Generation Poem
The sequence of generation is typically prescribed and kept in record by a generation poem (banci lian 班次聯 or paizi ge 派字歌 in Chinese) specific to each lineage. While it may have a mnemonic function, these poems can vary in length from around a dozen characters to hundreds of characters. Each successive character becomes the generation name for successive generations. After the last character of the poem is reached, the poem is usually recycled though occasionally it may be extended.
Generation poems were usually composed by a committee of family elders whenever a new lineage was established through geographical emigration or social elevation. Thus families sharing a common generation poem are considered to also share a common ancestor and have originated from a common geographical location.
Important examples are the generation poems of the Kong and Meng family. During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Jianwen respected Confucius and Mencius so much that he honored their families with generation poems. These generation poems were extended with the permission of the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the Tongzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the Ministry of Interior of the Beiyang Government. Another notable generation poem is the Nguyễn dynasty's Đế hệ thi (帝係詩 ‘Poem of the Generations of the Imperial Family’), created by Minh Mạng emperor.
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Famous quotes containing the words generation and/or poem:
“... if women once learn to be something themselves, that the only way to teach is to be fine and shining examples, we will have in one generation the most remarkable and glorious children.”
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)
“A poem is one undivided, unimpeded expression fallen ripe into literature, and it is undividedly and unimpededly received by those for whom it was matured.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)