近代中國家庭的變遷：一個人類學的探討

ON THE CHANGES OF CHINESE FAMILY SYSTEM: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL INQUIRY

本文先探討家族儀式如祖先崇拜、家系傳承、墳墓崇拜，以至於財產承繼、“吃伙頭”等方面的現代變遷，進而論及中國家庭形式的變遷諸問題。作者指出支持中國家族甚至宗族運作的實際上有三個基本原則：（1）親子關係原則：表現在“慎終追遠”一類的行為上、（2）世系關係：表現在傳承、承繼等權利義務行為上，（3）權力關係：表現在分支、對抗等行為上。近代家庭結構的種種變遷雖甚為複雜，但實際上都未脫離以上三原則的運作，而只是其中某一二原則特別強調的表現。

This paper examines the modern changes of Chinese family system both in its ritual and structural aspects, including such topics as ancestral worship in tablet and feng-shui facets, property inheritance and division, rotating feeding and the types of family. The author points out that whatever the changes may be, there are three principles which constitute the basic components of the Chinese family. These three principles are:(1) domestic relations: i.e. protection and respect, affection and dependence, (2) descent relations: i. e. obligation and right, succession and inheritance, (3) power relations: i. e. segmentation and competition, rivalry and coalescence. The changes in the form of the family but are the expressions of different emphases out of these principles.