These publications are of some use or interest for either family historical research or cultural and historical background. Some emphasis has been given to Australian publications.
Brief History of Taishan by Huang Gui Yun, Taishan 1999
This Chinese publication covers the history of Taishan County from its establishment in 1499 to its 500th anniversary in 1999. The book is 437 pages as well as some old maps. From what I can read, it is not particularly useful for genealogical research. It is entirely in Chinese script, and can be ordered from Jimmy Tsang.
Wencun Town Chin Family Book, Taishan 1995
This limited-run 613 page book is a detailed family history of the Chin (or Chan in Cantonese) family of Wencun in Taishan County, and includes an index to every known related family member. As such it is essential reading for anyone researching Chin connections in Wencun Township and even throughout Taishan County itself. The book is entirely in Chinese script and has some interesting historical photographs, and can be ordered from Jimmy Tsang.
A Critical Guide to the Kwangtung Provincial Archives, Deposited at the Public Record Office of London by David Pong, London 1975
This book is a guide to the Kwangtung (aka Guangdong) Imperial Archives removed from the Viceroy's Yamen in Canton (aka Guangzhou) by British Forces during the second Anglo-Chinese War (aka The Arrow War) in 1857. Of the some 2000 documents dating from 1765 to 1857, only 376 concern the central and local administration of Kwangtung Province, and these are covered by document references FO 931/74 to FO 931/350. Among the more useful documents are the Kwangtung Gazette of the Governor General and his Yamen, lists of those in arrears with their taxes, annual reports on civil and military officials, lists of those conducting the imperial civil service examinations, and some mortgages and title deeds. These appear to be the only part of what must have been a substantial archive. The book can be ordered from Amazon.com.
Chinese Archives: An Introductory Guide by Ye Wa & Joseph W Esherick, China Research Monograph 45, Institute of East Asian Studies University of California, 1996.
This book surveys the state archives of the all the "Chinas"; at the national, provincial and county levels. However it is quite cursory, often doesn't give addresses for the institutions mentioned, and too often relies on anecdotal evidence.
Of relevance here is the mention of the Guangdong Provincial Archives (p105-6) and the Taishan County Archives (p107).
Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home: Transnationalism and Migration Between the United States and South China, 1882-1943 by Madeline Y. Hsu, Stanford University Press, 2000.
"This book is a highly original study of transnationalism among immigrants from Taishan, a populous coastal county in south China from which, until 1965, the majority of Chinese in the United States originated. Drawing creatively on Chinese-language sources such as gazetteers, newspapers and magazines, supplemented by fieldwork and interviews as well as recent scholarship in Chinese social history, the author presents a much richer depiction than we have had heretofore of the continuing ties between Taishanese remaining in China and their kinsmen seeking their fortune in "Gold Mountain."
"Long after the gold in California ran out and prejudice confined them to dismal Chinatowns, generations of Chinese - mostly men from rural areas of southern China - continued to migrate to the United States in hopes of bettering the family's lot by remitting much of the meager sums they earned as laundrymen, cooks, domestic workers and Chinatown merchants.
"Economic hardships and US Exclusion laws extended the immigrants' separation from their families for decades, "sojourns" that in many cases ended only in death. Men lived as bachelors and their wives as widows, parents passed away, and children grew up without ever seeing their fathers' faces. Families and village communities had to adapt to survive the stress of long-term, long-distance separation from their primary wage-earners.
"At the same time, men raised in the rural communities of a faltering imperial China had to negotiate encounters with an industrializing, Western-dominated, often hostile world. This history explores the resiliency and flexibility of rural Chinese, qualities that enabled them to preserve their families by living apart from them and to survive the intertwining of their rural world with global systems of race, labour and capital. The author demonstrates that through migration to dank and narrow enclaves, they came to live, and even to flourish, in a transnational community that persisted despite decades of separation and an ocean's width of distance."
[This has been quoted with ammendments from the review by the Stanford University Press, where it may be ordered.]
