About ChineseRoots.org

My interest in my family genealogy was recently piqued when my father mentioned something about a document that was given to him by my grandfather who had recently passed away. Although my father didn't seem too interested in it, I started looking into it and tried to do some basic research into the origins of my family surname (Mok, 莫). Unfortunately, I soon discovered the dearth of English material relating to my surname on the Internet. I also began to realize what a treasure chest of information that document represented. I started looking more carefully at the document with my father translating. The document contains a family tree of the first recorded Mok that goes back to the Tang dynasty. There is also an account of the lineage of the first Mok, who descended from the 2nd son of the second to last Western Zhou emperor. Since this account was a photocopy of a hand written page, I was doubtful of the authenticity or accuracy of it. But thankfully, I corroborated much of this account with a published work (In Search of your Asian Roots: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames, by Sheau-Yueh J. Chao).
The more I learn about it, the more I am beginning to understand many of the Chinese traditions that I've heard about, both from my family as well as through the media. For example, now I am truly beginning to fathom the pride of having a son to carry on the family name. Imagine the pressures that parents must have felt when they were limited by the government to only one child and having to even consider infanticide just to keep their lineage going...

the other eye opens..
Unfortunately as an American Born Chinese (ABC), I also understand how fragile our histories are. Until we found this document, my family's history was mainly an oral tradition since my ancestors were peasants in Southern China for hundreds of years. With the passing of most of my grandparents, what is left of these histories reside with my parents and myself. As an ABC, I can barely speak and read Chinese and I think that most of this history will be gone unless I do something to preserve it.. and thus chineseroots.org was born.

The mission of this site is to promote the research and sharing of information relating to Chinese surnames and genealogies. The audience of this site are the 1st and 2nd generation Chinese that are curious as to their lineage but lack the resources (ie: living grandparents or language barrier) to find out about their familial history. I encourage everyone to ask their aunts/uncles parents/grandparents about their family history (and document it too, tape it!). When your kids ask you about your heritage, you will be able to teach them about the richness of your culture, the challenges your family faced in arriving in the US (or wherever you may be), and hopefully instill a set of values in your children to never take being in America for granted.

Feel free to browse around and hopefully learn a little about your background. I have set up a forum for discussion so please feel free to post any questions, insights or comments you may have. You may also contact me directly via email.

Hopefully one day we may all understand what it means to be Chinese.