What is the difference between "clan" and "clan", clan relatives and clan relatives? How to understand it correctly?

Article | Reading Master

Many people cannot distinguish between "clan" and "clan", "clan" and "clan". the difference.

Now, let’s talk about how to understand these words in detail. 01 "Clan"

We all know that ancient China was a patriarchal country. It was founded in the Western Zhou Dynasty. This patriarchal concept still exists today.

What is patriarchal system? It refers to the system that distinguishes relatives based on blood distance. And "family" is a group of people who are related by blood and get together together.

▲Selected from the stills of "White Deer Plain"

The word "ethnic", if explained in ancient Chinese, its oracle bone inscription is a knowing character, consisting of two parts, the top It represents a flying flag with a "arrow" erected under the flag. It means to summon the army with a flag, and the meaning is to gather.

So, as for "tribe", its original meaning should refer to gathering.

There is a saying in "Zhuangzi Zaiyou": "The clouds do not wait for the family to rain, and the grass and trees do not wait for the yellow to fall."

What does it mean? Translated, it means that the clouds will not wait until they gather together before they turn into rain and fall. The vegetation will not wait for it to turn yellow before falling. The "tribe" here means gathering.

By extension, it means that many people gather together. For this reason, there are terms such as "family", "race" and "nation".

Family emphasizes blood relationships and kinship relationships, while "race" and "ethnicity" refer to groups of the same nature.

Nowadays, when we talk about "the old people" and "the working people", the "tribe" added here as a modifying word refers to groups of the same nature. 02 "Zong"

Zong, from 宀shi, shi, gods, 宀, houses. Its original meaning is the ancestral temple or ancestral temple. And we all know that in ancient times, people worshiped ancestral temples, ancestral temples, etc., which actually meant worshiping their ancestors.

So, "Zong" not only refers to ancestors, but also means clan, clan, etc. It is also a collective composed of a large ethnic group centered on the family. The terms "ancestral hall" and "ancestry" in Chinese dictionaries almost have this meaning.

(Note: It should be explained here that the ancestors we often refer to often refer to the ancestors above the grandfather's generation)

Compared with "clan", "clan" encompasses The scope is larger. Clan usually refers to people who are related by blood, the bloodline of descendants passed down from the ancestors above. Generally speaking, the clan comes first and the clan comes after. The clan includes the clan. It not only covers part of the clan, but also includes the "clan cousins" of distant brothers of the same clan.

The words "clan" and "clan" are often used together. The so-called "clan" and "clan" refer to ethnic groups of the same origin from the same tribe.

For friends in the countryside, they may be able to better understand the meaning of these two words. Because the most common rural areas are divided into village settlements based on clans, and each clan has its own ancestral hall.

In some economically prosperous places, clans are often exclusive and exclude other surnames as neighbors. There may even be situations where people of different races form gangs and fight. 03 "Clan relatives"

Clan relatives refer to families who are related by blood or marriage.

Blood relationship is easier to understand, so we will not discuss it further.

In-law relationships, simply put, are relatives that are created through the marriage relationship. It includes direct and collateral blood relationships such as daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, father-in-law, husband-in-law’s sister, as well as sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, etc. .

We often say that close relatives cannot marry, which means that direct blood relatives and collateral blood relatives within three generations are prohibited from marrying. Therefore, the feudal idea of ??marrying a cousin to a cousin and getting married is obviously inappropriate. Let’s just listen and consider it for the sake of future generations.

In ancient China, there was a harsh clan punishment system, which was divided into wide and narrow categories, such as three clans, seven clans, nine clans, etc. The "implicating the nine clans" that we often hear is the most cruel punishment among them. .

For example, the Ming Law stipulates:

“Anyone who conspires to rebel is a great treason, but those who commit rebellion will be put to death regardless of their leader or subordinate.

Grandfather, father, son, grandson, brothers and people who live together, regardless of different surnames, uncles, uncles, brothers' sons, regardless of the same or different nationality, if they are sixteen years old or above, regardless of whether they are seriously ill or disabled, they will all be killed. ”

What is covered here is generally kinship.

Through the above analysis, we can generally know that the kinship we are talking about basically refers to male relatives with the same origin. . In old China, clan power was held by men, and parents and clan leaders could represent the power of the "clan". 04 "Clan" refers to relatives of the same clan distinguished by surnames. Relatives of the same clan also refer to brothers of the same mother.

The first chapter of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" writes: Xuande said: "I am a clan member of the Han Dynasty. My surname is Liu and my given name is Bei. ”

The lineage here refers to the same clan relationship with the surname Liu.

The lineage includes both direct lineage and collateral lineage. Direct lineage: e.g. Great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, children, descendants, etc.: such as uncles, cousins, nephews, grandnephews, etc.

A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin, his novel. The numerous character relationships in this book are a good example of the relationship between the characters in this story being a large network of kinship and clan relationships.

▲Selected from a still from the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions"

For example, the clan members of the Jia family are composed of Jia Zheng, Jia She, Jia Lian, Jia Zhen, Wang Xifeng, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Qin Keqing, Jia Yingchun, Jia Tanchun...

"A Dream of Red Mansions". The four major families in "Jia She, Jia Xiao, Jia Dun, etc. are a huge network of kinship relationships.

The clans of Jia Mansion are represented by Jia She, Jia Xiao, Jia Dun, etc. 05. Summary

In short, clan is a characteristic social organizational form in the history of our country. It has lasted for thousands of years and has continued to this day.

What is a clan and what is it. Is it a clan? A brief summary:

A "clan" is a group of ethnic groups bound by patrilineal blood ties; a "clan" is the organization and management of clan members based on the "clan" Clan, in short, is a group composed of families related by patrilineal blood and under patriarchal concepts.

Generally speaking, "clan" and "clan" are. They are not discussed separately.

In addition, there are also terms such as ancestors and fellow villagers, which are all extensions of the clan concept.

Influenced by the clan concept. Chinese people have a tradition of helping each other and sharing resources, which is also influenced by the concept of clan. Since ancient times, there has been a saying in China of "recognizing one's ancestors and returning to one's clan." No matter where a person goes, no matter how much success he or she has achieved in life. We must not forget our "roots" and our "ancestors".

For this reason, since ancient times, many Chinese people who have traveled across the oceans and left their hometowns to seek development in foreign countries have often lost their minds even if they have lived abroad for many years. Traveling thousands of miles back from a foreign country, I recognize my ancestors and find my relatives.

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