Have You Heard of Jiu Zhang Suanshu (九章算术)?

April 29, 2012 at 12:00 am (Guest Writer, History, Science & Technology)

An article by guest writer Oon Lay Yong. Refer to “About the Writer” at the end of the post. This article is an adapted version of the original article of the same title which was published in the Mathematical Medley, Singapore Mathematical Society, in September 1995.

Jiu Zhang Suanshu is gradually being given its rightful place of importance. This trend will continue into the next century as knowledge of the book increases.

Our arithmetic is built on the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. We know how useful this arithmetic is to us. It not only provides a foundation to mathematics, it is commonly known to most people throughout the world as its knowledge is necessary in our everyday living. Try to replace the Hindu-Arabic numeral system with another numeral system of a different concept and you will find that our arithmetic and its applications will collapse like a pack of cards.

Since the numeral system is so important, let us examine it in detail. The system uses a place value notation with ten as base so that anyone who uses the numeral system will only have to remember the nine signs for numbers one to nine. Depending on the number, the nine signs or digits are picked and arranged in a horizontal line from left to right in descending order of rank. For instance, the number fifty six thousand nine hundred and thirty four is notated as: 56934, and the ranks of the digits from left to right are: ten thousands, thousands, hundreds, tens and units. In the very early Hindu-Arabic numerals, if a number had no digit of a certain rank, the space of that rank was left vacant so that fifty six thousand nine hundred and four would look like this 569  4. It was later that this empty space was filled with the zero symbol as we know it today.

From 1200 to 1600, the peoples of Europe discarded their own numeral systems or, like the Romans, displaced them to secondary importance, and laboriously started to learn the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. They had before this found even simple multiplication and division extremely difficult to perform, and knew that the new numeral system would open for them an exciting world of computation leading to the new arithmetic, which would be very useful in many areas and especially in commerce. They probably had the same feeling as we have now about computers opening a new vista of high technology for us.

The numeral system produced a method of division which resulted in a notation for the common fraction, for example, five sevenths was expressed as below, without the horizontal line which we use today.

5
7

Based on the knowledge of the numeral system and the notation to express a fraction, a new world of computations began to unfold. Literature on arithmetic grew phenomenally and some of the common topics and methods included fractions, exchange of goods, partnership and sharing, proportion, Rule of Three, areas, volumes, the extraction of square and cube roots, and Rule of False Position.

In their attempts to compute, the ancient Chinese used a bundle of bamboo sticks or rods. Through this usage they invented a numeral system, which had the same concept as the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. The nine signs that represented the first nine numbers were:

Like the Hindu-Arabic numerals, the digits were arranged in a horizontal line from left to right in decreasing order of rank. As the digits were formed from rods, the ancient Chinese had an ingenious device in displaying digits which occupied alternate positions. They turned a vertical rod horizontal and a horizontal rod vertical. For example, fifty six thousand nine hundred and thirty four would look like this:

If a number had no digit of a certain rank, the space representing that rank was left vacant, so that fifty six thousand nine hundred and four would appear like this:

This was a very natural process for a system which handled with rods. The Chinese also invented the division method which left a remainder, and used the remainder in rod numerals to denote the complex concept of a fraction. For example, five sevenths was expressed as:

Over two thousand years ago, the Chinese were aware of two very useful notations – the numeral system that used a place value notation with ten as base and the notation to express a common fraction. Through the use of these two notations they were able to compute and develop numerous mathematical methods. Around the first century, such problems and methods were compiled into a book called Jiu Zhang Suanshu 九章算术 (Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art).

Jiu Zhang Suanshu has nine chapters and two hundred and forty six problems. It begins with the topics on fractions and although the methods involve the manipulation of rods, they are surprisingly very similar to the methods that we use. This is followed by problems on areas of different shapes such as an isosceles triangle, a trapezium, a circle and an annulus. Jiu Zhang Suanshu has probably the earliest general description of the Rule of Three. This rule is first applied to problems involving exchanges of food stuff and then to other cases. Problems on partnership and sharing dominate Chapter Three, while Chapter Four is concerned mainly with the methods of finding the square root and the cube root of a number.

