Recent 30 -Year Research On Newly-perfected Pedigree In Chaoshan Area

This article is mainly about the newly revised pedigree of a clan for nearly thirty years in Chaoshan area,discussed from two main aspects--the related text version and modifying of pedigree of a clan,which is concluded five chapters.And the five chapters are as follows.Chapter one is the introduction,combing the main research results about the finishing,the value,the activities of modifying,the research of family tree in Chaoshan area.Chapter two emphasizes the modifying activities of family tree.Since Ming and Qing Dynasty,the clan has played an important role in the local society,closely associated with the local economy,politics,military and social relief,etc.Its aims are not only for respecting ancestry and inheriting from generation,but also for the local clan to reconstruct the history of their own clan.Furthermore,in the late Qing Dynasty,the modifying activities of family tree had different purposes and meanings,which became one of ways for the overseas Chinese to make a contact to the local and means for businessmen to earn more profits.However,at the beginning of the founding until the 70's,due to the political factor,it was forced to stagnation.Since the reform and opening up policy,the folk modifying activities of family tree has developed increasingly and the form and organization has some obvious change.To sum up,in recent thirty years,the compiling and modifying of pedigree of a clan in Chaoshan has rapid development.The people in Chaozhou,Shantou,Jieyang all show great passion and enthusiasm to it.In addition,most of pedigree of a clan is written by the committee organized by local clan while few do it by themselves.What's more,its fund sources are mainly coming from the clan's apportionment,enterprises and the overseas Chinese.From the prospective of text analysis,chapter three is about the new pedigree of a clan in Chaoshan.Firstly,its main sources of information are the old pedigree of a clan,the same family tree,the elders' oral account,the local chorography and other history books.Among them,the same family tree is most common.Secondly,it shows us the distinct characteristics of the Times,reflecting various kinds class settings,the innovation of style and the changes of recorded principles.Thirdly,it has the functions as educating kin and cultural carrier.Besides,judging from some category choreography,it is known that the people who revise the family tree make decorations for the family history with purpose of improving their social status.Moreover,whencomes to the public collections of the pedigree of a clan,there are a variety of other records similar to memorial volume of the clan activities,mainly produced by overseas Chaozhou people,which are significant materials for research.Chapter four is about the phenomenon between the local chronicles and pedigree of a clan of Chaoshan area.Based on the geographical basis instead of the blood principle,the phenomenon of different name but the same family tree shows new developments of contemporary Chaoshan society.Beside retaining lineage structure whose core is the family tree,the newly revised pedigree of a clan also mixes compilation rules and layout of chorography and derives new tendency to compiling and modifying the family tree.Chapter five is the conclusion.After combing the above content,it comes to a summary about the concepts,the activities and the reconstruction of modifying the family tree for the recent thirty years in Chaoshan area.Since the middle of 20 thcentury,the Theory of Constructivism has been very popular in the world.