ABSTRACT
The functional definition of Chinese kin groups then has become the paradigm that dictates the anthropological study of Chinese kinship. However, it might be inaccurate to say that the functional paradigm of Chinese kinship has never been challenged that attempted to address Freedman's paradigm; but most of these attempts, fail to challenge the functional definition of Chinese kinship. The Taiwanese anthropologist, Chen Chi-nan can be considered the first scholar who outlines the basic characteristics of Chinese family with reference to two native concepts, fang and jia-zu. This chapter deals with the marriage in general and ghost marriage in particular in Chinese societies in order to further exemplify the idea of Chinese kinship as "mutuality of being." An unmarried daughter can only be seen as a human being without ch'i, which is also to say that she is not socially considered as a full human being in Chinese societies.
