Patriarchal Clan System Research Articles

VII. Eine Entwicklungsgeschichte des chinesischen Familien- und Erbrechts im Lichte der Rezeption des deutschen BGB

Summary In contrast with China’s several millennia of civilization history, its history of civil law legislation had not started until the late Qing-Dynasty (1911). This discrepancy stood out prominently in the correlated areas of the family law and inheritance law due to China’s cultural features and the compatible cultural awareness of its people, which had naturalized and legitimized their practices in both areas. Actually, in no other areas had the cultural consciousness, the deep-rooted cultural psychology and the consciousness-driven behavioral patterns of the Chinese families and individuals been more profoundly shaped by the rules of rites and etiquette, the ethical rules and the patriarchal clan system, central customary-legal elements enshrined in the Chinese history. As its key achievement, the legal modernization in the late Qing period (1902–1911) brought forth the Civil Code of the Qing- Dynasty (ZGE), the first such milestone in China’s legal history, initiating the civil law legislation in China. With regard to China’s special legal-historical and legal-cultural background, the drafters of the ZGE – especially its family and inheritance law – had to revolutionarily modernize the Chinese civil law, while at the same time, transferring certain traditional cultural legacies. This could not have been possible without adopting the German Civil Code (BGB) as the primary foreign codification model, especially from the legal-technical, legal-systematic and legal-dogmatic perspective. Ever since then, the evolution of the Chinese civil law has been closely connected with the adoption of the BGB, while the history of the former runs parallel to the history of the latter. The influences of the BGB on China’s major civil law codifications, including also the Civil Code of the Republic of China (1929–1931) and the PRC Civil Code (2020), have been significant and continuous. It is legal-historically insightful to probe into these influences while examining the evolutionary history of the Chinese family and inheritance law ever codified since the ZGE, and, accordingly, retracing and closely analyzing the pre-modern state of both areas.

The Survival Dilemmas of Qinglou Talented Women in the Late Ming Dynasty and Their Encounters with the Patriarchal Order

Abstract During the Ming and Qing Dynasties it was common thought that the Qinglou talented women were not bound by normal human relationships and women’s virtues because they lived outside the patriarchal order. Chased after by male bigwigs in the society, they mingled at upper-class male playing places and obtained higher reputations because of their outstanding talent. However, they held a very contradictory position because, especially in the Ming dynasty, women’s virtues were still regarded as an important standard of female evaluation in the society. On the one hand, they faced dilemmas in their living conditions, and on the other, there was a subtle interaction between their living space and the patriarchal clan system – this also occurred because of changes created by the patriarchal clan system and social rules, which exerted a continuous influence on the way a female could survive in the later imperial period. Based on historical and literary documents such as jottings, novels, and unofficial history of Ming and Qing Dynasties, this essay aims at analyzing the living space of these talented women.

Collectivisation, paradox and resistance: the architecture of people’s commune in China

The people's commune [人民公社], an all-encompassing socio-political, economic, and spatial model of collectivisation in China during the 1950s and the 80s, played a fundamental role in the country's pursuit of modernity. Through the correlation between political forces and spatial production, the commune architecture articulated and enforced the construct of collective subjectivities. The coupling of collective canteens with the abolishment of family kitchens formalised a practice of everyday life that aimed to collectivise the socio-economic functions of dwelling and destabilise social ties formed in the extended family and the patriarchal clan system. The tensions between the modern state and family tradition led to the inherent paradox of the commune architecture: it spatially resembled and renewed the old structures it set out to destruct. The negotiation between the two regimes of power finds its embodiment in materialised details through implementation: the adapted ancestral temple as collective canteen and the renewed traditional three-jian [三开间, three-bay] principle in commune housing. Fieldwork spanning several years in the realised commune settlement of the then Shigushan Production Brigade in Wuhan [石骨山大队] reveals embodied conflicts, resistance, and readjustments of the people's commune as well as how it has become a constitutive part of China's rural society today. An essential addition to the non-canonical architectural histories outside the Western traditions and epistemologies, the architecture of people's commune in China opens up new ways to think about the socio-spatial organisation of networks of care and intergenerational living beyond the nuclear family.

