China News Service, Fuzhou, March 9th (Ye Qiuyun and Wu Shengwei) A genealogy book, neat handwriting, solid color; lightly flipped, the ink is overflowing... Recently, the reporter came to the genealogical master Chen Ruohang, located in the town of Minhou County, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province Studio.
The 53-year-old Chen Ruohang was born in a family of cultivators. His ancestors first engaged in cultivating the ancestors in the Qing Dynasty.
The Chen family's handwriting genealogy skills in European style have been passed to him, and it is the sixth generation.
At the end of 2014, Chen Ruohang was named "China's Senior Genealogist".
Chen Ruohang is looking up the genealogy.
Photo by Ye Qiuyun
In Chen Ruohang's memory, his grandfather was a good competitor and was well-known in Minhou.
When he was 8 years old, Chen Ruohang followed his grandfather to practice the European style.
Since the age of 18, he has participated in the compilation and compilation of genealogy together.
Chen Ruohang sat in front of the desk and wrote carefully.
He said that genealogy is a folk history and traditional culture, which is generally written by hand.
When he was in elementary school, his grandfather often took him to write; under the influence of his grandfather, he slowly wrote into his teenage years, "Later, I began to help him write this genealogy, and it lasted for decades."
"At the time, my grandfather also explained that this is a very serious matter." Chen Ruohang wrote with awe and cautiousness.
He said that as a successor, you must be conscientious when going out to help others, and you must not be sloppy.
A genealogy is a history of changes in a period of time and a microcosm of a society. It records the reproduction of a family lineage and the deeds of important people. In Chen Ruohang's view, compiling a genealogy is not an easy task.
Chen Ruohang sat in front of the desk and wrote carefully.
Photo by Ye Qiuyun
An important task of compiling a genealogy is to collect the information of the clan members. The guests take the first draft, and the names, place names, and historical origins in the manuscripts must be verified to ensure the accuracy of the genealogical information.
The members of a family range from a few hundred to tens of thousands, and the number of characters in the genealogy ranges from tens of thousands to more than 1 million.
A choppy stroke or a typo means that the entire page of the genealogy has to be rewritten.
For a long time, Chen Ruohang devoted himself to practicing calligraphy and strictly controlled the rate of typos.
Chen Ruohang is looking through the genealogy.
Photo by Ye Qiuyun
Chen Ruohang said that nowadays, a genealogy of one or two million words is written down occasionally, and there is nothing wrong with it.
When the last word is wrong, the entire page must be replaced and rewritten.
So, every word you write must be quietly, and every page must be completed carefully.
The reporter noticed that almost all traditional characters are used in the genealogy.
Chen Ruohang memorized the traditional characters by heart.
He told reporters that today, in the process of compiling the genealogy, the typos rate of only 1 to 2 words per 10,000 characters is maintained.
The wear and tear of nearly 80 brushes each year also witnesses the continuous improvement of his writing skills.
Although many genealogies have already adopted electronic typesetting and type printing, Chen Ruohang still insisted on handwriting to leave the ink on the paper.
In his opinion, the words written by hand are the best interpretation of the simple and elegant, solemn and dignified, and long-standing characteristics of the genealogy.
"The handwritten genealogy is placed in the ancestral hall. When you open the genealogy, they are all regular scripts, neatly and well-regulated, and can be preserved for generations."
So far, Chen Ruohang has compiled more than 100 genealogies by hand alone, and many people still find him admiringly.
Although the business is overwhelming, Chen Ruohang maintains a rigorous and serious attitude as always.
For him, the genealogy not only records the blood stories of each family, but also carries the complex of the descendants of Yan and Huang who seek their roots and ask their ancestors.
During the interview, Chen Ruohang mentioned the inheritance of skills several times.
Today, his son has joined the ranks of compiling and revising genealogy, and he is also preparing to build a folk genealogy museum in Dahu Township, Minhou County, his hometown.
In addition, Chen Ruohang is also committed to promoting this skill into the campus, allowing young people to contact and understand the genealogy culture.
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