ABSTRACT

However, it was the common-surname lineage that came to be looked upon as representative institutions of local society in the part of Jiangxi this book studies. The reason for that may be found in the nascent nationalism that was encouraged by the Southern Song dynasty government as it fought for survival, and by the Ming dynasty both as a rallying cry against the Mongols and to demonstrate their continuation from the Song dynasty tradition. The building style known as the “temple” permitted only to martyrs who died for the state in the Song dynasty was, by the Ming dynasty, adopted by families that wanted to demonstrate their connections with the senior officialdom. Devotion of descendants to ancestors was merged into devotion by ancestors to the state, thereby providing the ideological roots represented by the ancestral hall.