Chinese kinship

The Chinese kinship system (simplifi ed Chinese: 亲属系统; traditi onal Chinese: 親屬系
統; pinyin: qīn shǔ xì tǒng) is classifi ed as a Sudanese kinship system (also referred to
as the "Descripti ve system") used to defi ne family. Identi fi ed by Lewis Henry Morgan
in his 1871 work Systems of Consanguinity and Affi nity of the Human Family , the
Sudanese system is one of the six major kinship systems together with Eskimo,
Hawaiian, Iroquois, Crow, and Omaha.

The Sudanese kinship system (and hence the Chinese kinship system), is the most
complicated of all kinship systems. It maintains a separate designati on for almost
every one of ego's kin based on their generati on, their lineage, their relati ve age, and
their gender.

In the Chinese kinship system:

 Maternal and paternal lineages are disti nguished. For example, a mother's
brother and a father's brother have diff erent terms.

 The relati ve age of a sibling relati on is considered. For example, a father's

younger brother has a diff erent terminology than his older brother.

 The gender of the relati ve is disti nguished, as in English.

 The generati on from ego is indicated, like in English.

Defi ning kin

Nine grades of relati ons

The "nine grades of relati ons" ( 九族) is an important concept when it comes to
applicati on of laws and observing rituals. Since the Han Dynasty, there have been two
separate interpretati ons of what is defi ned by the nine grades. Each interpretati on is
based on societal and politi cal needs as the ruler of the day see fi t.

The "older" interpretati on (" 古文說") defi ned the nine grades of relati ons strictly in
the paternal line. That is, nine generati ons from great-great-grandfather down to
great-great-grandchildren. This interpretati on was offi cially recognised aft er Tang
and Song dynasti es. By Ming and Qing dynasti es, laws have defi ned the patrilineality
of the nine kindreds. This interpretati on was cited in Part III Chapter 2 of Lewis Henry
Morgan's 1877 book Ancient Societi es.
The "contemporary" interpretati on (" 今文說") defi nes the nine grades of relati ons to
be four generati ons from the paternal line, three from the maternal line, and two
from the wife's. Historically, this defi niti on has been used during award, punishment
and family annihilati on.

Yet another interpretati on suggests that "nine" is actually an arbitrary number as

nine is considered a large number in Chinese culture. As such, it means anyone and
everyone related is to be executed in the context of family annihilati on.