Despite the national rejoicing over the discovery of the elusive Cao burial chamber, many well-known historians, scholars, archaeologists and anthropologists have cast doubts as to its genuineness. Their main dissenting views can be summed up as follows:

The tomb was earlier raided by tomb robbers before the archaeologists found it, and some of the artifacts in it had already been removed by them. It is possible that some of the remaining artifacts could have been tampered with, including the stone tablets bearing Cao’s posthumous title, King Wu of Wei,  which could have been forged ingeniously so as to deceive even the experts as had happened in some disturbed tombs of other prominent people. These stone tablets are said to offer the strongest evidence that the tomb must belong to Cao himself.

The discovered burial chamber does not correspond with the descriptions of Cao’s in historical records. Also, none of the stone tablets mentions his name and no memorial mourning album was found, which would have been the practice for such an important figure of that period.

While one of the skeletons in the tomb is claimed to be of Cao’s age and of the period, experts believe that as the remains are not in good condition because of long burial, it would be extremely difficult to extract DNA samples from them. Furthermore, it is not known that there are living lineal descendants of his who could undergo DNA tests to either confirm or reject the authenticity of this discovery. To trace any possible descendants that Cao might still have will be an uphill, if not impossible, task.

These experts also have reasons to believe that Cao was not buried in Anyang, but in Bozhou in Anhui province, where he was born. Some experts are convinced that the discovery has been hyped up prematurely by sensational media publicity and by the opportunistic local government authorities in order to promote the expected increased tourism and the revenue windfall this will bring.

Finally, it is significant that China’s authoritative Institute of Archaeology has maintained a guarded stand that it is too early to confirm that the unearthed tomb is truly Cao’s until all the available evidence have been exhaustively analysed and firmly established.

Despite China having the longest continuous civilisation in the world dating back to 5000 years, there are not that many truly ancient monuments and other historical edifices in their original state of preservation left in this vast country. This is because most of these were either destroyed by ravages of nature, frequent wars or due to human neglect in the course of time. Be that as it may, the saving grace for China and that of mankind is that its immense wealth of historical cultural heritage has been largely preserved beneath the ground awaiting discovery to see the light of day again. For the record, the most extravagant mausoleums are those of its numerous reigning monarchs and others belonging to lesser royalties and prominent personages throughout the ages. All of these would have contained valuable funerary items. However, not that many of these prominent tombs have, to date, been found  and for  those that have already been located, the Chinese government is in no hurry to excavate them until the state of technology has become sufficiently advanced for them to undertake such a task so as to ensure the safe preservation of the artifacts in these tombs for the benefit of all.

Take the tombs of the emperors and various kings as an example. China’s First Emperor’s burial place, with its inestimable wealth of funerary treasures, has not yet been opened up. Neither have those of the rulers of the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), when China was at its peak of prosperity and was probably the richest and most powerful nation on earth. The experts are of the view that, based on the grandeur and artifacts-rich tombs of minor royalties that surround the not yet excavated mausoleum of the 6th Han emperor Jindi, his mausoleum, and that of his successor, Emperor Wudi, could well match the First Emperor’s in scale and extravagance. Of the emperors’ tombs of the nation’s last two dynasties, namely Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911), only that of the 13th Ming Emperor Wanli’s has already been dug up and has since become one of the top tourist attractions in China. The array of high quality and rare artifacts in this tomb had long ago been removed to a museum for display, but the replicas of these can still be seen on site. Situated in the outskirts of Beijing, it is one of the thirteen royal mausoleums crisscrossing a vast expanse of land, all with grand structures surrounding each of these tombs. Needless to say, they were all constructed strictly in accordance with the best fengshui principles, China’s art of geomancy.

The worldwide interest created by the discovery of the tomb of Cao reminds me of a related article that I wrote in 2002, which was published in Singapore’s Sunday Times, under the caption, “What lies beneath”, and I should like to share it with my readers. It is posted immediately after this article.

