128
C. MARTIN WILBUR
the father of the sex family will not always have the final word in matters regarding his own children, especially his sons. For sons are looked upon as wards of the sib, and therefore matters concerning sons may be decided by the heads of the larger groups — the economic or religious families.'
It is not always true that the esprit de corps of the clan is stronger than the factions between smaller groups. Indeed, factionalism may well be used as an index of the decay of the clan system. But in a clan which is still unified—the situation which is here being supposed—the discipline and systematic integration will be complete. The crux of this system is the ancestral temple.
II
Primarily, the ancestral temple is a religious center. Here, at certain seasonal times elaborate ceremonials and rituals are carried out.2 These celebrations are usually accompanied by feasts, and often by theatricals which the whole clan or kin group attends. Two very important psychological results are produced by this collective worship.
In the first place, the gathering of the whole group in honor of a common ancestor reinforces clan solidarity. The clan nexus is more ephemeral than the tie which binds other groups in the village together, and were it not for these periodic ceremonies the clan tie would tend to disintegrate.3 Especially when individuals outside the clan group also inhabit the village is the "we-group" feeling strengthened. Secondly, the rituals strongly emphasize the particular status of the individuals participating or looking on. The exact relationship of every person in the clan to every other and to the ancestral line is minutely worked out, based upon the recorded clan genealogy kept in the temple. In the processions and rituals of worship these relationships are graphically shown. Now, one of the fundamentals of Chinese familist government is its dependence upon a well worked out system of status amongst the individuals
1 Ibid., p. 126.
2 For a description of these services in Anking and Amoy see respectively: Shryock, John; The Temples of Anking and their Cults, p. 39-43; DeGroot, J. J. M.; Les Fêtes Annuellement Célébrées a Emoui (Amoy), vol. 2, p. 549-553, 563-566.
3 For example, Shryock, op. cit., p. 40, reports a clan which requires all its members within half a day's journey to attend the major ceremony once a year.
128
C. MARTIN WILBUR
the father of the sex family will not always have the final word in matters regarding his own children, especially his sons. For sons are looked upon as wards of the sib, and therefore matters concern- ing sons may be decided by the heads of the larger groups — the economic or religious families.'
-
It is not always true that the esprit de corps of the clan is stron- ger than the factions between smaller groups. Indeed, factionalism may well be used as an index of the decay of the clan system. But in a clan which is still unified-the situation which is here being supposed the discipline and systematic integration will be comp- lete. The crux of this system is the ancestral temple.
II
Primarily, the ancestral temple is a religious center. Here, at certain seasonal times elaborate ceremonials and rituals are carried out.2 These celebrations are usually accompanied by feasts, and often by theatricals which the whole clan or kin group attends. Two very important psychological results are produced by this collective worship.
In the first place, the gathering of the whole group in honor of a common ancestor reinforces clan solidarity. The clan nexus is more ephemeral than the tie which binds other groups in the village together, and were it not for these periodic ceremonies the clan tie would tend to disintegrate.3 Especially when individuals outside the clan group also inhabit the village is the "we-group" feeling strengthened. Secondly, the rituals strongly emphasize the particu- lar status of the individuals participating or looking on. The exact relationship of every person in the clan to every other and to the ancestral line is minutely worked out, based upon the recorded clan genealogy kept in the temple. In the processions and rituals of worship these relationships are graphically shown. Now, one of the fundamentals of Chinese familist government is its dependence upon a well worked out system of status amongst the individuals
1 Ibid., p. 126.
2 For a description of these services in Anking and Amoy see respec- tively: Shryock, John; The Temples of Anking and their Cults, p. 39-43; DeGroot, J. J. M.; Les Fêtes Annuellement Célébrées a Emoui (Amoy), vol. 2, p. 549-553, 563-566.
3 For example, Shryock, op. cit., p. 40, reports a clan which requires all its members within half a day's journey to attend the major ceremony once a year.
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