조선 중기 『춘추』 해석의 두 가지 양상

This article attempted to investigate the pluralistic aspects of the interpretation of Spring and Autumn[『春秋』] in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, focusing on A Detailed Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals[春秋瑣說] of Shin Min-il (申敏一) and the criticism of it by Jo Ik(趙翼). Duke Yin[隱公]’s enthronement and death were significant events that caused various controversies regarding the core principles of patriarchal clan system[宗法制] during the Spring and Autumn period, so it was subject to intensive review by later researchers. Regarding Duke Yin’s behavior, Gongyang Commentary On Spring And Autumn Annals[春秋公羊傳] and Guliang Commentary On Spring And Autumn Annals[春秋穀梁傳] show the opposite attitude, and there are two issues. The first is the possibility of a conflict between the hierarchical principle of patriarchal clan system and filial piety[孝], and the second is the possibility of a conflict between the private nature of the act of giving favors and the public nature of feudalism. From the basic point of view of defending Duke Yin, Gongyang Commentary On Spring And Autumn Annals praised his willingness to hand over the country to his younger brother as well as his ability to judge the political situations, but Guliang Commentary On Spring And Autumn Annals downgraded Duke Yin to a person buried in the private sector. The evaluation of Duke Yin by the Hu Anguo[胡安國] is generally consistent with that of Guliang Commentary On Spring And Autumn Annals[春秋穀梁傳]. This is because Hu Anguo[胡安國] also criticized Duke Yin’s actions, which had abdicated the country as a private matter. Shin Min-il stood up for Duke Yin, criticizing Hu Anguo’s assessment of Duke Yin. At this time, Shin Min-il emphasized the principle of filial piety more, emphasizing that Duke Yin tried to comply with the intention of his father, Duke Hui[惠公], rather than his will to hand over the country to his younger brother. He saw that the latter should be prioritized when the principle of succession and filial piety conflict. Of course, he argued that it should not be unilaterally done, but a “scale[權衡]” to adjust the two principles is necessary, and all actions should be judged according to the “principle of natural human feelings[情法]”. On the other hand, Jo Ik emphasizes the hierarchy principle of patriarchal clan system and the publicity of the feudal system, which is consistent with Hu Aaguo and Guliang Commentary On Spring And Autumn Annals. In fact, Shin Min-il’s emphasis on “principle of natural human feelings” is actually based on Zhu Xi’s interpretation of Spring and Autumn Annals. This is because Zhu Xi also showed aspects of interpreting the difficult phrases of Spring and Autumn Annals in light of “principle of natural human feelings” in many ways. On the other hand, Jo Ik expressed concerns about Shin Min-il’s emphasis on the concept of “principle of natural human feelings”, but Shin Min-il must have been proud that his method could be supported by Zhu Xi.

Research on the Cultural Tracing of the Patriarchal Clan System of Traditional Buildings in the Eastern Zhejiang Province, China, Based on Space Syntax: The Case Study of Huzhai in Shaoxing

The patriarchal clan system is an important prerequisite for the formation and development of Chinese traditional culture. The spatial layout and space usage of traditional buildings are intimately related to patriarchal culture. Thus, analyzing the spatial layout and usage is an effective way to trace the culture of traditional buildings. In this study, a typical traditional building named Huzhai in eastern Zhejiang was examined as an example. The spatial layout characteristics of Huzhai and different space usage relations corresponding to different users under the influence of the patriarchal clan system were investigated through “all lines” analysis in space syntax. In this process, traditional ritual activities were considered crucial for tracing the culture of traditional buildings in the eastern Zhejiang province. The results demonstrate that spatial layout and the usage of traditional buildings in the eastern Zhejiang province have led to “class” distinctions under the influence of patriarchal culture. The sacrificial activities of families further emphasize the class distinctions of building space. The differences in building space usage among different classes reflect the unequal distribution of social resources in China’s traditional feudal society. These differences reflect the inequality of space mastership and control among different classes that are a result of the unequal distribution of social resources in China.

