What do you think of Chinese-style kinship?

It depends on which aspect you look at. I think it has advantages and disadvantages. China is a country with ancient culture, and kinship relationships are inherited. In ancient times, the lines of clan, in-laws, and seniority were very clear, and there were many rules. Although some rules have been abolished in modern times, when it comes to the complexity of family relationships, it can be said without humility that it ranks among the top three in the world.

Chinese relatives pay attention to clans and in-laws. clan refers to the family with the same surname, centered on yourself, your grandfather’s brothers and sisters, your father’s brothers and sisters, your own brothers and sisters, and yourself. The brothers and sisters of the son and the brothers and sisters of the grandson form a huge family tree. In-laws are more complicated, such as grandma's brothers and sisters, mother's brothers and sisters, wife's brothers and sisters, daughter's brothers and sisters, and granddaughter's brothers and sisters, etc. They form many branches and collateral lines. The combination of these is our kinship in China.

In fact, leaving aside the issue of kinship and only talking about surnames, it can actually be traced back to thousands of years ago. The birth and evolution of a surname means the rise and fall of the clan. China has a saying of hundreds of surnames, which is different from some foreign cultures, such as Wang, Zhang, Li, etc. From the origin of their surnames to their transmission to their generation, they all have genealogies. recorded. It may be that the genealogy was lost due to the change of dynasties, or some branches of relatives lost contact, and finally established their own branch, became an independent branch, and then branched out.

In fact, Chinese-style kinship relations are very unique. Take the relatives in my own family as an example. The relatives on my father’s side are considered my clan relatives in terms of blood and tradition. My mother's side is considered a cousin. In terms of closeness and distance, I am definitely closer to my father's side of the family. From the perspective of inheriting the ancestral business and passing on the family line, I want to inherit my father’s assets. And all the assets on my cousin’s side have nothing to do with me. If we take the family as a unit, we will find that the relationship between relatives is not so obvious. To give an example, my grandma passed away, my eldest uncle is over 70 years old, and my youngest uncle is over 40 years old. If my grandma were alive, we could still get together during the holidays, but my grandma After their deaths, my uncles all had their own families and descendants, and formed small branches one after another. Although these branches were still related by blood, they were no different from ordinary friends.

Perhaps everyone has a place in terms of seniority and seniority, but to be honest, "far and near are not as good as close neighbors." With the passing of the old people who maintain the blood relationship, the relationship between relatives is not so beautiful. Relatives move around, exchange courtesy, compare with each other, etc. Children from this family are admitted to college, and children from that family are married to whom. In short, it is not good to have too many relatives, it is not good to have few relatives, it is not good to be close, and it is not good to be far away.