Chinese clan

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A Chinese clan (宗族 pinyin: zōng zú) is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname and sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral village (see clan).

Clan loyalties tend to be very strong in the south of China, and to a large extent are reinforced by ties to the ancestral village, common property, and often a common spoken Chinese dialect which can be unintelligible to people outside the village. Clan structures tend to be weaker in the north of China, clan members do not usually reside in the same village nor share property in common.

In Imperial times a consort clan was a clan with special status due to its connection with an Emperor. Throughout Chinese history consort clans have exercised great power at various times. There have been several usurptions of power by consort clans, the most notable being the Han Dynasty's Empress Dowager Lü (呂太后, pinyin: Lü Taihou), the Tang Dynasty's Empress Wu (武則天, pinyin: Wu Zetian), and the Qing Dynasty's Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧太后, pinyin: Cíxǐ). The Han Dynasty usurper Wang Mang was a relative of the Grand Empress Dowager Wang.

During the Qing dynasty, the Imperial government encouraged Chinese clans to take up some quasi-governmental functions such as those involved social welfare and primary education.

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