Index of Clan Names by Villages for Toishan District compiled by the Control Unit Consular Section American Consulate General, Hong Kong 1963.
This volume is potentially useful in locating the probable ancestral village for Chinese from Taishan County, as it lists the clan names associated with each village for that county. Unfortunately there is no reverse index, so discovering that elusive ancestral village from the clan name is a long and painful process, especially as the volume is 218 pages long. US Army map coordinates are given for each district, but it is unclear whether the maps included in the volume are the maps referenced by the coordinates. This is made more difficult by the variable quality of the print.
There are another three volumes in the set, the other counties covered being Sunwei (aka Xinhui with 110 pages and published in 1965), Hoiping (aka Kaiping with 86 pages and published in 1965) and Chungshan (aka Zhongshan and Xiangshan with 120 pages and published in 1966), which are outside the scope of this site.
A copy can be found at the National Library of Australia in Canberra (OC 2251 5920T), which was republished by the Center for Chinese Research Materials, Association of Research Libraries Washington DC in 1973. A photocopy of the original publication can also be found at the National Archives and Records Administration at San Bruno California.
This volume can now be searched online by clan name thanks to the Chinese Cultural Center of San Francisco and Dominic Yu. The database is now complete only for Toishan County, as data is being entered solely by volunteers.
Asian Immigrants to Western Australia 1829-1901, Volume 5 of The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians by Anne Atkinson, University of Western Australia Press, Perth 1988.
This is the 5th of 8 volumes, and is devoted to the major Asian immigrant groups to Western Australia in the 19th century (ie. Chinese, Japanese, Afghans, Indians, Filipinos and Malays), of which most documents the Chinese experience. Archival sources and relevant government legislation are detailed, and brief accounts of migration patterns, typical occupations, community associations, naming customs and birth places are described. The remainder lists thousands of biographical entries in alphabetical order.
In Search of Your Asian Roots: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames by Sheau-yueh J Chao, Clearfield Company, Baltimore 2000.
"Sheau-yueh J. Chao, a librarian on the staff of the Newman Library of Baruch College, has prepared a groundbreaking treatise on the related topics of Chinese-American genealogy and Chinese onomastics. In fact, her new book is the first basic tool in English that traces the origins of Chinese surnames.
"The Chinese possess one of the oldest genealogical traditions in the world, extending back to the Shang Period (1700-1122 BC). The author honors this tradition and provides context by including a glossary and a chronology of Chinese history to help readers in finding terms and the dates of imperial time periods referred to in the volume. Also included is a Pinyin to Wade-Giles Conversion Table for the benefit of readers who are less familiar with the Wade-Giles system of romanization of Chinese sounds adopted by the Library of Congress and utilized throughout the book.
"At the heart of the work are three principal chapters. Chapter 1 describes the history of Chinese surnames, the research on Chinese surnames in literature, and reasons surnames have changed in Chinese history. Chapter 2, by far the largest of the chapters, delivers a genealogical analysis of more than 600 Chinese surnames. Typically each surname sketch depicts the founder or other originating influence upon the name, the various locales associated with the surname, reasons behind alterations in the name, and so on. Chapter 3 consists of an annotated bibliography of Chinese and English language sources on Chinese surnames. The work concludes with separate indexes to family names, authors, titles, and Chinese-character stroke numbers (one mechanism used for grouping Chinese characters).
"The preparation of Genealogical Resources on Chinese Surnames was the result of a prodigious effort. Among other things, the author translated and analyzed nearly 200 books in ancient Chinese literature housed at Columbia University's East Asian Library, the Harvard-Yenching Library at Harvard University, and the Library of Congress. Its publication at this time is guaranteed to be a boon to East Asian researchers, librarians, bibliographers, students, and, of course, genealogical researchers working on their Chinese forebears."
[This has been quoted from the review by the David M Lawrence.]
You are Royalty: A Guide to Your Chinese Ancestor by AR Chinn, privately published, Toronto 2002.
