The Lineage-Village Complex in Southeastern China: A Long Footnote in the Anthropology of Kinship [and Comments and Reply]

Evaluates the current literature on descent & lineage organization in China & its significance for anthropological discussions of kinship theory. Despite increasing anthropological skepticism over the applicability of lineage theory & the corresponding decline of interest in unilineal descent, the existence of lineage organization has been an unchallenged fact for anthropologists & historians of China, in turn offering explicit support for lineage theory. Recent historical research has shed light on the diversity of Chinese kin organization over time & space, for the most part without questioning the model itself. While the existence of lineages in China is not contested, it is argued that the historical conditions of their evolution squarely contradict the theoretical principles on which lineage theory has been constructed. Comments are offered by: John Clammer, Patricia Ebrey, David Faure, Stephan Feuchtwang, Ying-Kuei Huang, P. Steven Sangren, & Mayfair Yang. In his Reply, Chun reiterates that his intent was not to develop an alternative model of Chinese kinship & social organization, but only to explore the possibilities of something different. The cultural construction of concepts such as kinship & lineage, family, etc, is emphasized. 88 References. Adapted from the source document.