From Clan To "Local-lineage":Research On Evolution Of "Zhixi" Traditional Settlement In West Fujian

Zhi Xi is one of the most typical one in Minxi Hakka vernacular settlements.The area is composed of seven various clan settlements,integrated into four families.Every clan has their own development pattern in specific times and society.Besides,these settlements holds a regular sacrificial ceremony eight-year in a turn.This ceremony named “Flower lantern parade”,which has two functions: praying for ancestors and be a tool for controller to improve social organization.This activity transform ”zhixi” from “clan society” to “local-lineage society”.The paper has taken the Zhixi village for example,concentrated on the dynamic evolution process of Zhixi.The approach in the essay is based on history,anthropology and field investigation.Firstly,it analyses the process of clan development and change.After then,it described how a multi-surname clan settlement transformed into a “local-lineage society”.In general,the article illustrates in three aspects:(1)The tracebility of clan and settlement prototype: according to the literature and folk oral,Combined with the location and function of the house,re-understanding and reconstructing the history of village,illustrating the current pattern of zhixi.(2)The change of clan and settlement evolution: firstly,in the perspective of Clan structure,this paper reveals that the texture of settlement is the reflection of the population in each clan.Then,this paper analyzes the livelihood mode and development strategy of each stage of family development,thus revealing the dynamic evolution mechanism of clan settlement.(3)The process from “clan society” to “local-lineage society”: This paper analyzes how the gentry have exercised effective control over local public affairs through various cross-clan social organizations.Thus realizing the rural autonomy,and found that in the process,the ancestral halls of the clans gradually changed from the "collective space" to the "public space".Otherwise,This paper studies the folk belief system of Zhixi,analyzes how it defines the community,then analyzes the rituals in the belief,examining how the ritual activities of Lantern parade construct the “local-lineage society”.In conclusion,combined with the previous statement,summed up zhixi 's clan how to be linked together,so as to establish a “local-lineage society”.