"You Are Royalty, A Guide to Your Chinese Ancestor", by A. R. Chinn [ISBN 0-9730344-0-8, An A. R. Chinn Publication, EMail: twoupman@yahoo.com, 2002], is in the words of its preface, a "How-To" type of book that is intended mainly for independent genealogical research. It is aimed at budding family historians who are personally involved in the investigation of their Chinese ancestors, even if they have little or no knowledge of Chinese cultural heritage.
The book is a compact softcover, a little over one hundred pages, suitable for taking on research expeditions. There are 20 short chapters and 9 appendices.
Some of the subjects covered include, genealogy records, Chinese names, Chinese calendar dates,Chinese terminology for place names, migration patterns, etc. There is a suggested list of equipment suitable for field expeditions. I would add a suggestion of a Palm-Pilot type device with a genealogy and Chinese character software, such as MyRoots and CJKOS. However, this book has a less high tech approach to genealogy software, in general.
There are a few sections of useful information to a beginning genealogist, but much of use to an experienced genealogist unfamiliar with Chinese genealogy research. This includes information useful for taking a trip to China to do research. One alternative that might be added, is that the main China Travel Service office in Hong Kong can construct a personalized tour,using an itinerary of ancestral villages (in Chinese characters), including transport, tour bus, translator, and accomodations.
There is a section on actual research experiences, including a reference to the the use of the Chinese Surnames and Genealogy Queries and Responses Site, where the author is an active contributor. Another Al Chinn made contact there, and his research experience is highlighted in the book.
There are also a glossary of related terms, surname spellings in Pinyin, Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien, Filipino, Indonesian, and Vietnamese, as well as list of various Internet resources.
[This has been quoted from the review by Ronald Eng Young.]
South China Village Culture by James Hayes, Oxford University Press, Hong Kong 2001.
This volume describes traditional village culture in South China, specifically that of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as recorded by the author during his many years as a civil servant working for the British authorities, from his discussions with the elderly people of the villages. It covers the formation of Xinan County, the imperial government and local self-management, the Confucian legacy, non-Confucian beliefs and practices, women and girls, and heritage awareness and preservation.
Regions and villages mentioned include:
Note: No villages are mentioned for the islands of Peng Chau, Cheung Chau, Lamma Islands and Hong Kong.
Chinese Australians: A Guide to Holdings in the Mitchell Library by Paul Jones & Terri McCormack, Department of Asian Studies at La Trobe University, Melbourne 2000.
This guidebook draws on the card indexes and index folders held in the Mitchell Library, which forms a part of the State Library of New South Wales. Material from the Dixson Library is also included, but no material has been entered from the computer catalogues of these institutions.
It covers personal papers and biography, community publications and correspondence, Chinese language materials, government materials, books, pamphets, journals, newspapers, illustrations, maps, manuscripts and religous interests.
Histories of the Chinese in Australasia and the South Pacific: Proceedings of an International Public Conference held at the Museum of Chinese Australian History Melbourne, 8-10 October 1993 by Paul Macgregor (ed), Museum of Chinese Australian History, Melbourne 1995.
These are the papers presented at a conference held at the Museum of Chinese Australian History in 1993.
The Chinese in Victoria: Official Reports and Documents by Ian F McLaren, Red Rooster Press, Melbourne 1985.
This book looks at the offical reports and acts documenting the relationship between the Chinese in Victoria and the Victorian Parliament from 1850 to 1900. These include:
Eurasian Roots: A Story of the Life and Times of George Ah Kin and Mary Higgins and their Descendants by Barbara Moore, privately published, Canberra 1994.
This book was written for the reunion of the families descended from George Ah Kin and Mary Higgins, who lived around Craigie, Bombala and Nimmitabel on the Monaro highlands, and later in Sydney. It details their lives and those of their children with a specific chapter on the families around Ablong, and reviews the the impact of social conditions in China and Australia on the families at the time.
Copies may be obtained from the author through the Heraldry and Genealogical Society of Canberra.
