Qin And Han Dynasties Family Structure Research

This article’s research is mainly based on two aspects. One is the formation and its causes of the social main family structure, the other is the change and its reasons of the social overall family structure in the middle and late years of the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty.Family structure refers to the family of generation relationship. It’s mainly divided into the nuclear stem and united family. The Qin and Han Dynasties have extremely important status in Chinese family history. Nuclear family, which was established in the period of Warring States, has been the major social family structure until the Qin and Han Dynasties.But it’s not the only family structure, stem and united households exist but rarely. The basic reason of nuclear family become the main family structure in the Qin and Han Dynasties is the economic factors. Although the farmers were granted certain fields but few. Few fields together with heavy taxes, farmers’economy make ends meet. Eventually leading to a farmer family only to live with the form of the nuclear family.In the middle and late years of the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty the stem and united family have a growth tendency in social overall family structure. This is mainly due to the following reasons. One si the annexation of land makes a few of farmers became dependent population of rich landlords. The regal always tend to have multigeneration to enhance their strengthes. The other is the advocacy of government policy and the influence of Confucianism ethics culture. All of the causes together lead to the reduction of nuclear family and the increasing of stem and united family.