Lineage in Rural China: Social Network or Patriarchal Clan System? Evidence from Its Impact on Irrigation Infrastructure Management

Lineage in Rural China: Social Network or Patriarchal Clan System? Evidence from Its Impact on Irrigation Infrastructure Management

Culture, institutions, and long‐run performance

AbstractIf institutions are essential for long‐run performance, why don't developing countries adopt institutions in developed countries to become rich? In this dynamic model, culture affects a ruler's institutional choice, while culture itself evolves endogenously. Multiple stable steady states are possible, and even similar initial conditions can lead to dramatically different steady states. The state of Qin's unification of China in 221 bc is used to illustrate the model. In one steady state, consistent with what happened in the state of Qin, individuals value material incentives. Qin did not strictly practice the patriarchal clan system advocated by Confucianism. Qin adopted Legalist institutions under which government officials were chosen by merit, and Qin culture was further shaped by Legalism. In another steady state, consistent with what happened in states other than Qin, individuals value loyalty and family values. Those states chose not to adopt Legalist institutions comprehensively, fearing that inconsistencies between culture and institutions could lead to internal rebellions even though institutional reforms would increase their military power. Other cases of how the interdependence between culture and institutions affects performance are also discussed.

Witch-hunting, Cultural Revolution and the bright side of kinship

PurposeMany studies on witch killings in Africa suggest that “witchcraft is the dark side of kinship.” But in Chinese history, where patriarchal clan system has been emphasized as the foundation of the society, there have been few occurrences of witch-hunting except a large-scale one in the Cultural Revolution in 1966. The purpose of this paper is to explain the above two paradoxes.Design/methodology/approachTheoretical analysis based on preference falsification problem with regard to the effect of social structure on witch-hunting is carried out.FindingsThere is a “bright side of kinship” due to two factors: first, it would be more difficult to pick out a person as qualitatively different in Chinese culture; second, the hierarchical trust structure embedded in the Chinese culture can help mitigate the preference falsification problem, which acts as the leverage for witch-hunting. In this sense, an important factor for the Cultural Revolution is the decline of traditional social institutions and social values after 1949.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to advance the two paradoxes and offer an explanation from the perspective of social structure.

Endogenous evolution of patriarchal clan system in ancient China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze long-term institutional causes and consequences of preference falsification by studying the evolution of China’s patriarchal clan system.Design/methodology/approachThe historic study shows that although the clan system was abolished in the Qin dynasty, it re-emerged among high-standing families in the Han dynasty and spread to common people after the Tang dynasty.FindingsThe author submits that the clan system was an institutional response to the preference falsification problem that arose due to the dictatorial political institutions first established in the Qin dynasty. It helped people to take collective action by themselves and also opened a back door to influence government decisions. A piece of clear evidence is the co-evolution of the clan system and government personnel system.Social implicationsIn this sense, the clan system probably also helped to prolong the political institutions for 2,000 years.Originality/valueThis is the first institutional study on the clan system in China.

Reflection upon mores and the Reconstruction Movement: A dilemma of the Yongjia Conservatives during the Post-Taiping Restoration

The law of power in Xia-Qi (chivalry) destroyed the hierarchical structure of the Imperial and produced an equalization so that the traditional governance was involved in crises. It was on the reflection upon the crises that the reconstruction prompted by literati during the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods was based. Confucian classics studies played an important role in shaping the elites’ ideology and individual wills. Associations of literati and kinship networks also contributed to the spread of these academic studies. Different judgments about the real relations between people of different social statuses caused conflicts in social transformation practices. For example, a higher-ranking group of literati in Wenzhou in southeast ZhengJiang province adopted a conservative scheme of reconstructing the patriarchal clan system and Confucian academic traditions in order to realize moralization in the imperial political structure. This conservative reconstruction, however, had an impact contrary to its initial goal of moralization: scholar-tyrants plundered finite land resources in the local mountainous society, while those disciples following the higher-ranking masters corrupted the academic atmosphere so that aristocratic politics became the principles dominating the private school of the prominent clan. In addition, immorality among close relatives in the prominent family ruined local customs. Superficially, it seemed that conservative moralization was obstructed and that local affairs managed by the literati had failed, but this created a new historical opportunity for the transformation of social structure in modern China. Social organizations that were based on general individual mind structures would play a fundamental role in the modern democracy in China.