Ancestors: Chinese in Colonial Australia by Jan Ryan, Fremantle Fine Arts Press, Fremantle 1995.
This paperback is based on the author's PhD thesis, A Study of the Origins and Development of Chinese Immigration into Western Australia: The Colonial Recruitment System and Its Effects on the Chinese from Different Dialect Groups, as evidenced in the Areas of Law, Morbidity and Mortality, 1880-1901 submitted in 1989 at the University of Western Australia.The thesis contains considerably more detail, statistics, tables, maps and documentation.
Chinese Settlement in NSW - A Thematic History by Michael Williams, NSW Heritage Office, Sydney 1999.
The NSW Heritage Office has commissioned this thematic history of the Chinese-Australian community of NSW. It synthesises information from secondary sources about settlement patterns and cultural development.
Sources for Chinese Local History & Heritage in New South Wales by Faye Young & Nicole van Barneveld, privately published, Sydney 1997.
Dispite the title, this is not really a source book for Chinese in New South Wales. Rather it is a reference list covering Chinese immigration to NSW, community and government attitudes, cultural influences, population trends and sources, occupations especially market gardening, associated buildings, land use and pictorial sources. Each entry is discussed in some detail with some emphasis on the local government areas of Rockdale, Kogarah and Hurstville in the Sydney metropolitan area.
Cane Reapers: Chinese Indentured Immigrants in Guyana by Trev Sue-A-Quan, Riftswood Publishing, Parksville, 1999.
"Cane Reapers is the story about the Chinese who were procured to replace the emancipated slaves on the sugar plantations of Guyana (then British Guiana). Following China's defeat by Britain in the Opium Wars in the 1840s the European powers, and Spain in particular, began a recruitment drive to obtain Chinese labourers for their colonies. This was executed using all manner of methods ranging from subtle inducement to kidnapping. Numerous abuses arose from this trade in human cargo and Britain later set up local emigration depots aimed at enlisting willing emigrants, with some degree of success. Between 1853 and 1879 a total of 13,541 indentured labourers arrived in British Guiana from China but by 1900 the resident Chinese population was down to 3,000 mainly because only 15% of the Chinese immigrants were females. The Chinese endured many tribulations both in the journey and after arrival in the new land. In the process of assimilation into Western culture some unique names have evolved for Chinese families, creating both a mystery and a topic of fascination for their descendants and for genealogists."
[This has been quoted from the description in Chinese in Guyana: Their Roots.]
Cane Ripples: The Chinese in Guyana by Trev Sue-A-Quan, Riftswood Publishing, Parksville 2003.
"Cane Ripples is a sequel to Cane Reapers and describes the experiences of the Chinese in Guyana, presented in the form of short stories about individuals and families in their working and recreational lives."
[This has been quoted from the description in Chinese in Guyana: Their Roots.]
The Extent and Preservation of Genealogical Records in China by Lo Hsiang-lin, World Conference on Records, Salt Lake City 1972.
This has been considered the definitive work on Chinese genealogy, and is available through your local LDS Family History Centre. However it appears to be less than useful for practical purposes.
Beyond the Metropolis: Villages in Hong Kong edited by PH Hase and Elizabeth Sinn, Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch and Joint Publishing, Hong Kong 1995.
This is a collection of essays and photographs exploring the villages of Hong Kong, in particularly their traditions, 1950s, landscape, festivals, politics and defensive architecture. The villages surveyed include Wai, Ping Shan, Lau Shui Heung, Pak Mong, Tai Ho, Ngau Kwu Long, Mui Wo; Sha Lo Tung and Tsang Tai Uk.
It was published in 1995 to mark the 35th anniversary of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch from whom it can be sourced.
Chinese Christians: Elites, Middlemen, and the Church in Hong Kong by Carl T Smith, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong 2005.
This is a series of essays by the Reverand Carl Smith, which explores the lives of some 200 men and women who came into contact with Christian missionaries, and who used their connections to achieve wealth and status.