The next chapter involves the calculation of volumes of solids such as a circular cone, the frustum of a cone, different types of wedges and a prism whose cross-section is a trapezium. Chapter Six is concerned with the application of proportion and inverse proportion, and gives a wealth of information on the socioeconomic aspects of life in ancient China. The first problem is stated below:

Now there is a fair [way of] transporting millet. County A has 10,000 households and [requires] 8 days’ journey to reach the destination; County B has 9,500 households and [requires] 10 days’ journey; County C has 12,350 households and [requires] 13 days’ journey; County D has 12,200 households and [requires] 20 days’ journey. The four counties transport a total of 250,000 hu of millet as tax and use 10,000 carts. It is desired that the contributions be based on the distances and the number of households. Find the amount of millet and the number of carts from each [county]. Answer says: County A 83,100 hu of millet, 3,324 carts. County B 63,175 hu of millet, 2,527 carts. County C 63,175 hu of millet, 2,527 carts. County D 40,550 hu of millet,1622 carts.

Besides problems on proportional parts, the chapter also has problems involving relative distance and speed. The Rule of False Position was one of the methods devised by ancient man to solve a problem at a time when his mind was unable to formulate or to think abstractly in terms of mathematical notations. The Chinese called the method ying bu zu and Chapter Seven is devoted to this topic. Chapter Eight involves the solutions of simultaneous linear equations up to six unknowns. The data are set in columns like our matrix notation; the subtraction of two columns gives rise to the concept and definition of a negative number. The final chapter deals with problems on the right-angled triangle.

Jiu Zhang Suanshu is the most important of all the very early Chinese mathematical texts that have survived. It provided a firm foundation and had a strong influence on the subsequent development of mathematics in China which reached its zenith in the thirteenth century.

Jiu Zhang Suanshu also stands out in the world history of mathematics. It is the earliest most outstanding book on arithmetic that was built on two mathematical notations still indispensable today: one to express a number and the other to denote a fraction. It is now been given its rightful place of importance in the history of mathematics.

When you read new books on the history of mathematics, you will notice a significant change from the old ones: Jiu Zhang Suanshu is gradually being given its rightful place of importance. This trend will continue into the next century as knowledge of the book increases.

About the Writer

Oon Lay Yong is a retired professor of mathematics, formerly from the National University of Singapore.

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A Bag of Bones – A National Heritage and a Lesson for Humanity?

October 5, 2010 at 12:00 am (Current Affairs, Guest Writer, Science & Technology)

An article by guest writer Leo W H Tan. Refer to “About the Writer” at the end of the post.

Introduction

A former colleague was the inspiration for the title  “A Bag of Bones”. We met for dinner and as soon as our greetings were exchanged, she exclaimed” 46 million dollars for a bag of bones? I am impressed you can collect so much for that”! She was referring to the total sum raised in a very tight timeline, that would enable the building of a new home for the 160 year old Raffles Zoological Collection, presently housed in the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) at the Science/Medical Library, National University of Singapore. So what was the big deal in saving (metaphorically speaking), a bag of bones? A little history is called for.

The Raffles Library and Museum

In 1823, the founder of modern Singapore Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, proposed the setting up of a museum and library in Singapore as a repository for specimens deemed relevant to the flora, fauna and peoples of the region. It was not till 1849 that  this institution was established by the committee of the Singapore Institution (Raffles Institution) and only in 1887 (some 64 years after Raffles mooted the idea) did the Raffles Library and Museum finally find a home at Stamford Road.

Premier Zoological Institution for South East Asia

The Raffles Museum was an icon in the heyday of colonial Singapore and Malaya, not only because it housed an excellent collection of South East Asian flora and fauna, particularly animals, but because it earned a reputation for first-rate systematics and taxonomic research. The quality of this collection and the numerous scientific publications arising from the sustained research on the materials made the Museum the premier zoological institution for South East Asia.

Whither Humankind Without Plants and Animals?

Many generations of Singaporeans will remember some of the landmark exhibits in the Raffles Museum viz  the suspended 12.8 metre skeleton of the baleen whale that was beached at Malacca in 1892, the butterfly and bird displays and the imposing skeleton of the elephant that was shot by the Sultan of Johor in 1909. My school was just across the canal and field from the Raffles Museum. My classmates and I made frequent visits to admire the stuffed animals and/or their skeletons. What I did not realise then, was that the animals which I viewed in the museum, would not be around forever in the wild. I took for granted that the living counterparts of the majority of museum specimens could always be found in some forest, stream, field, reservoir or sea. In the short span of one generation, the cream-coloured giant squirrel that could be found in Singapore has probably gone extinct. The last sighting was in 1995. A similar fate befell several of the species represented in the Raffles Museum. I did not think of loss of biodiversity, climate change or global warming then but I did wonder why species like the Bali tiger or dinosaurs disappeared into oblivion. The museum thus was not only for studying natural history but was a most relevant institution to make us ponder about our own fate as a human species. If animal and plant species could go extinct, what about us? Aren’t we dependent on them for our survival?