遺體捐獻行為的中國文化困境

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.在中國文化中，保留個人軀體的完整性具有重要意義，這導致醫學教學和科研中的屍源短缺現象成為制約醫學發展的一大問題。中國傳統文化一直被各界認為是阻礙遺體捐獻的根源，但本文基於訪談和文獻分析，發現導致這一現象的原因遠較傳統文化的影響更為複雜，其核心問題在於子女與父母在看待身體、死亡和“孝”上存在的多元價值觀衝突。價值觀衝突的文化根源不僅是多數研究指認的儒家傳統文化，而是一個包含著傳統文化、現代文化、精英文化與世俗文化相互交融和衝突的複雜問題。同時，兩者雖然在觀念上存在矛盾衝突，但所追求的終極目標具有高度一致性，即實現人的“尊嚴”。In Chinese culture, the preservation of the integrity of the body is greatly significant, which has led to a shortage of corpses in medical teaching and research and become a major problem restricting the development of medical research and treatment in China. Accordingly, it is generally believed that traditional Chinese culture has been a barrier to body donation in China. However, based on interviews and literature analyses, this paper shows that the factors leading to the body donation shortage in China are much more complicated than this simple “cultural” belief. The core problem, as our investigation finds, is that children and parents are in conflict over the value of the body and death and the virtue of filial piety. The cultural root of this conflict is not merely the nature or content of the traditional Confucian culture as identified by most researchers. Rather, it is a result of the complex interplay between modern scientific, revolutionary and traditional ethical views on the role of the body, the function of the Chinese patriarchal clan system and the blending of elastic spirit and modern secular culture. Finally, the paper argues that although donators and their children may have different understandings and value conflicts, their ultimate goal is highly consistent, that is, to achieve human dignity as expressed in modern Chinese society.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 6231 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

Back to historical views, reconstructing the sociological imagination: The new tradition of classical and historical studies in the modern Chinese transformation

Historical perspectives are a means of reconstructing the sociological imagination, as classical sociologists did. There are many historical dimensions in Karl Marx’s social studies: dialectical analysis of the present as history; reconstructed narratives of historical events; and finally, evolution of family, ownership, state, and social formations. Likewise, in order to understand the reality of Chinese society, we need to examine the transformation of modern Chinese social thought and its contexts. By reinterpreting the Theory of the Three Epochs from the classic Spring and Autumn Annals, Kang Youwei proposed that the establishment of the Idea of Cosmic Unity as the universal value for world history and the building of the Confucian religion for the cultivation of mores had resulted in the successful transformation of Chinese society from the Era of War to the Era of Peace. In contrast, Zhang Taiyan upheld the tradition of ‘Six Classics are all Histories’ and furthered the academic change of focus from classics to history, which Wang Guowei and Chen Yinque carried out. Through the method of synthetical deduction in the social sciences, Wang Guowei interpreted classics historically in Institutional Change in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, confirming the original principle of the Zhou regime and etiquette on the basis of the patriarchal clan system and its emphasis on law, mores, and institutions. On the other hand, Chen Yinque thoroughly investigated the Middle Period of Chinese history from the perspectives of concourse and inter-attestation and outlined a historical landscape of interfusion between Hu and Han nationalities, the mixing of various religions, the migrations of diverse groups, and the integration of different cultures and mores. In short, there are two waves of intellectual change in the Chinese modern transformation, which together have established the new discipline of Classical and Historical Studies as well as the subsequent institutional and spiritual sources of social and political construction.

МІСЦЕ ЖІНКИ В ПОЛІСНОМУ СУСПІЛЬСТВІ ТА ІНСТИТУТ ЛЕГАЛЬНОЇ ПРОСТИТУЦІЇ В АФІНАХ V ст. до н.е.

The article presents the women status in ancient society. It also makes an attempt to explore the relation between Athenian’s society democratic traditions and the identity of the phenomenon of an occurrence of legal prostitution in the ancient polis. Particularly it is investigated the question about how in a polis democracy the institute of legal prostitution was being formed. The question of the women status of in ancient society traditionally goes parallel with the question of the nature and essence of the ancient society itself. These are the reasons why the analysis of the place of women in the ancient polis is a traditionally popular topic among the antiquity scientists. In this article we disccuss one more side of an issue of the women status in ancient Greece. We try to examine the link between the low status of women and the process of formation and development of the institution of legal prostitution in the ancient polis. We primarily rely on sources related to the policy of Athens but also refer to the comparative analysis of the Spartan state. The ancient society comes from the patriarchal clan system by its nature. That is why it was full of numerous patriarchal traditions. These circumstances determined the relatively low social status of women and contributed to the emergence and spread of the Institute of prostitution in the ancient polis society. While Solon being an archon, there were made numerous deals in buying slaves in Asia especially for brothels — “dikterions”. The money, earned in such houses, was delivered to the state treasury. The Solon Laws were an example of state attempts to regulate the institute of prostitution in polis society. These laws were introduced to streamline, to take under control social disaster in order to prevent its further development. So, prostitution was legalized to struggle with promiscuity. Due to the severity of these laws, Dupui thought that married woman was protected from fornication. Courtesans were allowed to appear on the streets only in colorful, brightly colored clothes, not to look like respectable rich women. Thanks to ancient sources, we have information about the existence of certain categories of prostitutes in ancient Greece: “dikteriads”, “avletrids” and "straights". According to belonging to a particular category, courtesans had their traditions and way of living. The "dykteriads" represented the lowest level among prostitutes. This category united only poor girls. Houses brothels, where they provide their services, were subjected to state duty. The “avletrids” stayed separately. They were professional musicians, dancers and singers. Girls united in art unions and were invited to the feast of wealthy citizens. Only after the music program they proceeded to intimate services. The "straights" were of a great influence on the contemporaries among all categories of courtesans. There are numerous examples of the hetero influence on the ancient society and sometimes their prominent role in certain historical events. Their role in public life left a deep mark in history and contributed to the gradual change of traditional views on the status of women and their position in the ancient society. However, these changes are indirect evidence of the polis and the transformation of society.

