商周宗亲组织的结构与形态

The Structure and Form of Shang and Zhou Clan Organizations

讨论商周宗亲组织结构的关键在于亚族(分族)、小子室家与宗氏三者间的关系辨析。亚族是独立的实体性亲族团体,有自己的居邑、族墓地、赀财及独立的祭祀体系,还有作为族体标识符号的氏名,其本身就是宗氏组织,受母族的控制甚微。小子室家是以小子为家长的家户组织,有私财与土地,饮居独立,是商周时期最为基础的经济单元,但缺乏祭祀权,也无独立的氏名,是宗氏组织的有机组成部分,与亚族有本质区别。小子在获得官职与足够的土地后,便有可能分宗立氏,转变为亚族。商周宗氏组织由子、小子及各自的家庭成员组成,内部结构简单而固定。广义的宗亲组织还包括从宗氏中别族而生的众亚族。到了周代,甚至天下同姓“万宗”均为宗亲,但这样的血缘组织不具有实体性,社会功能也随着宗亲范围的扩大而递降。

The key to discussing the structure of Shang and Zhou clan organizations lies in the analysis of the relationship between sub-clans(yazu or fenzu),xiaozi clan families(xiaozi shijia)and the royal clan.The sub-clan was an independent kinship group,with its own place of residence,graveyard,financial resources,and independent ritual system,in which the clan name was the symbol of clan identity.Such clan organizations accepted little control from above.The xiaozi clan family was a clan organization headed by a xiaozi,possessing private property and land.As the basic economic unit of the Shang and Zhou dynasties,it was independent in terms of living but lacked ritual rights and had no independent clan name,so was an integral part of the clan organization.This was the essential difference between the xiaozi clan family and the sub-clan.When a xiaozi gained an official position and enough land,it became possible for him to establish a sub-clan.Shang and Zhou clan organizations were composed of the zi,the xiaozi and their respective family members,with internal structures that were simple and fixed.The clan organization in a broader sense also included the sub-clans that emerged from within the royal clan.In the Zhou dynasty,the concept of clan broadened,to the extent that people with the same surname were considered one clan,but these kinship organizations did not have a substantive existence.With the expansion of the coverage of clans,their social function decreased.