A National Heritage “Lost and Rescued”

It was through the relentless and conscientious efforts of the Raffles Museum Directors and curators that the museum collections grew in educational, heritage, scientific, social and cultural value for our society. The museum exhibited and researched the natural history of Southeast Asia and I believed it would continue to thrive when Singapore obtained its independence in 1965. Amidst the upheavals of having to struggle for survival as a miniscule island state with no resources other than people, it was unfortunate some endeavours which appeared not to be of economic, social or cultural value were relegated to the lowest priorities. The Raffles Museum was renamed the National Museum in 1969. It was given a new mandate to emphasize national identity and in 1971, the entire natural history collection was almost given away in its entirety as it was considered to be of no cultural or economic benefit and worse, it was probably viewed as a relic of a colonial era. The Science Centre was to have acquired the collection but it could not find any use for the unmounted specimens and the wet materials which numbered some half a million specimens. We lost the familiar whale skeleton which greeted visitors as they came through the Rotunda entrance of the museum and the elephant too, plus a host of other specimens, before the rest of the collection was “rescued” by dedicated Zoologists at the University of Singapore, who did everything they could for the next 15 years to house and guard the collection without a permanent home, facilities and with little support for maintenance.

The Zoological Collection Survived Despite the Odds

Despite its tumultuous history and hostile tropical clime, the collection miraculously survived. It was only in 1987 that the Zoological Collection was given a permanent home by sentient university leaders at the National University of Singapore (NUS). In 1998, arising from the 1996 merger of the Departments of Zoology and Botany to form the Department of Biological Sciences, the Zoological Collection and the Botany Department’s Herbarium were renamed the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR). Until 2000, the RMBR and its treasure trove of irreplaceable and priceless zoological specimens were accessible only to researchers and specialists from across the globe. The public for whom the collection was originally intended, could not visit the museum as there was no exhibition gallery. Being an institute of higher learning, NUS correctly emphasized the research and undergraduate/graduate teaching roles of the RMBR which the Museum embraced wholeheartedly. That enabled it to become a leading natural history/biodiversity research centre in the Asia Pacific region. RMBR also produces the leading scientific journal on animal diversity in South East Asia “The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology”. It is one of the few biological journals in the region that are listed in the Science Citation Index and Current Contents. The missing element is the public exhibition role. NUS recognised this but did not have the funds to build a respectably-sized exhibition gallery. It compromised by offering a 200 sq m permanent exhibition space (the size of two HDB four-room apartments) which became extremely popular with visitors but they fed back the gallery was too small, difficult to locate, had no parking lots, was not open on weekends and there was no access via public transport. In fact the gallery can only display 0.1 % of its collection.

Homecoming Dream

I had a keen interest in following all the above developments as I was a graduate student in the Zoology Department at the time of the impending “demise of” the Zoological Collection in the National Museum. I left NUS as an academic in 1986, before the announcement of the permanent home at the new Science/Medical Library of NUS. I followed the evolution and development of the RMBR and took pride as its research/university teaching reputation and international standing continued to flourish over time but was sad its third role of public education and restoration of the national heritage was not adequately fulfilled. Could this dream be fulfilled? I had thus a very compelling reason to accept an invitation to return to the NUS Faculty of Science towards the end of 2008 and I started to explore the possibility of building a new museum as the RMBR was facing the dilemma of acute space constraint and other major concerns.

Let’s have a Natural History Museum

It was not until International Museum Day (IMD) on 24th May 2009, that I got an insight into the deep public interest in the museum. More than 3000 visitors found their way to the small RMBR that memorable Sunday. The print and TV media covered the event. Letters of support from the public (both Singaporeans and foreigners) followed in the local press. The Sunday Times on 14th June 2009, published an article entitled “Let’s have a Natural History Museum”. A week after, an unnamed benefactor offered to be the catalyst by offering at first one million dollars and subsequently $10m if we went ahead  to build a new museum. This had to be the sign I was waiting for to go all out to champion the museum project together with the Director of RMBR, Professor Peter Ng. It could not have been just coincidence that there was overwhelming support by the public on IMD, the outpouring of letters to the media, the inviting title coined by the Sunday Times and the generous offer from the benevolent benefactor. I could not help feeling there was a mandate from above to go ahead with the first step – fund raising.

