Virtual kinship in ancient Chinese society

Abstract

Virtual kinship in ancient Chinese society mainly includes two types: brothers without kinship and father and son without kinship. From the Wei and Jin to the Sui and Tang dynasties, when the clan society and the imperial regimes were declining or on the edge of disintegration, virtual kinship became an important choice for marginalized families and lower strata of society in forming new social groups. After the Song Dynasty, virtual brothers without kinship was severely suppressed and even forbidden by authorities because of its tremendous threat to the stability of the dynasty. Due to its low social cost and high efficiency in forming a new social group, it became the main organization pattern of the secret folk society in the Ming and Qing dynasties.