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- Title
Were past Chinese families complex? Household structures during the Tang Dynasty, 618-907 AD.
- Authors
Tim Futing Liao
- Abstract
The popular image of a traditional Chinese household is one of a large kin group composed of multiple-family units. However, reports on family size in China's past suggest that the average household size was not large #l ancient times. Using population registers for Dunhuang and Turfan from the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), this article is the first serious attempt to analyze household structures in ancient China. While a high proportion of simple-family households were recorded in the registers, a significant number of complex households suggests that the distribution of Chinese households was bimodal. This pattern fits neither the model considered as typical for Western families not that for Eastern families. Other issues covered include the frequency of living alone, the presence of slaves, the distribution of household heads by age and sex, and women's marriage patterns.
- Subjects
CHINA; HOUSEHOLDS; EXTENDED families; LIVING alone; SOCIAL institutions; FAMILY values; FAMILY assessment; FAMILY demography
- Publication
Continuity & Change, 2001, Vol 16, Issue 3, p331
- ISSN
0268-4160
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1017/S0268416001003885