Taishan Genealogy

No. Browsing, searching, the lineage view and PDF download all work without logging in. Only adding or correcting information requires registering and logging in.

Each village's genealogy is independent and names repeat constantly, so a search only makes sense within a family. If you are not sure of the village, tick several genealogies on the home page (up to 25 at a time) for a combined search.

Every person is a separate record; namesakes with different fathers are different people. Results show generation, father and source page, and the person's page shows the full line of descent. Check those.

Either works. The book's own spelling is kept as printed (some names really do use traditional characters), and a search matches both forms.

Yes. "Tools" in the top bar has a converter that turns whole passages between simplified and traditional characters, phrase by phrase (so 头发 and 皇后 come out right), with Hong Kong or Taiwan variants. Searching itself needs no conversion.

Log in and click "Propose a correction" on the person's page; enter the correct value and your evidence (family records, an elder's account). Depending on the genealogy's policy the change applies immediately or waits for a genealogy administrator. Deleting a person needs an account and follows the same policy: by default an administrator approves it.

In "Propose a correction", pick the right father (or mother) from the list of the previous generation; each entry shows the person's own father and page so namesakes can be told apart. A genealogy administrator can instead use the "Correct father" box on the person's page: search, click, and it applies at once.

No. What was transcribed from the book is never altered; a correction is recorded beside it. The page shows the corrected value with a note "the book prints …", and every record cites its PDF page and printed page so it can be checked at any time.

Each user is linked to one genealogy (normally their own village) and can edit only that one. To edit another, click "Apply to switch to this genealogy" on that genealogy's page; its administrators decide, under "Requests to join". A genealogy you created yourself you can always edit.

On the father's (or mother's) page click "Add a child"; the generation is set automatically from the parent. Daughters, their spouses and their children can be recorded too.

Under Edit policy on the Genealogy admin page, each genealogy sets five kinds of change to Needs review or apply automatically: additions (members, spouses), corrections, removals (members, spouses, parents), biographies (written today) and other (marking as checked, birth order). A new genealogy has all five on Needs review: relatives' changes wait in the queue until an administrator approves them. A kind set to apply automatically takes effect at once, including when it is sent by code. "An administrator's own changes take effect immediately" is ticked by default, so administrators' own changes need no review - except removals, which always follow the table, for administrators too.

Click "Start a genealogy" on the home page and follow its four steps: make an account, give the surname, the village and the county (the code and the name are worked out for you), add the founding ancestor, then post the code and the invitation in the family's group chat. By default each user may create one (a system administrator can change this). The creator becomes its administrator and can review others' changes and set the edit policy.

The genealogy's creator, and relatives made administrators: an administrator can make any account linked to the genealogy an administrator under "Accounts", and a system administrator can appoint one too. They review pending edits, set the edit policy, decide requests to join, and can correct fathers and other details directly.

Three layouts: classic (vertical, right to left, like the printed book), outline (horizontal, one person per line) and index (a table by generation); ten covers, traditional (vermilion, ink, jade, porcelain blue, vermilion rules, thread-bound) and modern (navy quarter, gold brocade, colour block, vermilion flat — three of which can carry your own photograph); eight sheet sizes, including the 16K, 8K and 32K a Chinese print shop quotes. You can export the whole genealogy or a single branch.

The handwriting or the connecting line at that spot in the book was not clear enough when it was transcribed. The data follows the book as closely as possible, but please check it against the page, and propose a correction if it is wrong. "Unverified" beside a father means the book draws no line there: the site inferred the father from the page's layout and notes, and says why beside it.

The data keeps what is printed, unchanged. The "Errata" section on the genealogy page lists the known errors and what they should read.

Simplified Chinese by default, Traditional Chinese under /zh-hant/ and English under /en/; switch at the top right of any page. Personal names are always shown as the book prints them, never converted; a search finds them whether you type simplified, traditional or a mixture. More languages can be added.