Introduction

This work deals in the main with Chinese kinship from the anthropological point of view, which is couched in ancestor worship and fIlial piety. It is not based upon fieldwork, but on historical documents. What motivated me to take up this subject was the advice and guidance of Professor M. Fortes and the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. Their advice and comments have helped to provide me with additional points of view on the crucial and interesting materials that throw light on ancestor worship and make it even more illuminating, in relation to fIlial piety within the Chinese kinship system.