Discover

In Chinese culture and society, 'hometown' or 'ancestral hometown' (Chinese: 籍貫 or 祖籍) is the place of origin of one's extended family. It may or may not be the place where one is born. For instance, Physics Nobelist Tsung-Dao Lee was born in Shanghai, China, but his hometown is listed as Suzhou.
A persons' hometown is sometimes defined by where his or her father was born. Su Shi limited it to five generations, i.e. it refers to the home of one's great-great-grandfather. Even more broadly, an ancestral home can refer to the first locality where a surname came to be established or prominent.
In Chinese culture, the importance of family and regional identity are such that a person's ancestral hometown or birthplace plays an important social role in personal identity. For instance, at a university, students who hail from the same region will often become members of the regional/hometown association or club for other people with the same background. Discussion of personal or ancestral origins is typical when two people meet for the first time. In recent years, the root-seeking (寻根) movement has led to greater interest in ancestral hometowns, especially among overseas Chinese.
Passports and national identification cards issued in Taiwan by the Republic of China government formerly carried an entry for "home citizenship" (本籍). Citizens would usually have their ancestral home (defined through the patriline) stated on these documents, despite, as in the case of many Mainlanders born in Taiwan to refugee parents, having never set foot in their ancestral home. This practice was abolished by the government in the mid-1990s amid the Taiwan localization movement.