Religious Traditions in Local Communities of China

All religions in China are closely linked to the traditional religion based on the patriarchal clan system. This bedrock faith of the Chinese, as it interacts with native religions and foreign religions, has fundamentally influenced the religious psychology of all Chinese people. Following a brief introduction to China’s religions, this article discusses folk religions as the main expression of traditional patriarchal religion, as well as their function and impact in contemporary society. The article then outlines relations between the multiple religions and cultures of ethnic groups in pluralist China to help the reader better understand the interaction between religious and cultural traditions of the Chinese people.

Endogenous Evolution of Patriarchal Clan System in Ancient China

This paper studies the endogenous evolution of patriarchal clan system in ancient China. The clan system was abolished in the Qin Dynasty, but it reemerged among high-standing families in the Han Dynasty and spread to common people after the Tang Dynasty. I address two questions: first, why did the clan system survive the destruction in Qin Dynasty? Second, why did its evolution correspond to how government officials were selected? It is argued that the hierarchical preference structure embedded in the clan system helped to increase trust and cooperation among people. It helped people to take collective action by themselves and also opened a back door to influence government decisions. In this sense, the clan system probably also helped to prolong the political institutions for two thousand years.

A Comparative Study on Landownership Between China and England

By comparing the development of landownership in China and England, this paper explores what were behind their different trajectories. In particular, I examined the delineation of property rights, alienation of land, rent and tax, inheritance and accumulation of land. Feudal England was a combination of the Roman system and Anglo-Saxon tradition. From that very strict hierarchical structure England has experienced an evolution toward free land market. In contrast, since very early China has established a unique economic system that allowed free alienation of land, but it has been trying to check the development of land market and private property rights by various means, the most important of which is the strengthening and expanding of patriarchal clan system. The different development paths of China and England show the different responses of two different cultures, which are oriented toward family and individual, respectively, to the same problems related to landownership.

Construction of Yan Fu’s view on social history and the turning of modern history

The construction of Yan Fu’s view on social history has combined the indigenization of Western historiography and the modernization of traditional Chinese historiography, which reflects the characteristic of a change towards modern historiography. The academic sources of Yan’s view on social history include some Western thoughts such as Herbert Spencer’s social Darwinist theory, Edward Jenks’ patriarchal clan system theory, John Seeley’s political historiography, etc.; and also many indigenous sources such as Yang Zhu’s self benefit, Mozi’s selfless love, Buddhist views on mood, etc.

A Web in the Patriarchal Clan System

Only recently has Japanese society come to realize the magnitude of domestic violence as a serious social problem. Using focus group methodology, this study investigated the function and the sociocultural reinforcements of male partner violence. The analysis of the participants' accounts of various types of violence their partners perpetrated, which were accompanied by an elaborate collection of tactics to reinforce the effects of the violence, has led to the conceptualization of partners' violence as a spider web. The Japanese patriarchal clan system and underlying ideology of male superiority fosters the maintenance of this web.

THE SYSTEM OF MENHUAN IN CHINA: AN INFLUENCE OF SUFISM ON CHINESE MUSLIMS

The system of Menhuan is the system of a huge feudal family within Islam. It combined Sufi mysticism with the feudal patriarchal clan system of China.