese symbols for any places or family names that are known. If any of this information is not known, preliminary research will need to be conducted to locate more information before research in China can begin. Once we have enough information, our onsite agents can assist with locating information about your Chinese family history, often including tombstones, houses where the family once lived, distant relatives, etc.
Our Team of Professional Genealogists Can Help
While Chinese family history research is not easy and can take a lot of patience, the rewards also have the potential to be amazing – as finding a family or clan history book can sometimes extend your Chinese ancestry many generations going back hundreds of years. Our team of genealogy researchers can help you with this endeavor.