42
EDGAR WICKBERG
lineage. The lineage has a great deal of clan solidarity but at the same time there is marked internal differentiation. The other type of locality, one without a dominant lineage, is made up of small farmers of several lineages. Only a few are markedly wealthier than their fellows. But there is also only limited solidarity.
It would be presumptuous of me, on the basis of my limited research, to challenge this analysis, and I have no intention of doing so. I would, however, like to suggest that further refinement may be useful. It seems clear to me, looking at the four villages I have considered, that there is a good deal of variation among villages where there is no dominant lineage. To lump them into a single category without further definition is to define them only negatively - they are NOT lineage strongholds; so they ARE everything and anything else. Can we say more about them? How, for instance, can we further classify the area around Sheung Tsuen where it appears that two lineages - one of them from a neighbouring village - approach “dominance”? What can we say of a small two-lineage village like Shui Lau Tin? What if there is no surname dominance but there is some kind of community organization, either at the village level or at the level of a group of villages? Is there a variety of "non-dominant" types along a continuum of relative degrees of clan leadership and/or community solidarity? It would seem reasonable that there should be.
Finally, a proposal. We may readily observe and accept the expansion of the "great clans". But we should also wonder about whether, and, if so, how "non-great clans" expand in multi-lineage areas. Do their expansive activities have anything to do with the fact that these areas are multi-lineage and are not dominated by single clan? The "great clans" are attractive as subjects of study. We wonder about their creation, their expansion and their maintenance. We appreciate their ability to produce scholars and to wield influence. But let me make a plea that we also take as a subject of study those zones where one can see but slight influence of the Great Clans of the New Territories.
42
EDGAR WICKBERG
lineage. The lineage has a great deal of clan solidarity but at the same time there is marked internal differentiation. The other type of locality one without a dominant lineage is made up of small farmers of several lineages. Only a few are markedly wealthier than their fellows. But there is also only limited solidarity.
It would be presumptious of me, on the basis of my limited research, to challenge this analysis, and I have no intention of doing so, I would, however, like to suggest that further refinement may be useful. It seems clear to me, looking at the four villages I have considered, that there is a good deal of variation among villages where there is no dominant lineage. To lump them into a single category without further definition is to define them only negatively they are NOT lineage strongholds; so they ARE everything and anything else. Can we say more about them? How, for instance, can we further classify the area around Sheung Tsuen where it appears that two lineages - one of them from a neighbouring village - approach “dominance"? What can we say of a small two-lineage village like Shui Lau Tin? What if there is no surname dominance but there is some kind of community organization, either at the village level or at the level of a group of villages? Is there a variety of "non-dominant" types along a continuum of relative degrees of clan leadership and/or community solidarity? It would seem reasonable that there should be.
Finally, a proposal. We may readily observe and accept the expan- sion of the "great clans". But we should also wonder about whether, and, if so, how "non-great clans" expand in multi-lineage areas. Do their expansive activities have anything to do with the fact that these areas are multi-lineage and are not dominated by single clan? The "great clans" are attractive as subjects of study. We wonder about their creation, their expansion and their maintenance. We appreciate their ability to produce scholars and to wield influence. But let me make a plea that we also take as a subject of study those zones where one can see but slight influence of the Great Clans of the New Territories.
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