The Common Clan And Local Society In Wuzhi County,Henan Province In The Qing Dynasty

The patriarchal clan has long existed in ancient Chinese society,and it still exists in some parts of modern society and plays a certain role in local management.However,the study of clan is still abundant in the south but weak in the north.Moreover,because of the formation of a paradigm in South China studies,it is inevitable to apply its perspectives and theories when discussing the northern clan.At the same time,a large number of historical materials in the north,such as genealogy,contracts and inscriptions,have not yet been collected,and there are still many plausible points in the relevant studies.Previous researches on Henan clan has rich achievements,but there are also shortcomings.This paper makes use of the data of genealogy,chronicles,inscriptions,and contracts of Wuzhi County in Henan Province to analyze and explore the development and management of the local common clan and their relationship with the society.It also combines the existing clan studies to think about similarities and differences between Chinese clans in different regions.Wuzhi County is located in the north of Henan Province,adjacent to Shanxi.Because it is located at the intersection of the Yellow River and the qinshui River,floods and droughts are frequent.At the same time,the Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty often suffered from war and the population was sharply reduced.In the early Ming Dynasty,the government organized the immigration.However,these immigrants were not the entire migration,but gradually developed,relying on geographical connections,after moving into this area.The people of the common clan in Wuzhi county in the Qing Dynasty were mainly immigrants in the early Ming Dynasty and later.After the Ming and Qing Dynasties,most of them grew into social organizations with geographical connections and blood links: these clans had few members with high social status and rarely participated in the local society.The construction of clans were more to maintain their own development.In the middle of the Qing Dynasty,the activities of common clan in Wuzhi County formed a certain scale,which were mainly the tomb management,ancestral ancestor and genealogy editing,etc.These activities were carried out by clan leaders and grassroots intellectuals in order to maintain blood and hierarchical order,ensure the geographical connection of the surrounding areas and achieve effective management of the organizations.Based on the analysis of the Henan clan and the comparison with clans in different regions and their internal reasons,the author considers the similarities and differences between northern and southern clan in China.The differences are closely related to the developmental stages and social conditions of different regions.Compared with South China,the North China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties suffered more wars and limited social accumulation.At the same time,during the period of social stability,the production in North China was dominated by agriculture.The common clan there was in a relatively closed and stable social and economic environment,and it does not require strong control to maintain the continuation of the clan.