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Clan Genealogy

Clan Genealogy

Traditional Chinese clan genealogy document showing generational records, similar to those maintained by Zhao clan associations in Taishan

The Zhao Surname: 3,100 Years from Imperial China to the Wuyi Diaspora

Every Chinese person who has ever learned to read has memorized the same four characters: 赵钱孙李 — Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li. These are the opening words of the Hundred Family Surnames (百家姓, Bǎijiāxìng), the most famous roster of Chinese names in history, compiled during the Song Dynasty (宋朝, Sòng Cháo, 960-1279 CE). For a millennium,…

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Lee Surname Wuyi Diaspora: A Thousand Years from Longxi to Gold Mountain

{{FIG:fig_01}} One hundred million people alive today carry the surname 李 (Lǐ). If they were a nation, they would be the fourteenth largest on Earth — more populous than Egypt, Vietnam, or Germany. The character appears on mailboxes from San Francisco to Singapore, on tombstones in the goldfields of Ballarat, on business cards in Vancouver,…

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