What is a Clan Genealogy Book?
Jiapu
A jiapu, also called a zupu, is a traditional book that records family lineages. It preserves the family's bloodline heritage, often tracing back hundreds of years of history, usually focusing on male descendants, and serves as an important basis for studying family history.
Understanding Your Jiapu
Jiapu Guide
Your jiapu holds generations of your family's story. The Jiapu Guide helps you read and understand each part—even if you don't know Chinese.
Common Jiapu Styles
Start exploring the common styles below. Click a style to see how it's structured inside the guide.
What Makes a Jiapu Unique?
A jiapu is not just a family tree—it records one clan's generational heritage, starting from the founding ancestor and continuing generation by generation.
- Top-down arrangement: Starting from the founding ancestor, recording male descendants generation by generation.
- Different recording methods for women: Wives are usually recorded only by surname, and daughters are rarely included.
- Clan-centered: Focuses on presenting the history of a single family, different from Western family trees that often record the marital relationships of multiple families.
What's Inside a Jiapu?
Every jiapu is different, but most combine history, traditions, and detailed records. The following lists common contents, divided into three main categories:
How Do I Find My Jiapu?
A jiapu is not just a family tree—it records one clan's generational heritage, starting from the founding ancestor and continuing generation by generation.
Ask relatives – Talk to parents, grandparents, and elderly relatives. They may have a jiapu themselves or know someone else who has one.
Visit your ancestral village – Local elders, ancestral halls, or clan associations are often the most reliable sources for finding a jiapu.
Learn MoreSearch online – The most convenient way is through large databases. You can use the following links to search the three largest collections:
I Found My Jiapu—Now What?
You can use the Jiapu Guide to identify names, villages, and generations and other key information. After confirming your ancestors' identities, add them to the FamilySearch Family Tree to preserve this information and continue building your family tree.
Family TreeRememberDon't Give Up!
Even if someone says your family's jiapu has been lost, there may still be hope. Many copies are often preserved through distant relatives, or through clan members who emigrated overseas before the 1960s. Some or even complete jiapu can still be found in places like Malaysia, Singapore, or the United States today. Keep searching—you may be surprised to discover that your family records still exist.