The Impossible Challenge

We needed the University leadership’s blessing as the NUS was the custodian of the Zoological Collection. Peter and I got the authorities’ approval to go ahead with the project on one condition. We had to raise a minimum sum of $35 million in six months from end December 2009, to secure a prime plot of land on the very land-scarce campus. The NUS had its hands full in developing the new Dover Campus and so we had to raise the funds entirely from external, non-governmental sources. It was a daunting if not impossible challenge but we felt it was worth doing for the next generations of citizens who have to understand the critical importance of biodiversity to their survival and well-being.

The Arduous Fund-Raising Journey

The arduous journey was embarked upon by the fund raising team comprising just five individuals … Peter Ng, Dr Tan Swee Hee, Sum Foong Yee (all from RMBR), myself and a miracle worker, my personal assistant and administrator Belinda Teo who opened many doors to potential donors and facilitated strong media coverage over the six months we were tasked to raise the minimum sum. I will not bore readers with the sleepless nights and nightmares encountered on the journey to beat the deadline. To cut a long story short, we secured the main funding from charitable foundations and organisations and the unnamed donor. The Lee Foundation alone pledged $25m to restore the natural history museum for Singapore.

Is This What the Public Wants?

One nagging question in my mind was, if the main sums were collected from major donors, would the general public also show tangible support for the project? In other words, how do I know if the museum is what the public wants and not what the project team considers as its priority? We started a public donation drive in April 2010 very amateurishly but with much love and belief in the cause via unsolicited slow and e-mails, word of mouth, FUN raising events and personal contacts. Even family members were roped in to help. The outpouring of generosity  from people of all walks, was heart-warming. It wasn’t the quantum but the participation that mattered. They gave whatever they wished from little to much. One donor gave half a month’s salary while another her entire month’s. Another had retired for seven years from the NUS and gave twenty thousand dollars. She told the media “This is not charity. If it’s the last thing I can do, I would like to do something for it (the museum)”. We have only to look at the success of natural history museums in London, Paris, New York, Washington DC, Taichung etc to see their popularity with and value to the public. School groups, tourists and locals alike, visit in droves, often in three-generation family outings. Perhaps our Tourism Board should take note of this world-wide trend. We are convinced the Singapore public want their natural history heritage restored. I have mentioned heritage several times in this piece but have not put its meaning in context. It is ironical that while we all look forward to better tomorrows, we often forget it is only by examining and learning from the past that we can understand our present and enable us to know where we are going i.e. to plan for the future. This is what heritage is about.

The “Bag of Bones” Journey Continues

And that is why a “bag of bones” attracted $46m in donations to date. We may have satisfied the requirement of the minimum sum to guarantee the museum site and the building infrastructure, but to create a world class museum that will educate, enthrall and empower countless generations to come (on the need to protect and conserve their biodiversity), we still need substantial donations to build the relevant exhibitions on themes ranging from the biodiversity of Singapore & South East Asia to Environment & Conservation and History & Heritage. Exhibitions are development or capital costs and do not draw government or university funding. However, the NUS will obtain matching grants from the government for an endowment fund from which the earned interest may go towards the operating costs for the public education role of the museum. I am optimistic that this natural heritage will be a lasting legacy for humankind in Southeast Asia and beyond. The new museum is expected to be completed in 2013/14.

The journey continues…

About the Writer

Leo W H Tan is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and concurrently Director (Special Projects Unit), Faculty of Science, NUS. He is President of the Singapore National Academy of Science. He served as Director & CEO of the Singapore Science Centre (1982 – 1991), Foundation Dean, School of Science, National Institute of Education, NTU (1991 – 2000), the Director of the National Institute of Education (1994 – 2006) and Chairman of the National Parks Board (1998 – 2007). He was a recipient of the President’s Award for the Environment in 2007.

