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C. MARTIN WILBUR
the group is bound up in a single enterprise, forms yet another striking example of this situation.
By unity of time is meant that deeply rooted conception of the immortality of the family, by which all members of the family, living, dead and yet unborn make up the corpus of the whole. It is difficult not to believe, indeed, that the dead are not more important than the living. "Who will look after the graves of our ancestors?" is the almost epic question invariably asked when emigration is suggested as a source of relief from famine and overcrowding. The system of ancestor worship is postulated upon this unity of the family over the span of ages. Even family property cannot be considered as owned by the living generation: land and goods are inherited from the forefathers and are again to be passed on to the descendants.
The family tie easily bridges any space. Home, to the typical Chinese, is not always the spot where he is residing. Emotionally, it is his ancestral seat, the place where his forbears have lived and where their graves still exist on the family land. There is nothing harder for a Chinese than to tear himself away from his ancestral home and move. The hearthunger of the expatriate is a theme of their literature found constantly recurring, and can really be understood in all its poignancy only by a Chinese. A man who is compelled to leave because of economic pressure or by some other powerful force still looks back upon the place he left as his home and expects ultimately to return to it, certainly after death for burial. No matter how far afield, he will consider himself as part of the family group remaining at home. This family cohesiveness as easily overrides space as it does time.
One should be careful not to regard this central fact of family cohesiveness romantically. Having beneficial aspects, it is also the root of many evils inherent in the system. In a self-contained society, which changed only very slowly, it has been of marked advantage; but at the same time it has made for a social vision limited for all practical purposes to the family alone. Because of it nepotism is almost a religious duty. The whole system has placed a retarding burden upon the capable few. Again, the system strongly discriminated against women, who had no place in the all-important practice of ancestor worship, and were likewise excluded
1 Mallory, Walter H.; China: Land of Famine, p. 100.
118
C. MARTIN WILBUR
the group is bound up in a single enterprise, forms yet another striking example of this situation.
By unity of time is meant that deeply rooted conception of the immortality of the family, by which all members of the family, living, dead and yet unborn make up the corpus of the whole. It is difficult not to believe, indeed, that the dead are not more im- portant than the living. "Who will look after the graves of our ancestors?" is the almost epic question invariably asked when emigration is suggested as a source of relief from famine and over crowding. The system of ancestor worship is postulated upon this unity of the family over the span of ages. Even family property cannot be considered as owned by the living generation: land and goods are inherited from the forefathers and are again to be passed on to the descendants.
The family tie easily bridges any space. Home, to the typical Chinese, is not always the spot where he is residing. Emotionally, it is his ancestral seat, the place where his forbears have lived and where their graves still exist on the family land. There is nothing harder for a Chinese than to tear himself away from his ancestral home and move. The hearthunger of the expatriate is a theme of their literature found constantly recurring, and can really be under- stood in all its poignancy only by a Chinese. A man who is com- pelled to leave because of economic pressure or by some other powerful force still looks back upon the place he left as his home and expects ultimately to return to it, certainly after death for burial. No matter how far afield, he will consider himself as part of the family group remaining at home. This family cohesiveness as easily overrides space as it does time.
One should be careful not to regard this central fact of family cohesiveness romantically. Having beneficial aspects, it is also the root of many evils inherent in the system. In a self-contained society, which changed only very slowly, it has been of marked advantage; but at the same time it has made for a social vision limited for all practical purposes to the family alone. Because of it nepotism is almost a religious duty. The whole system has placed a retarding burden upon the capable few. Again, the system strong. ly discriminated against women, who had no place in the all im- portant practice of ancestor worship, and were likewise excluded
1 Mallory, Walter H.; China: Land of Famine, p. 100.
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