programthink/zhao

★ 13,984PythonAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5Setup · moderate

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((zhao project))
    What it does
      Political family data
      Relationship diagrams
      Transparency reporting
    Data structure
      YAML person files
      Family files
      Company records
      Portrait images
    Tech stack
      Python scripts
      Graphviz
      PyYAML
    Output formats
      PDF diagrams
      JPG diagrams
    Audience
      Journalists
      Researchers
      General public

mindmap root((zhao project)) What it does Political family data Relationship diagrams Transparency reporting Data structure YAML person files Family files Company records Portrait images Tech stack Python scripts Graphviz PyYAML Output formats PDF diagrams JPG diagrams Audience Journalists Researchers General public

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Browse relationship networks among Chinese political families in downloadable PDF or JPG diagram format.

USE CASE 2

Contribute missing or updated information about individuals by editing YAML files and submitting a pull request.

USE CASE 3

Generate custom network diagrams from the raw YAML data using the included Python build script.

Tech stack

PythonYAMLGraphviz

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Python, PyYAML, and Graphviz installed to generate diagrams, pre-built PDFs and JPGs are available for download without any setup.

In plain English

This project is a community-maintained database exposing the family and business relationships of China's political elite, particularly the so-called princeling faction of individuals with powerful family connections to senior Communist Party officials. It was created in February 2016 by a Chinese political blogger known by the pen name Programming Thoughts. The repository holds over 700 data files covering more than 700 individuals across more than 130 families, along with over 200 portrait images. Each individual has a directory containing a brief.yaml file with their personal background, and some directories include a portrait image. Related companies or organizations have their own directories, and family relationship data is stored in separate YAML files. All data files use YAML format, chosen because it is readable by non-technical contributors who want to help verify and expand the dataset. The project draws on sources such as Wikipedia, international media including The New York Times and the Financial Times, and official Chinese government websites for verifiable facts like birth dates, career histories, and family relationships. A Python build script generates relationship network diagrams from the raw YAML data using Graphviz. Running the script with python make.py pdf or python make.py jpg produces a visual diagram in the requested format. The script works with both Python 2.7 and Python 3.5 or later, and requires PyYAML and Graphviz to be installed. Pre-built PDF and JPG diagrams are available in the download directory for those who only want to view the relationship network without setting up the build environment. The project invites collaborative contributions via GitHub pull requests or issue reports, and the author states they update it regularly, including after major political transitions.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

How do I generate a PDF relationship diagram from this YAML dataset using the make.py script?

Prompt 2

I want to add a new person to this dataset. What fields does the brief.yaml file need to include?

Prompt 3

How do I search through the YAML files in this repo to find all individuals connected to a specific family?

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