Your family's genealogy, online, made together

Not to log in, but to have access. To protect privacy, names are hidden from the public by default and people's pages do not open; where a genealogy's administrators have chosen to show names, the public can read its earlier generations, and the recent generations stay hidden. Entering the family code, or logging in as one of the genealogy's administrators or approved family members, shows everyone. Downloading the PDF or the lineage image needs edit access as well.

Each genealogy is independent and names repeat constantly, so a search only makes sense within a family. If you are not sure which genealogy, find genealogies by surname and place first: when 25 or fewer are found, you can search their people together.

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.

Click "Propose a correction" on the person's page and enter the correct value and your evidence (family records, an elder's account). You need to be one of the genealogy's administrators or approved family members, or to have its family code where it allows corrections by code. Depending on the genealogy's policy the change applies immediately or waits for a genealogy administrator. Deleting a person needs an account and by default an administrator's review; the family code can never delete anyone.

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 and set it - at once, while "An administrator's own changes take effect immediately" is ticked.

No. A correction is recorded beside what was transcribed from the book. 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.

Genealogies you created or are an administrator of; those you have joined with edit access (an account may join several, up to a number the site sets); and any that allows corrections by code, if you have its code. To join a genealogy, click "Apply to join this genealogy" on its front page and say why you belong; its own administrators decide, and whether you may view only or 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, administrators sort other people's changes into five kinds - additions, corrections, removals, biographies and other - and set each to need review or apply automatically; by default all need review. With "An administrator's own changes take effect immediately" ticked, an administrator's own additions and corrections apply at once; removals still follow the removals row.

Press "Start a genealogy" on the home page and a wizard takes you through it: an account; the surname and the ancestral place, chosen down to the county from the list of China's administrative divisions, with the township, village and hall name if you like; the founder; and the family code and an invitation for your relatives. The genealogy's code is made from the place and the surname, is part of its address and never changes; the name and the place can be edited later under "Genealogy settings". The page says how many genealogies your account may make. A new genealogy opens for anyone with its address; to be listed in the directory it needs this site's approval. Its creator is its administrator. With pictures: Make a genealogy in minutes.

Under "Access code" on the Genealogy admin page, set the family code, tick "Allow additions and corrections by code" (a new genealogy has it ticked already), press "Copy the invitation" and paste it into your family's group chat. Relatives open the link, enter the code and - with no account - can add newborns, fill in details and correct mistakes; each change waits for your approval. With pictures: Build it together as a family.

The genealogy's creator, plus the family members the creator makes administrators under "Accounts" on the Genealogy admin page (a system administrator can appoint them too). They review pending edits, set the edit policy, 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.

"Needs review": 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. "Unverified": this person's father was inferred and has not yet been confirmed. Propose a correction if either is wrong.

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.