Lam Pin Foo

Five thousand years of  civilisation is a powerful magnet that draws visitors from across the world to China.

As the oldest continuous civilisation on earth, the attraction is undeniable. Yet a discerning visitor seeking a profound cultural experience in China may well leave disappointed. Why? The ancient monuments in the Middle East and Europe have survived well because they were built of stone. But in China, palaces, temples and other major buildings were generally constructed of timber. Most had succumbed to the ravages of nature and human conflict. Examples include the historic Buddhist temples that are spread in Chinese cities and sacred mountains. Hordes of devotees flocked there in their heyday.

Your Chinese guide would recite with eloquence their illustrious history dating back to Tang Dynasty or earlier, regaling you with stories about the long-gone relics and exquisite woodwork of the original buildings. But what greets you would likely be less refined buildings and art works of a much later dynasty, rebuilt on the same site. Some are recent replicas of the ancient works.

Brick-and-mortar structures like pagodas, watch-towers, city walls and bridges have fared better. However, most are dilapidated, or have been so extensively renovated over the centuries that they no longer resemble the original.

Aside from the ravages of time, the preservation of China’s historic monuments and artifacts suffered a further blow during the Cultural Revolution. Much of the country’s cultural heritage built up over the centuries were reduced to ruins in a few months of madness by fanatical Red Guards on the rampage. Fortunately, China’s foremost national treasures, including the sculptures and wall frescoes at the Dunhuang grottoes and the peerless imperial art collection at Beijing’s Gukung (Forbidden City) escaped the fury of the Red Guards, thanks to the timely intervention of the late Premier Zhou Enlai.

Even so, many of the choicest of these national treasures were long ago looted by rapacious foreigners and removed to their home museums.

Despite the scarcity of ancient monuments above ground, the real saving grace is the immense cultural wealth that lies hidden beneath China’s soil. In ancient times, it was the custom to bury precious, ornamental and household items with the departed for their use in the hereafter. This has resulted in major discoveries, the most widely publicised was the discovery in Xian in 1974 of some 8000 life-sized terracotta warriors. These earthen warriors guarded the outer tomb of the 2200-year old  mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shihuang, a man who unified China and built its Great Wall but who feared being harmed, even in death.

As the technology of archaeological excavation advances, more of China’s national heritage will again see the light of day.

Chinese cultural experts, including the Director of the renowned Shaanxi History museum, Mr Zhou Tian You, are convinced that what had been dug up so far constitute only a small portion of the nation’s heritage. For example, recent digs have thrown up evidence that verified the existence of the Xia Dynasty, which was founded in 2200 BC.

The tombs that have been unearthed so far have generally been those of minor royalties and high officials. Far grander in terms of construction and funerary contents would be the tombs of China’s monarchs. But most of the burial sites of China’s early rulers are not known, while those of later periods remain largely unexcavated.

How do the Chinese experts ascertain the identity of a tomb’s occupant? They rely mainly on the Muzhimin (inscribed stone memorial tablet), normally erected at the entrance to a burial chamber.

Usually written by someone of standing who was close to the deceased, it would set out his biography, highlighting his achievements and contributions to society. A copy of this written eulogy would be kept by his family. Only royalty and privileged people could afford one.

The formidable Han Emperor Wudi and the egotistical Empress Wu Zetian insisted that the inscriptions on their memorial tablets be different from the standard formulation. His invited posterity to judge whether his contributions outweighed his shortcomings. Hers was deliberately left blank, confident of history as her scribe.

Visitors to China looking for a profound cultural experience should tour selected excavation sites, especially those with quality museums nearby showcasing the artifacts recovered from the pits.

Many of these sites are scattered in the provinces of Shandong, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hubei, Henan, Hebei, Sichuan and along the Silk Road. Some are accessible from the cities of Xian, Loyang, Beijing, Zibo, Qingzhou, Chengdu, Turpan and Yinchuan, to name a few.

As is said about true beauty, one has to look deeper to find the glory of China’s cultural heritage.

Lam Pin Foo

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

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