China Criminal Records

Asia China

Qing Dynasty Criminal Records
Research Use: Allows identification of individual by name, place, and calculated date. May also give family relationships in some cases. These are likely the only records that include the names of these criminals, particularly if the emperor upheld their sentence, for the names of persons who brought disgrace to the family were systematically dropped from family genealogical records.

Record Type: These records include major criminal confession records which involved banishments and the autumn trial records which involved reviewing capital crime cases from each province.

Time Period: 1663 to 1911.

Contents: Name, age, native place of accused; family relationships, date and details of offense; course of case and conclusions of hearing.

Location: First Historical Archives, Beijing, China (Grand Secretariat collection).

Percentage in Family History Library Collection: All records of the Grand Secretariat have been filmed. It is not known what other records exist.

Population Coverage: Estimated at less than 5%.

Reliability: Good.