Originally published in 1985 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, it was repubished in 2005 by the Hong Kong University Press from whom it can be sourced.
It contains:
Power and Charity: A Chinese Merchant Elite in Colonial Hong Kong by Elizabeth Sinn, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong 2003
The Tung Wah Hospital in Hong Kong is a charitable institution established in 1869 and still flourishing today through which many Chinese and Europeans have passed. The author traces the rise to power of the Chinese merchants who organized and operated the hospital and the complex relationships between the hospital and the colonial administration, mainland Chinese officials and the Chinese people.
It was repubished in 2003 by the Hong Kong University Press from whom it can be sourced.
It contains:
A Biographical Sketch-Book of Early Hong Kong by George B Endacott, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong 2005.
This is a series of essays by George B Endacott, which explores the lives of some of the Europeans who established Hong Kong in its early years. They worked and lived in times when Hong Kong was plagued by economic depression, piracy, crime and disease. All kinds and conditions of people came and left their mark - from respectable diligent civil servants to drunkards, suspected pirates and corrupt officals. They include Charles Elliott, first administrator, Henry Pottinger, first Governor, Charles Gutzlaff, missionary and interpreter for opium traders, William Caine, first magistrate and ruthless flogger, Daniel Caldwell, official interpreter, Thomas Wade, inventor of the Wade-Giles Romanisation system, and James Legge, acclaimed sinologist.
Originally published in 1962, it was repubished in 2005 by the Hong Kong University Press from whom it can be sourced.
It contains:
Secrets, Silences and Sources: Five Chinese-Australian Family Histories ed Sophie Couchman, Asian Studies Program of the La Trobe University, Melbourne 2005.
As the first publication by the Chinese Australian Family Historians of Victoria, this is a most welcome event. However detail is somewhat patchy and posturing by one or two of the contributors is distracting. One useful feature is the discussion of sources by several of the contributors.
The contents include:
The Story of Blood and Tears of the Families of Overseas Chinese in Toishan by Hei Yen, Confidential Memo, Department of State, Washington DC 1952.
This is a document declassified on 17 September 1998, and reproduced in the Declassified Documents Reference System by the Gale Group, Farmington Hills MI 2007, which is a subscription-only web-access system.
It appears to be a series of exerpts from the original report, of which only chapters 1, 8 and 10 were found. It mentions names, places and dates, and at one point notes that 365 individuals died in Toishan County in 1511 incidents due to Communist-directed threats, imprisonment, torture and execution from 1947 to 1952 inclusive. Only a handful are included.
This horifying catalogue of iniquity is a must-read and an eye-opener.
Catalogue of Chinese Genealogies in Taiwan by Chao Chen-chi, Taipei 1986.
The History and Arrangement of Chinese Genealogies and The Preservation of Genealogical Records in China by Lo Hsiang-lin in Studies in Asian Genealogy, ed Spencer J Palmer, Brigham Young University Press, Provo 1972.
The Chinese Genealogy as a Research Source by Johanna Meskill in Family and Kinship in Chinese Society ed Maurice Freedman, Stanford University Press, Stanford 1970.
Chinese Genealogies at the Genealogical Society of Utah by Ted Telford, Cheng-wen Publishing Co, Taipei 1983.
Local Gazetteers: An Introductory Syllabus by Chu Tung-tsu, Special Collection at University of California-Berkeley East Asian Library, Berkeley 1960.
Local Government in China under the Ching by Chu Tung-tsu, MA Thesis at Council on East Asian Studies Harvard University Press, Harvard 1988.
A Checklist of Chinese Local Histories by Chang Fang-hua, Berkeley-Stanford Joint East Asia Center, Berkeley and Stanford 1980.
Genealogical Department Preliminary List of Chinese Local Histories at the Genealogical Society of Utah, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City 1987.
Gum San Haak in the 1980s: A Study on Chinese Emigrants who Return to Taishan County for Marriage by Wu Xinci and Li Zhen, Amerasia Journal, Vol. 14, No. 2.
