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Copyright Xinhua News Agency Apr 19, 2003

Memorial service held for primogenitor of Chinese people

TAIYUAN, April 19 (Xinhua) -- A public memorial service was held Saturday in Wanrong County in north China's Shanxi Province, to pay tribute to the legendary primogenitor of the Chinese nation.

More than 200 representatives of the Chinese people from 13 countries and regions attended the service, which was held on the mythological birthday of the Chinese people's earliest ancestor Nuwa (in Chinese).

Legend has it that the first human beings were created by Nuwa, who molded clay figures by hand. She is also believed to have patched holes in the sky with stone blocks to protect human beings.

Following the service, Wanrong County will stage a myriad of other activities, including a seminar on the legends of Nuwa, a calligraphy competition, an exhibition of local produce and industrial products and a fair in which businessmen will be invited to invest in various projects.

Eight Chinese emperors paid homage to the ancestral temple of Nuwa, located in Miaoqian Village of Wanrong County during the period from 206 BC to 1279 AD.

The existing temple was constructed in 1870 during China's Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

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Jia Pu (Chinese Genealogical Record): An Introduction

A "Jia Pu" usually begins with the primogenitor that first settled or moved to a place and started his family there, and should end with the contemporary generation that draws up the genealogy. The intermediate ancestors are to be enumerated in between. The primogenitor's sons and descendents compose the first six generations and are tabulated on one form. The primogenitor's first-borne son and subsequent first-borne grandsons are listed vertically downwards on the right, while the brothers of the first-borne are listed laterally on the left. Descriptions of each generation are confined in relatively narrow, horizontal divisions of the form. These spaces contain information such as the ancestor's name and aliases, date of birth and death and official rank. The proceeding generations are recorded in a similar manner.

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