ABSTRACT
To people today, a patriarchal clan system may seem to have little to do with feudalism as Chinese society has shown more signs of patriarchy than it has of feudalism since the founding of the Qin empire. Feudalism depended on the patriarchal clan system to achieve stability and develop. As is known to all, sacrificial rituals were closely related to the patriarchal clan system and classes. This chapter focuses on the relationship between sacrificial rituals and the patriarchal clan system. In terms of the patriarchal clan system, a temple could not have two hosts for sacrificial rituals. The chapter examines marriage from the two perspectives of the institution of feudalism: The relationship between marriage and the patriarchal clan system, and the relationship between marriage and classes. Like marriage, funerals can be examined from the perspective of their relationship to the patriarchal clan system and from the perspective of their relationship with classes.