The Phonology of Taishan by Teresa M. Cheng, Journal of Chinese Linguistics, Vol. 1 No. 2, May 1973.
The Yue Dialect by Anne Yue-Hashimoto in "Languages and Dialects of China" edited by William S-Y Wang, Journal of Chinese Linguistics, Monograph Series No. 3, 1991.
Comparative Phonology of Guangxi Yue Dialects by Nobuhisa Tsuji, Kazama Shobu Publishing Co, Tokyo, 1980.
Red Tape Gold Scissors: The Story of Sydney's Chinese by Shirley Fitzgerald, State Library of New South Wales Press, Sydney 1997.
Beyond Chinatown: Changing Perspectives on the Top End Chinese Experience by Diana Giese, National Library of Australia, Canberra 1995.
The Diggers from China: The Story of the Chinese on the Goldfields by Jean Gittins, Quartet Books, Melbourne 1981.
A Student's Guide to Chinese American Genealogy by Colleen She, Oryx Press, Phoenix 1996.
Chinese Immigrants & Chinese-Australians in NSW by Julie Stacker & Peri Stewart, Australian Archives, Canberra 1996.
Your Chinese Roots: The Overseas Chinese Story by Thomas Tsu-wee Tan, Times Books International, Singapore 1986.
Australian Mandarin: The Life and Times of Quong Tart by Robert Travers, Kangaroo Press, Sydney 1981.
Basic Guide to Chinese Genealogy by Danny Boey, Chineseroots Pty Ltd, Singapore 2002.
Chinese Migration and Settlement in Australia by C.Y. Choi, Sydney University Press, Sydney 1975.
Migration and Native Place: Qiaokan and the Imagined Community of Taishan County, Guangdong, 1893-1993 by Madeline Hsu, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 59 No. 2, May 2000.
Sojourners: The Epic Story of China's Centuries-Old Relationship with Australia - Flowers and the Wide Sea by Eric Rolls, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 1992.
Citizens: Continuing the Epic Story of China's Centuries-Old Relationship with Australia - Flowers and the Wide Sea by Eric Rolls, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 1996.
Living Abroad and Faring Well: Migration and Transnationalism in Taishan County, Guangdong 1904-1939 by Madeline Y. Hsu, Yale University PhD Thesis, Yale 1996.
China Connection: Finding Ancestral Roots for Chinese in America by Jeanie W Chooey Low, 2nd edition, JWC Low Company, San Francisco 1996.
The New Gold Mountain: The Chinese in Australia 1901-1921 by C.F. Yong, Raphael Arts Pty Ltd, Adelaide 1977.
Our Multicultural Heritage 1788-1945: An Annotated Guide to the Collections of the National Library of Australia by Barry York, National Library of Australia, Canberra 1995.
Asian American Genealogical Sourcebook by Paula K Byers (ed), Gale Research Inc, New York 1995.
Beyond the Narrow Gate: The Journey of Four Chinese Women from the Middle Kingdom to Middle America by Leslie Chang, Dutton, New York 1999.
Ancestors: 900 Years in the Life of a Chinese Family by Frank Ching, Fawcett Columbine, New York 1988.
The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas by Lynn Pan, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA 1999.
The Excluded Wife by Yuen-Fong Woon, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal and Kingston 1998.
Remembering Ah Quin: A Century of Social Memory in a Chinese American Family by Yong Chen, The Oral History Review Vol. 27 No. 1, Winter 2000.
A Guide to the Archives and Records of Protestant Christian Missions from the British Isles to China 1796-1914 by Leslie R Marchant, University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands 1966.
Chinese-Australian Journeys: Records of Travel, Migration and Settlement, 1860-1975 by Paul Jones, National Archives of Australia, Canberra 2005.
Anglo-Chinese Relations in the Provinces in 'the West River and Yangtze River Basin', 1889-1900 by Leslie R Marchant, MA Thesis London University, London 1964.
Taishan
Genealogy
Copyright: ©2001-7 Jon Kehrer,
Canberra