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Compilation of Family History Through Genealogical Records

January 27, 2010 at 1:00 am (Current Affairs, History, Science & Technology)

Genealogy has been defined as the study of family origins and its subsequent history through the compilation of lineages and lists of ancestors. The word is derived from the Greek word for lineal descent. In some ancient civilisations like China, some family histories can reliably date back to more than 2500 years as in the case of its most renowned philosopher, Confucius, whose more than one million descendants are distributed not only in China, but also in South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. In ancient times, the recording of family history would be the preserve and past time of a nation’s monarchs. This practice was later emulated by its nobility and other prominent personages. In more recent centuries, when awareness and interest in the value of genealogy became more widespread internationally, more and more families began to see the needs to trace their family roots as part of their heritage.  Be that as it may, to trace a family history from scratch is a complex process that requires painstaking and persevering efforts on the part of the various extended family members to work as a team and a leader to coordinate the data collected and to render them into an easy to digest format , especially when numerous families nowadays are spread in different parts of the world. It also requires changes in the family composition due to births, deaths and marriages to be brought up to date periodically. The unenviable tasks involved for such an undertaking have often discouraged the faint-hearted families from doing so. In the light of this, most families anywhere can, at best, trace their roots to no more than five or six generations.

Recognising that the keeping of genealogical records had become an established international practice, there had been several attempts aimed at reaching an international agreement on a common method of compiling it for universal application. This culminated in the first International Congress of Heraldry and Genealogy, held in Spain’s city of Barcelona in 1928, with only limited degree of success. However, it had aroused greater public awareness in this fascinating subject. A further boost to genealogy came from the well known African-American author, Alex Haley, when he published his novel Roots in 1957. Consequently, more and more people in his country and elsewhere, especially in immigrant societies like Canada, Australia and New Zealand, were moved to the need to finding their roots and cultural heritage. In this regard, it is fortunate that some overseas Chinese families still possess copies of their family’s genealogical records, which have been handed down to them by their ancestors. The more elaborate of these would not only record blood ties among them and their distant ancestors in China but also their migrations to other countries, as well as significant historical events and family achievements. The tremendous value of such a document will enable them to trace and locate their relatives whenever the need arises.

Because of the widespread destruction of family and clan genealogical records during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976),  the Chinese Government in 1988 found it necessary to set up the Chinese Genealogical Research Centre in Taiyuan in Shanxi province in order to encourage the revival of this time-honoured practice, which is an integral part of China’s cultural tradition. The Guo Clan of Singapore was one of the overseas Chinese groups to appeal to them in 1991 for help to trace the clan’s  common founding ancestor. After a year’s research work, the centre succeeded in confirming that this clan’s common founding ancestor was none other than Guo Zhiyi, a prince and hero of the Tang Dynasty (618-917), whose descendants then numbered more than 10-million in China alone and numerous others were scattered all over the world. The centre’s director, Pro Li Ji said: ”Genealogy is an important part of the historical and cultural heritage of the country, as it records the blood relationships of human beings and relates to such areas as sociology, ethics, history, ethnology, folklore and economics.”

In recent months, two interesting media reports on family histories made international news: one concerns a Eurasian Singaporean, Kevin Shepherdson and the other Warren Buffett, an American billionaire and philanthropist and  President Barack Obama of United States. At the launch of Mr Kevin Shepherdson’s book, Shepherdsons around the world, unite! , the writer disclosed that,  after a decade of painstaking research at libraries, archives and history centres in this region and in Britain to ascertain his family roots, he finally succeeded in piecing together that all the Shepherdsons in Singapore and Malaysia are descendants of two English merchants, Captains Robert and Matthew, who had come to Singapore from Britain during the 19th century, married local women and raised their families there. He further discovered that their British ancestors had links to England’s 14th century King Edward III. Another surprise came when the media report revealed that through the study and research into the family trees of these two prominent Americans, an American genealogical research firm has established that both Buffett and President Obama are seventh cousins three times removed. The famous pair had a common ancestor in a 17th century Frenchman, Mareen Duvall, who had migrated from France to America in the 1650s. He is therefore President Obama’s ninth great-grandfather through his mother side , and the sixth great- grandfather of Mr Buffett. These findings must have stimulated even greater interest in genealogy worldwide. This is good for genealogical studies and should spur more people to take an enhanced personal interest  in their own family origins.

This reminds me of an article on this subject that I wrote in 1996, which was published as an essay in Singapore’s national English language daily, the Straits Times under the caption “Tracing one’s roots through the family tree”. I now have much pleasure to share it with my readers immediately after this posting.

Lam Pin Foo

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Tracing One’s Roots Through the Family Tree

January 27, 2010 at 12:00 am (Chinese Culture, Current Affairs, History, Science & Technology)

This article first appeared in the Singapore Straits Times 19 October 1996.

