Chinese Research Helps

Chinese Genealogy

Finding Your Chinese Genealogy 家谱 on Familysearch.org

Using English: Find your family's Jiapu 家谱 by following the procedure below.

1. Go to the FamilySearch website
2. Sign into FamilySearch
3. Click on the Search menu
4. Click on Records
5. Type in China in Search by Place
6. Click on the Search Image Groups button under Collection of Chinese Genealogy Images
7. Type in the surname, such as Pinyin in the Surname field below Jiapu Collection in the righthand of the screen
8. Select the correct province
9. Select the correct county
10. Complete other information below, if desired

Using Chinese: Find your family's Jiapu 家谱 in Familysearch.org by following the procedure below.

1. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on English, choose 中文.
2. Return to the top of the page and Click on 搜尋，then 紀錄.
3. Select 中國, 族譜收藏 1239-2014年2015年5月13日 by clicking on the blue 瀏覽影像
4. Under Family Name select your family surname 姓氏.
5. Under Country select China 中國
6. Under Province 省 select your province
7. Under County 县 select your county
8. Select the appropriate genealogy for study

Using the FamilySearch Catalog method to find a Chinese genealogy.

1. Click on Search 搜尋
2. Click on Catalog 目錄
3. Under Search By: 搜尋依據 Click on Surnames 姓氏,
4. Place your cursor in the Surname 姓氏 field.
5. Change the language to Chinese by clicking EN in the lower right corner and selecting CH Chinese (Simplified, PRC).
6. Type your surname in pinyin. Select the correct character for your name.
7. Place your cursor in the Place 地點 field
8. Type your province in pinyin. Make sure that the correct characters show in the green standardization bar
9. Click on Search 搜尋 at the bottom.
10. If catalog entries appear, click on them to see where the entry is located. If a small camera is present the document can be opened, if a film or book it can be located in the library or requested/ordered.

Learning to read Chinese Genealogies 家谱

Chinese Language Helps for Jiapu 家谱

Finding your Ancestors

Chinese Immigration Records

What you can expect to find in a Chinese genealogy (家谱）

Summary Content of Chinese Genealogy Jiapu 家谱

What's in a Jiapu 家谱

Traditional Chinese

Many records are in Traditional Chinese regardless of where the record was created. Simplified Chinese was only introduced in the mid 20th Century. today traditional Chinese characters are only used in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and expatriate areas in other countries.

Simplified Chinese

Simplified Chinese appears on modern records since the mid 20th Century. That was when the Chinese government (Peoples Republic of China) made it official. It is the most common form used there today although there are still many who know traditional Chinese. Simplified Chinese is not as widely used in expatriate areas, or areas like Hong Kong or Macau. Outside of the immediate area of China itself, it is only officially used in Malaysia.