The Clan Norms and the Civil Law in the Republic of China: A Case Study about Ji Genealogy from Longquan Judicial Archives

The Ji clan in Longquan county began to compile genealogies from the Jiaqing reign period, Qing Dynasty. The 'clan norms' in the genealogies formulated the rules of li si. According to these norms, one person must get the identity of si zi first and then he had the right to inherit the clan property. By determining the identity of the heir, clan delineated the clan scope and established the clan's economy order. With the new found lawsuit archives and genealogies in Zhejiang Longquan, we explored how the local clans dealt with this challenge from the law reform in the Republic of China. The Ji clan rebuilt the genealogy and amend the clan norms between 1929 to 1932, which was a positive response to the change of the civil law. The clan transformation in modern China and the practice of the civil law were promoted in the participation and contention among clan elites and other clan members. The new rules were operated, confirmed and changed in the disputes, mediation and proceedings among clan members. Adapted