It is a well-known fact that China is among the most family and history conscious of nations. Every dynasty compiled its own dynastic history documenting major events and outstanding achievements for posterity. In addition, all district governments also recorded important aspects of local histories that will be of interest to their inhabitants.

As family has always been of supreme importance in Chinese culture, hand written genealogical records of individual families and clans were produced painstakingly and methodically, and periodically updated, to keep track of their origins and subsequent development. These were preserved reverently and handed down from one generation to another.

These efforts ensured that, in China’s 5000 years of history, there were no “Dark Ages” in the evolution of its society, as there were in Europe and elsewhere.

While every country has its own method of genealogy, the Chinese have developed theirs into a fine art, with distinctive characteristics and a flavour all its own. It is possible for many Chinese families, including those who have migrated overseas, to trace not only their roots, but also the fortunes of other family and clan members, wherever they might be.

The Chinese tradition of maintaining genealogy percolated to the other East Asian countries and to overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.

To produce a continuous and updated family history requires good organisation and consistent management. It is much more difficult drawing up a clan history (Zong Pu) - those with same surname and descended from the common founding ancestor. Consequently, only prominent families and clans would have the resources to embark on such a project.

It is not surprising that most Chinese, like their counterparts elsewhere, would only be familiar with their immediate forebears.Those with incomplete genealogy are often only able to trace their family-tree for no more than 200 to 300 years. Professor Wolfram Eberhard, a sinologist of international repute, once observed that, in many countries in Asia, if a person could enumerate the siblings of his grandparents and their in-laws, he belongs invariably to the upper-class of that society. Ordinary people rarely know beyond the names of the brothers and sisters of their parents, their spouses and the names of their grandparents.

The tie of kinship is a hallmark of the Chinese social structure. The bond which binds its members is thicker than water and will remain with them for life. This is evident from the regular gathering of Chinese clans in Singapore or elsewhere, which is attended by their clansmen from all over the world, to renew ties and to discuss matters of common interest.

The genesis of the Zong Pu goes back to Zhou dynasty (1050-221 BC), with refinements by subsequent dynasties. Its scope and function is wider than the mere devising of tables of descent of its clan members. It aims to glorify successful clan members, to instil pride in one’s ancestors and, ultimately, to exhort future generations to emulate their worthy forebears.

In old China, the village ancestral hall was the focal point for all clan activities, including that of ancestor veneration, and where all decisions affecting the clan would be taken.

In its more than 3000 years’ history, genealogy has dominated the traditional Chinese society. It reached its full flowering from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) to the earlier part of the Republic era (1911-1949).

What then are the main ingredients of the Zong Pu? Its format and manifold contents have undergone changes under different dynasties, but they became quite uniform from the Song dynasty (960-1276) onwards.

The family-tree would begin with the primogenitor who first settled in a particular location and started to raise his family there; and would end with the contemporary generation updating the genealogy, with all in-between ancestors duly recorded.

No margin of error was allowed in the compilation of the clan genealogy. All families within the clan were required to submit all births, deaths and marriages. Only brief bio-data were recorded: the person’s name, his parents’ names, his date of birth and death, names of his children and, finally, his burial place.

The place of entombment was of utmost importance. Often a detailed account of its selection in accordance with the time-honoured principles of fengshui, the Chinese art of geomancy, would be documented. Good fengshui would bring good fortunes to the family members. It would be the duty of the descendents to perform ancestor-worship rites at appropriate times and to keep the grave in good repair.

Frank Ching, author of 900 years in the life of a Chinese family, gives a fascinating account of how he, armed with his Zong Pu, succeeded in finding his founding ancestor’s long forgotten 900 year-old grave on Mount Hui in Wuxi.

Clansmen who achieved distinctions in life would earn honourable mention in the clan genealogy. In addition, their portraits would also be displayed in the clan hall. In old China, Confucian scholars were held in high esteem and often became top government officials through successes in imperial examinations. This would bring vicarious glory to their families and clans.

Today, this tradition is still being followed in some overseas Chinese communities. The Khoo clan of Penang, for example, still displays plaques of all members who hold university or professional qualifications, or have otherwise distinguished themselves in public life, in their clan hall of fame.

The inclusion of a clansman in the Zong Pu was generally regarded as testimony of his good character and acceptability. Conversely, one who became notorious or was deemed to have disgraced the clan, would have his name expunged.

