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temporarily pressed for cash, as in the case of a funeral or wedding, loans at small interest will be made. Funds for all these purposes are taken from the clan estate, or a subscription will be raised from among the wealthy. This social consciousness is a valuable feature of clan life, though not without its detrimental aspects. All larger social values are definitely hindered by this absorption with the problems of the clan, for, in a very real sense, what is everybody's business is treated as nobody's business.
Education is another administrative duty of the clan council. Much of the education of Chinese youth in the past has been in the hands of the clan, and private schools are still maintained in the traditional fashion in many small villages in China. The clan council, or certain older men and scholars, constitute a sort of school board, and assume the responsibility of hiring a teacher, supplying a school room (often in the ancestral hall), and arranging the curriculum. Education is greatly prized, although much of it that is carried on under clan jurisdiction seems highly impractical and inappropriate for rural life.
Another important business of the clan leaders is the preservation and compilation of the clan history and genealogy. The histories of the larger and wealthier clans are usually revised every half century, and often are printed for subscribing members. They thus form a valuable set of historical records. Genealogical tables of all males are accurately kept in the ancestral temple as a basis for calculating status, and to determine the rights of ancestor worship and inheritance. This type of record is the nearest approach to written law that is to be found in connection with local clan government itself.1
In the judicial field the clan leaders, though not the council, are charged with preserving peace and order among the members of the kin-group. Authority is usually integrated through the heads of smaller groups, and the responsibility for a misdemeanor by a member of a lesser group will fall upon the person of its head. This form of responsibility is typical of Chinese familist polity, and is one phase of the doctrine of mutual responsibility.
The law which the leaders are charged with preserving is traditional and familistic. To a certain extent also, formal law, civil and
1 This is not to disregard the many features of family and clan life which are codified in the Ta Ch'ing Lü Li, which is, however, a national code.
VILLAGE GOVERNMENT IN CHINA, 1933
131
temporarily pressed for cash, as in the case of a funeral or wedding, loans at small interest will be made. Funds for all these purposes are taken from the clan estate, or a subscription will be raised from among the wealthy. This social consciousness is a valuable feature of clan life, though not without its detrimental aspects. All larger social values are definitely hindered by this absorption with the problems of the clan, for, in a very real sense, what is everybody's business is treated as nobody's business.
Education is another administrative duty of the clan council. Much of the education of Chinese youth in the past has been in the hands of the clan, and private schools are still maintained in the traditional fashion in many small villages in China. The clan council, or certain older men and scholars, constitute a sort of school board, and assume the responsibility of hiring a teacher, sup- plying a school room (often in the ancestral hall), and arranging the curriculum. Education is greatly prized, although much of it that is carried on under clan jurisdiction seems highly impractical and inappropriate for rural life.
Another important business of the clan leaders is the preserva- tion and compilation of the clan history and genealogy. The his- tories of the larger and wealthier clans are usually revised every half century, and often are printed for subscribing members. They thus form a valuable set of historical records. Genealogical tables of all males are accurately kept in the ancestral temple as a basis for calculating status, and to determine the rights of ancestor wor- ship and inheritance. This type of record is the nearest approach to written law that is to be found in connection with local clan government itself.'
In the judicial field the clan leaders, though not the council, are charged with preserving peace and order among the members of the kin-group. Authority is usually integrated through the heads of smaller groups, and the responsibility for a misdemeanor by a member of a lesser group will fall upon the person of its head. This form of responsibility is typical of Chinese familist polity, and is one phase of the doctrine of mutual responsibility.
The law which the leaders are charged with preserving is tradi- tional and familistic. To a certain extent also, formal law, civil and
1 This is not to disregard the many features of family and clan life which are codified in the Ta Ch'ing Lũi Li, which is, however, a national code.
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