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Virtual kinship in ancient Chinese society

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Frontiers of History in China

Abstract

Virtual kinship in ancient Chinese society mainly includes two types: brothers without kinship and father and son without kinship. From the Wei and Jin to the Sui and Tang dynasties, when the clan society and the imperial regimes were declining or on the edge of disintegration, virtual kinship became an important choice for marginalized families and lower strata of society in forming new social groups. After the Song Dynasty, virtual brothers without kinship was severely suppressed and even forbidden by authorities because of its tremendous threat to the stability of the dynasty. Due to its low social cost and high efficiency in forming a new social group, it became the main organization pattern of the secret folk society in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

摘要

中国古代社会的虚拟血缘关系, 主要包括异姓兄弟和异姓父子两大类。 虚拟血缘关系在魏晋至隋唐时期, 成为宗族社会与王朝政权控制力下降或解体时, 社会边缘族群及下层社会组成新的社会集团的重要选择。在宋代以后, 虚拟血缘关系中的异姓兄弟, 由于对王朝的稳定构成巨大的挑战, 受到历代王朝日益严厉的压制以至禁止, 但因其组成新的社会利益集团的较低社会组织成本和高效率, 却在明清时代成为民间秘密社会的主要组织方式。

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  1. History Department, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610068, China

    Xie Yuanlu

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Translated by Luo Hui from Shixue Yuekan 史学月刊 (Journal of Historical Science), 2007, (5): 5–15

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Xie, Y. Virtual kinship in ancient Chinese society. Front. Hist. China 3, 12–40 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11462-008-0002-7

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