The Fourth Preface (Text)

The Fourth Preface

“Family Record” is an alternative name for “Genealogy.” A clan has a genealogy to preserve its origin correctly, distinguish near and distant relatives, and illuminate the significance of respecting ancestors and venerating primogenitors. [A family] begins from one man, but [the number of his descendants] may reach tens, hundreds, thousands, and ten thousands. Unless there is a genealogy to unite them there will be few who do not see each other as strangers.

It has been fifteen generations since the Registrar (Lu Shi, cir., 1065) moved to Dongyang county. We have maintained benevolence and uprightness without interruption so that we may be able to extend our virtues through generations infinitely and spread our family reputation inexhaustibly.

Unfortunately, the old genealogy was lost at the fire of the dingwei year of the Chenghua reign period (1487). My father (Lu Rong 盧溶, 14^th gen., 1413-1489) did not know what to do. He told my uncle Benyuan (本源, Lu Tao 盧濤, 14^th gen., 1437-1501) to plan a way to continue it; he searched and gathered materials and found charts and drafts in the lineage. However, there was nothing on the ancestors’ virtues; there was just enough to reconstruct the line of descent. When they wanted to do a complete new edition they could not due to my father’s illness. Alas!

In the gengxu year of the Hongzhi reign period (1490) this unfilial person was left alone [by my father’s death]. My uncle reminded me of my father’s order, causing me to feel deep and unbearable sorrow. So I asked others help in the work of revision and we used every method we could. We added what was lost or missing; we reorganized what was in disorder; we corrected what was inaccurate; we removed what was dubious. We did not date groundlessly to add anything if was not in the old [edition]. We also purchased certain amount of verse and prose from relatives and friends. With the supplements it was neither too excessive nor too brief; it came to six volumes. In the jiayin year (1494) we were ready to hire the printers but the two volumes of “Past Virtues” and “Funerary Texts” were still not finished. It was seven years later in the xinyou year of the Hongzhi reign period (1501) that the compilation was complete. Hurrah!

It is not filial both to forget [one’s own] ancestors, not is it filial to claim [others’ ancestors as one’s own]. I see today that people often discard their real origins and falsely arbitrarily claim [membership in] other lineages in order to embellish their claim to a good pedigree. How can they avoid scorn and criticism from true gentlemen? My uncle worried deeply about this, therefore in editing he wrote according to facts in every instance so that there was not the slightest falsehood. Had not my uncle meticulously investigated things it would not have been so accurate and truthful.

When the book was done he said we ought to have a preface in front. I had resigned from office due to illness, and could not go to ask a famous person for one. So for the meantime I have written a brief account of the project as above. If in the future someone is interested and collect [the necessary information] and plans [a new compilation] then our purpose in doing this will not have entirely been lost.

Written by [Lu] Ge, (盧格, 1450-1516), fifteenth generation descendant, Metropolitan Graduate, with the rank of Gentleman-Literatteur, Investigating Censor for Jiangxi Province, in the fifteenth day of the sixth month, in the summer of the xinyou year of the Hongzhi reign period (1501) of the Ming.