The early capital cities are the key symbols of early Chinese civilization. By comparing the Erlitou site, Shang city in Zhengzhou, Shang city in Yanshi with Niuheliang site, Mojiaoshan site, Shijiahe site, Taosi site, and Wangchenggang site, the characteristics of the early capital cities could be drawn: First, it should have palace or palace city in big sizes; Second, the palace or palace city should be surrounded by living quarters for noble families, working areas for melting bronze, and quarters for sacrifice.
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.
The discussion of the formation of patriarchal lineage system since the Song and Ming dynasties can be divided by the turn of 1980s and 1990s. The earlier period research is rationalized by four theories under the perspective of feudal society: the theory of village commune, the theory of lineage authority, the theory of patriarchal thought, and the theory of the restriction of land relations. The theoretical breakthroughs of the latter focused on the lineage’s popularization, “three changes” of the kinship organization and the social vicissitude, the national identity, the lineage’s community-compactization, and the generalized analysis on the reason of patriarchal lineage’s formation.
Revolution is an event that had taken place in many countries in the 20th century. Revolution was not only imagined in Western historical writing as a radical change of social life, but also perceived as representing a return to the old form of social rule in the end. The Chinese ideas of revolution in the 20th century evolved from the traditional idea that the change of dynasties was due to the change of mandate. The modern Chinese idea of revolution also incorporated the European idea that revolution would lead to a higher form of social development. The interpretation of the aim of Chinese revolution in the 20th century China shows that Chinese theorists had a misunderstanding for a long time regarding revolution as representing an ultimate social state and not as a means to achieve political modernization. A theoretical rethinking of the concept after the Cultural Revolution has resulted in an advance in China’s social evolution.
