Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.3, 2017

 

Ritual, Law and Custom in the Issue of “Different-Surname Succession”: A Case Study of the Revision of Clan Rules in Southern Zhejiang in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

(Abstract)

 

Du Zhengzhen

 

In the Southern Song dynasty, the custom of adopting male children with different surnames and having them officiate the sacrificial rites of the adopting clan became prevalent in the southern Zhejiang region, drawing the attention of contemporary Neo-Confucians. With the development of clan organizations in the Ming and Qing dynasties and the expansion of clan property, different-surname adoption, which had been unregulated, became a key concern in rural clan management and prescriptions, leading to the development of a set of rules for different-surname succession and arrangements for succeeding generations with different surnames. In the course of this process, the idea that “sacrifices can only be made to one’s own clan” and the law that “［persons with a］ different surname must not disrupt the ancestral line” were frequently cited and interpreted by different parties, with litigation acting as a means for people to modify the rules. The history of the relationship between ritual and law, changes in the state-family relationship brought about by changes to the taxation system, the developmental trend of the clan organization, and resource allocation and power struggles within each clan all influenced the emergence, establishment, and changes in the custom of “different-surname successors” (yixing wei si).