Chinese kin
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A Chinese kin, lineage or sometimes rendered as clan, is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral home.
Description[edit]
Chinese kinship tend to be strong in southern China, reinforced by ties to an ancestral village, common property, and often a common spoken Chinese dialect unintelligible to people outside the village. Kinship structures tend to be weaker in northern China, with clan members that do not usually reside in the same village nor share property.
Zupu—the genealogy book[edit]
A zupu (simplified Chinese:
Chinese lineage associations[edit]
Chinese lineage associations, also kinship or ancestral associations (simplified Chinese:
Chinese kinship associations are the corporate forms of kins and the fundamental unit of Chinese ancestral religion. They provide guanxi (social network) to members and they build and manage ancestral shrines or temples dedicated to the worship of the progenitors of the kins as their congregational centers, where they perform rites of unity.[2]
A lineage is a corporation, in the sense that members feel to belong to the same body, are highly conscious of their group identity, and derive benefits from jointly owned property and shared resources.[3] Benefit derives from the surplus income of ancestral shrines and homes, which is reinvested by the managers or shared out in yearly dividends.[4] Benefit of belonging to a lineage can also be measured in terms of protection and patronage.[4] Ancestral temples also support local schools and engage in charitable work.[5]
Different lineages may develop through the opposite processes of fusion and segmentation.[6] They can also be dispersed and fragmented into "multi-lineage areas" or concentrated in one place, or "single-lineage area".[6]
Ancestral shrine[edit]
Ancestral temples or shrines are the congregation places of lineage associations, by whom they are built and managed. These temples are devoted to the worship of the progenitors of a certain kin, where the kin members meet and perform rites of unity and banquets.[2]
Variations[edit]
Consort kinship[edit]
In Imperial times, a consort kin was a kin with special status due to its connection with an emperor. Throughout Chinese history, consort kins have exercised great power at various times. There have been several usurpations of power by consorts, the most notable being the Han dynasty's Empress Dowager Lü (Chinese:
Qing period[edit]
During the Qing dynasty, the imperial government encouraged Chinese kins to take up some quasi-governmental functions such as those involving social welfare and primary education.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
- Chinese folk religion
- Confucianism
- Chinese ancestral worship
- Ancestral shrine & Ancestor tablets
- Chinese surname—Hundred Family Surnames
- Chinese lineage associations
- Ancestral home
- Guanxi
- Kongsi
- Xungen movement, the contemporary reconstruction of lineages in China
- Zupu
- Ethnic interest group
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
Sources[edit]
- Watson, James L. (December 1982). "Chinese Kinship Reconsidered: Anthropological Perspectives on Historical Research". China Quarterly. 92 (92): 589–622. doi:10.1017/S0305741000000965. JSTOR 653680. S2CID 145418707.
- Tsai, Lily Lee (July 2002). "Cadres, Temple and Lineage Institutions, and Government in Rural China". The China Journal (48): 1–27. doi:10.2307/3182439. JSTOR 3182439. S2CID 147239659.
- Cohen, Myron L. (August 1990). "Lineage Organization in North China". The Journal of Asian Studies. 49 (3): 509–534. doi:10.2307/2057769. JSTOR 2057769. S2CID 163489363.