Patriarchal clan system

This article is about the political hierarchy system in the Western Zhou. For the general concept of male-dominated societies, see Patriarchy.

In ancient China, the patriarchal clan system (Chinese: 宗法; pinyin: zōngfǎ; lit. 'clan law') of the Zhou cultural sphere was a primary means of group relations and power stratification prior to the Western Zhou and through the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. This method of social organisation underlay and prefigured the political workings of the Zhou state. The patriarchal system was based on blood relations, with firstborn succession at its core, and played a role in maintaining the Western Zhou political hierarchy and stabilizing social order.[1][2] Together with the ritual and music system it is seen as having been the foundation of Zhou society.[3][better source needed]

  1. ^ Yang Ximei (杨习梅), ed. (2016). Zhongguo Jianyu Shi 中国监狱史 [The History of Imprisonment in China] (in Chinese). Beijing: Falü Chubanshe. p. 44. ISBN 978-7-5118-9582-0.
  2. ^ “宗法”字的解释 [Definition of "Zongfa"]. Zdic Chinese Dictionary (in Chinese). Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  3. ^ 常识必背 | 什么是礼乐制度？ [Always recognizable yet bound to contravene – what was the system of rites and music?]. sohu.com (in Chinese). March 2022. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022.