ABSTRACT
Standing on the cusp of the sixteenth century, Ming China had just emerged from the global depression of the fifteenth century and initial signs suggested that things seemed to be finally looking up for China, after a long period of reduced inter-societal trade, universal debasement of currencies and degradation of arts and crafts. The lineage organization thus became more common by the sixteenth century, albeit in variant permutations, stimulated by both the popularization of descent-line ethics and the social and economic changes occurring consequent to rapid commercialization taking place particularly in the Lower Yangzi delta. Increased monetization of the economy impacted Ming traditional society and economy in other ways as well. The increased circulation of silver eventually led to the practice of converting tax grains and corvee service obligations into payments denominated in silver. The Taisanlang branch was prolific and by the early Ming period, had segmented into the Yi’an, Shi’an and Jing’an branches.
