經濟學人精讀 The Economist

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近日劉強東在網上尋找族譜，暴露了中國族譜的空缺問題。一方面，在毛zhu xi時代，某黨試圖抵制敬奉祖先，很多族譜被毀掉了。另一方面，在近幾十年，國家人口的大規模遷徙，使得家族的記錄散落各地。但是，這些並不是不能解決的問題。首先，一些在以前被藏起來和帶出國外的族譜，可以填補一部分空缺，其次，已經有家族協會重新建立，並開始編輯整理族譜，也將建立在線族譜數據庫。希望日後，在網上尋找族譜能夠像網上購物一樣簡單。

Family trees[族譜]

Ancestral longings[祖先的憧憬]

A tech billionaire’s quest exposes gaps in Chinese genealogies[

WHEN Richard Liu asked for help in tracing his family history, thousands of people offered suggestions[當RL在追溯他的家庭歷史過程中尋求幫助時，上千人提供了建議]. Little wonder: Mr Liu, the founder of JD.com, a popular online mall, is worth about $10bn[不意外的是，這位劉先生，是一個知名網絡購物商城，京東的創始人，身價大約100億美元]. There are more than 65mpeople in China who share his surname—some would love to connect their family branches to his bountiful[充足的] tree[在中國，有超過6500百萬的人和他有相同的姓氏——一些人希望將他們的家族分支與劉富裕的家族聯繫在一起]. But constructing an accurate lineage[血統，世系]could be tough, not only because of the huge number of Lius[但是，構造出準確的血統是困難的，不僅僅因為劉姓數量眾多]. In a country that in recent decades has seen the biggest movement of people in history away from their ancestral homes, genealogical[家系的] records are patchy[散落的，分佈不均的][近幾十年，這個國家見證了史上最大規模的人口遷徙，人們遠離故鄉，家族的記錄散落各地].

Veneration[敬重，尊敬]of ancestors is part of Chinese culture[敬重祖先是中國文化的一部分]. Traditionally this required the scrupulous[嚴謹的] updating of genealogies by family elders[傳統上，這要求家庭中的長輩嚴謹的更新家系]. These were recorded in books known as zupu that listed members of each generation—though typically only the men[這些被記錄在叫做族譜的冊子中，寫著每一代的成員——儘管通常只有男性]. Zupu were often kept in ancestral shrines (such as the one pictured, dedicated to a clan surnamed Li in the southern city of Guangzhou)[族譜通常被保存在祖傳的神祠中（例如圖中這個，是廣州南部城市的一個李氏家族專用神祠）.

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But war and migration in the past two centuries have complicated matters[但是，在過去兩個世紀發生的戰爭和遷徙，使得問題變得複雜]. Under Mao, the CommunistParty tried to stamp out[消滅] ancestor worship[崇拜尊崇][在毛時期，某黨試圖消滅祭奉祖先]. Many zupu were destroyed[很多族譜都被毀掉了]. Mr Liu was born in Jiangsu,an eastern province, and can trace his heritage back to a branch of the Liu family in the central province of Hunan[劉先生出生於江蘇，一個東部的省份，能夠將他的家族追溯到湖南省中部的劉氏家族的一個分支]. There the trail goes cold because the relevant zupu is missing, say local media[但當地媒體說，這也是追尋停止的地方，因為相關的族譜已經丟失了].

In the West, people trying to trace their lineage often consult websites that provide data from sources such as census records and church registers[在西方，想要追尋他們家系的人通常會諮詢提供數據的網站，這些數據的來源有普查記錄，教堂註冊信息]. Such sites enable users to link their trees with others[這些網站使用戶可以將他們的族譜關聯到其他人的族譜]. But in China there is little in the way of official historical records that contain genealogical data and are open to commercial databases[但是，在中國，存在很少的包含族譜的數據並且向商業數據庫開放的官方歷史記錄]. Local gazettes[報紙] often provided information about members of prominent families, but were silent about themasses[當地的報紙通常會提供顯貴家族的家庭成員信息，但是對大眾家庭保持沉默].

Yet not all is lost[但是，不是所有的族譜都丟失了]. Over the past couple of decades, clan associations have re-established themselves and worked to compile[編輯，編制] records again[在過去的幾十年，家族協會重新建立，並再次編制記錄]. Zupu that were hidden inMao’s day, or taken abroad, have helped to fill in gaps[在毛時代被藏起來的族譜，或是被帶出國的族譜，幫助填補了空缺]. Some family elders have“put their collective memory down on paper”, says Huihan Lie, founder of MyChina Roots, a genealogy service[我的中國根，一個家譜服務組織，其創始人HL說，一些家庭中的年長者已經“在紙上寫下了他們共有的記憶”]. The paucity[缺乏] of surnames inChina—almost 85% of people share just 100 family names—is not necessarily anobstacle[中國姓氏的缺乏——幾乎85%的人共享僅僅100個家族姓氏——並不是一個要緊的障礙]. Given names can also provide clues[名字也能提供線索]. They are usually made up of two characters, with the first one sometimes chosen from a generational sequence of names ordained by the recipient’s clan[名字通常有兩個漢字，第一個漢子有時選自，獲得名字人的所在家族中，按照世代順序排列的名字]. Mr Liu knows the sequence for eight generations in his family[劉先生知道他家族的八代人的順序].

Websites are helping to make the search easier[網站可以幫助讓尋找變得更簡單]. My China Roots recently received private funding to build an online zupu database, starting with records from southern provinces where they are often more complete[我的中國根最近收到了私人贊助去建立在線族譜數據庫，從南方的省份開始，通常這些省份的族譜更為複雜]. Eventually the plan is to include Hunan, where Mr Liu’s search is focused[最終，計劃將涵蓋湖南省，也就是李先生的尋找焦點]. With luck, searching for ancestors will someday be as easy as online shopping[幸運的是，尋找祖先將會在未來某天與網上購物一樣容易].

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詞彙總結 VOCABULARY TAKEAWAY

【lineage】

the members of a person's family who are directly related to that person and who lived a long time before him or her

血統；世系

She's very proud of her ancient royal lineage.

她為自己擁有古老的皇室血統倍感自豪。

【patchy】

only existing or happening in some parts

散落的，分佈不均的，局部地區的

The varnish is a little patchy on this table.

這張桌子上的清漆有點不勻。

The morning will start with some patchy rain/cloud/fog at first.

英格蘭東南部開始會局部降雨／局部多雲。

【veneration】

to honour or very much respect a person or thing

Robert Burns is Scotland's most venerated poet.

羅伯特．彭斯是蘇格蘭最受尊崇的詩人。

【scrupulous】

doing everything correctly and exactly as it should be done

嚴格的，嚴謹的，小心的

The nurse told him to be scrupulous (= extremely careful) about keeping the wound clean.

護士告訴他務必保持傷口清潔。

【stamp sth out】

to get rid of something that is wrong or harmful

消除，消滅

The new legislation is intended to stamp out child prostitution.

新的立法旨在消除兒童賣淫現象。

【worship】

to have or show a strong feeling of respect and admiration for god or a god

敬奉，崇拜，信仰（上帝或神）

On the island the people worshipped different gods.

【compile】

to collect information from different places and arrange it in a book,report,or list

We're compiling some facts and figures for a documentary on the subject.

我們正在為一部有關這個主題的紀錄片彙編資料。

【paucity】

the fact that there is too little of something

缺乏

There is a paucity of information on the ingredients of many cosmetics.

許多化妝品沒有提供充足的產品成分信息。

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