Events of local and national importance, which affected the clan, would also be included. This would include wars, social upheavals, natural calamities and other significant occurences.

Another feature was the movements of clan people through migration to seek better life away from home. A case in point concerned the southward migration of the Hakkas, originally from North China, when their homelands were occupied by warlike nomadic tribes. They underwent five arduous trans-China migrations, the first of which predated Mao Zedong’s famous Long March by more than 1600 years.

The writing of Zong Pu would be entrusted to a committee of scholars, with necessary information given by individual families. It would be revised at regular intervals to take account of the changes that had occurred during the interim. Each family would receive a copy, and the remainder would be kept in the village clan hall.

The importance accorded the clan genealogy reflected the Chinese people’s immense pride in their civilisation and their abiding love for their family and clan. As the latter grew in number, more and more such genealogies were produced and reached their peak  during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

This pride was shattered during the 19th century when Chinese sovereignty was repeatedly violated by aggressive foreign powers who, for selfish reasons, brought the country to its heels under the threat of gunboat diplomacy.

Revulsion against China’s military backwardness set in, as reform-minded Chinese began to reject traditional values and turned to Western science and democracy as a panacea for China’s ills. The keeping of genealogical records was seen as a reflection of China’s feudal past and frowned upon. It was eradicated  completely with the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

The preservation of genealogy suffered its severest blow during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), a period of senseless destruction of cultural heritage, unprecedented in Chinese history. In response to the call “to sweep away all remnants of old habits, old customs, old culture and old ideas”, the fanatical Red Guards raided homes all over the country mindlessly, making bonfire of any genealogical records they could uncover as these were considered the symbols of the decadent rich. At the same time, many Chinese families, fearful of persecution, had to destroy these invaluable heirlooms which had been passed down from generation to generation.

The losses suffered, both on a personal and national scale, were incalculable and irreplaceable. Professor Luo Hsiang Lin, one of the foremost authorities on Chinese genealogy, lamented that the cultural accumulation of China in the past several thousand years was reduced to ruins in a few months of unmitigated  absolute madness.

The writer’s clan and family genealogical histories kept in the ancestral hall in China did not escape the ravages of the Red Guards. Fortunately, copies of these had been handed down by his grandfather in Singapore to remind him of his origins, which date back more than two millenia.

Despite the above outrage, a fair number of old Chinese genealogical records, both family and clan, have been preserved in libraries in China, Japan,  South Korea, Taiwan,  Hong Kong, United States and in private collections elsewhere.

The oldest Chinese genealogical works extant are  of Tang vintage (618-906), one is in China and and another two are abroad. One of the latter, along with many other Chinese national treasures, were removed from the world-renowned Dunhuang grottes by Sir Aurel Stein, a British archaeologist, and it is now kept in the British Museum in London.

Works of Song, Yuan (1276-1368) and Ming vintage are now rarities. Fortunately, a small number of these can still be found in Chinese institutions and elsewhere.

The Qing and the Republic genealogy are available in large numbers, especially in Taiwan, Hong Kong and among overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. However, most of these are from South and Central China, where most Chinese first emigrated overseas.

One of the most complete clan histories belongs to the Kung clan, whose famous founding ancestor was none other than Confucius (551-479 BC) himself . His descendents, who number more than one million, now live in China, Taiwan,  South Korea and in other countries.

The practice of compiling and updating Zong Pu, though long past its heyday, is still being carried on in Taiwan and, to a lesser degree, in Hong Kong. It is hoped that, before long, it  will be revived in China itself.

How would one evaluate the contributions of Chinese genealogy? Historians and scholars generally share the view that it  is a useful vehicle for the studying and understanding of the evolution of the Chinese society. It often complements historical records by filling up gaps or by elaborating on details omitted by history. It is also an extremely valuable resource for researching aspects of  social and political developments which had helped shape China and its people.

Moreover, scholars and researchers have convincing evidence that China’s earliest  histories were derived from its genealogical sources.

Finally, because Chinese genealogies also provide detailed information on migration, they enable us to follow the fortunes of a given family over a considerable length of time, sometimes for as long as a millenium or more.

The increasing pride in one’s cultural heritage has made roots-tracing a worldwide phenomenon. This palpable fervour is felt especially in immigrant societies such as the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore.

A renewed interest in genealogy is also discernible among the more homogeneous communities which are, once again, devoting greater effort and resources to this important field of human endeavour, both for their own benefit and that of mankind.

Lam Pin Foo

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