Genealogy News · Source Interpretation · Published on 2026-10-06

Research Leads for the Ninth Volume of the Eighth Revision of the Shuanggui Hall Tang Clan Genealogy

The available materials indicate that this is a fascicle titled “Shuanggui Hall Tang Clan Eighth-Revision Genealogy,” with viewing information available for 75 pages of the ninth volume. Because the compilation date, region, first ancestor to migrate, and complete genealogy pages are unavailable, the specific branch and lineage relationships cannot yet be confirmed on this basis alone.

“The Ninth Volume of the Shuanggui Hall Tang Clan Eighth-Revision Genealogy” is a research lead concerning Tang clan documents. Existing records indicate that the genealogy uses “Shuanggui Hall” as the hall name or compilation designation in its title and forms part of the “Tang Clan Eighth-Revision Genealogy” system; the currently available ninth volume is shown as containing 75 pages. Here, “eighth revision” generally suggests that the genealogy underwent multiple continuations or revisions, but the title alone is not sufficient to determine the specific dates of the revisions, the persons who directed them, the places where they were undertaken, or the earlier editions on which they were based.

Different fascicles of a genealogy often cover different types of content: some record lineages, while others include ancestral hall property, burials, family instructions, biographies, or migration branches. Pages may also be missing because of printing or preservation conditions. Therefore, the relationship between the ninth volume and the other fascicles of the complete genealogy still needs to be determined by consulting the table of contents, opening pages, editorial notes, prefaces, and page annotations. Particular attention should be paid to whether the genealogy mentions the first ancestor to migrate, the founding ancestor, branch names, generation-name sequences, places of residence, and lineage numbers that connect with the preceding and following volumes. Such information is more useful for distinguishing branches than the hall name alone.

“Tang” is one of the more common surnames and is widely distributed geographically; historically, multiple independent clans may also have formed. Sharing a surname does not mean sharing the same ancestry, and the use of the same hall name, generation-name sequence, or similar migration account cannot by itself prove a common ancestor. To connect this genealogy with a particular family’s line of descent, it is advisable to first organize the known names of ancestors, approximate dates, ancestral places of origin, resident villages, burial sites, and marital relationships, and then compare them item by item with the records of successive generations in the genealogy. Variant characters, taboo names, childhood names, and ranking characters should also be checked against images of the original genealogy and local documents to avoid misidentification caused by textual differences.

When consulting the materials, surname records, online genealogies, and family memoirs can be used as tools for organizing research leads: first establish the known family line, then verify the branch and place of residence recorded in the genealogy, and finally use local gazetteers, ancestral-hall inscriptions, epitaphs, or household-registration materials as corroborating evidence. Local gazetteer databases can help verify changes in place names, the development of villages, and the geographical scope of individuals’ activities, but when different sources conflict, the discrepancies should be retained and the basis for each source noted. At this stage, this material is best regarded as a documentary lead concerning a particular Tang lineage. It should not yet be used to infer that all Tang-surname families originated from “Shuanggui Hall,” nor should it be used to confirm specific ancestors, migration routes, or a complete lineage.

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