Lineage Genealogy: The Genealogical Records of the Qing Imperial Lineage

Abstract

��� As in other lineages with corporate control over valuable resources~in this case high status, and material benefits-membership in the Qing imperial lineage was closely monitored. The Zongrenfu (the Imperial Clan Court, perhaps better translated as the Office of the Imperial Lineage), was responsible for keeping close track of descendants of the founding ancestor of the imperial line. The voluminous genealogical records kept by this office appear to be unmatched in their comprehensive data on births, marriages, and deaths. These are the records that have recently excited the attention of historical demographers. It should surprise no one that in order to use these genealogical records it will be necessary to understand both the lineage system itself and the record-keeping apparatus ofthe Zongrenfu. This article is a very preliminary introduction to both.1 We begin with a brief discussion of the imperial lineage itself. Qing rulers traced their direct paternal line back eight generations before the Shunzhi emperor (the first to rule