Family genealogy restoration based on archival information: a case study of the YIN family

• Main Author: Yin, Simin
• Other Authors: Brendan Luyt
• Format: Thesis-Master by Coursework
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities; Social Sciences; Genealogy restoration; Archival information; Chinese clan culture; Changshu-Zhaowen County; Yin clan
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180671
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Clan culture is an essential part of the traditional culture maintained by blood ties. However, with the changes in family demographic structure, clan culture has declined in modern society. Many family genealogies have been severely damaged. Reconstructing a genealogy is not only about restoring the family history but also about exploring the validity of the information within. Thus, it is essential to use archival information from different sources for mutual verification. I verified the feasibility of restoring a genealogy through archival information by extracting information from imperial examination files, official resumes, and local chronicles to restore the Yin clan's family tree. This study reveals that genealogy reconstructed through archival information has higher information value in studying the development of clans in modern China due to its traceable information sources and higher information entropy. By analysing the information from the Yin clan genealogy, the trends in Chinese clan development during the late Qing Dynasty have also been discussed.