On The Family Relationship Of Wei, Jin, Northern And Southern Dynasties

The era of Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties was a divisive and turbulent era. The families during this period suffered a lot. Family relationship became very complicated. It made important academic sense to research family relationship of this era. In this way, we can deepen the understanding not only to the history of Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, but also to Chinese family history.In Chapterâ… , we discussed on the family size and structure as the base and starting point to research family relationship. It had a clear diversification of the family size during this period. The average size of family came from 2 to 7 persons. There were also many families quite different from the average. The families were mainly divided into three types. They were nuclear family, trunk family and united family. Besides, there were also the families of those had no kin and couldnot support themselves, grandparent and grandchild families, the families which relyed on the mother's family and other special type families.Chapterâ…¡toâ…¤were the main part of the dissertation. It discussed on the relationship between parents and children, couples, brothers and other family relationship.Chapterâ…¡researched on the relationship between parents and children. This relationship was the core of family relationship. They had mutual obligation. In Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, the role of parents began from prenatal training. The education carried out from parents to children not only included culture and skills to make a living, but also social skills and moral education when they were growen up. In this era, Confucian ethics came from father-loving and son-obeying to pay more attention to filial piety of the sons. In the relationship between stepmother and children, it emphasized the filial piety of stepchildren. It was not restricted whether stepmothers loved stepchildren. Foster children mainly came from brother's sons or close relative of the same surname. Widows often pay out more hardships to their children. The state laws forbidded unauthorized revenge, but revenge prevailed during this period, especially the revenge for one's father. The married women often maintained regular contact with their parents'family. In addition, there may be long-term return to their parents'family, especially after their husbands'death.Chapter III discussed on the relationship between husband and wife, husband and concubines, wife and concubines, and also the custom of keeping Jiaji. Compared to other historical periods, the status of women in the family was higher during this period. Sometimes, there may be a more equal communion between husband and wife. The prevalence of jealous and fierce women had a certain influence on the relationship between husband and wife. Conflicts between couples sometimes may lead to divorce, sometimes lead to domestic violence. In the upper class families, concubinage was universal. It was quite different of the relationship between husband and concubines whether the wife existed. There were many fights among wife and concubines. During Wei, Jin and Northern Dynasties, someone had two wives. The two wives often scrabbled for the status in the family. It was quite difficult to get along with each other. The custom of-keeping Jiaji influenced both the family and society of this period deeply, especially influenced the relationship between husband and wife.Chapter IV discussed on the relationship among brothers and sisters. In Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, from governors to common people all attached importance to brotherhood. Confucian ethics of brotherhood had deeper impact than before. It was different of brotherhood between Northern and Southern Dynasties. Generally speaking, brotherhood in Southern Dynasties was more harmonious than that in Northern Dynasties. In Southern Dynasties, the separation of their parents alive accounted for the majority of married brothers, so it had less property disputes among brothers relatively. Due to the clearly demarcated of the status of wife and concubine, son of spouse and son of concubine usually could comply with the so-called Confucian manners. So it had less disputes among brothers. In Northern Dynasties, some brothers can smoke the calumet together, but more brothers in real life may bring family conflicts caused by property or status.Chapter V researched on the other family relationship. After parents' death, children were often brought up by their grandparents. They also had to pay filial piety to their grandparents. Uncles had the obligation to bring up and help their nephew, especially after the children's parents died. Nephew also should pay filial piety to their uncles. It was a basic requirement of Confucianism. There was no kinship between mother and daughter-in-law and also sisters-in-law. They were difficult to get along well with each other. There were many Confucian manners between parents and daughter-in-law, but they may not be complyed with. There may be many struggles between them. The state of the relationship between sisters-in-law correlated with the relationship between brothers. The relationship between the elder brother's wife and her husband's brothers and sisters was very important to the harmony of the family. In this period, orphans were often brought up by their mother's family.In this case, the relationship between nephew and his mother's brother was closer. By the social environment, family awareness of the people in the period generally was more stronger.The last chapter discussed on the exterior and interior factors which influenced family relationship in Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties. Outside the family, the governors protected the family ethics actively by commending filial piety and chastising household delict. The frequent wars in this period had destroyed family relationship deeply. Inside the family, property was a core issue. It had deep influence on brotherhood, sometimes also the relationship between parents and children or couples. Marriage also had deep influence on family relationship. Concubinage and keeping Jiaji in the upper class families directly influenced the relationship between husband and wife. In the families which had two wives or remarriaged, family relationship was more complex. It was easy to cause family conflicts.