ABSTRACT
The word “qin qing” represents deeply felt affections towards kinship members. In their survival experience, the ancient Chinese came to regard kinship as the most natural and sacred ties among people. For that reason, Confucius built his entire theory of relationalism on his observations of such powerful innate and unbreakable kin emotions. From Confucius’s vantage point, communities and the state were simply larger and more complex family networks; hence a nation is called “guojia” (nation of families) and anyone who wanted to manage the society must first know how to manage his own family. The kinship emotions underline selfless devotions and the unique kind of reciprocity between dyads of family members. In essence, Chinese society, including its outer structure such as political institutions and inner structure such as core value system, revolves around kinship relationships. Supported by ancient and modern materials on such factors as geographical isolation, political necessities and cultural functions, the chapter studies how kinship becomes the most important institution in China.
