2025 Theses Doctoral

Strategizing Kinship: Elites, Lineage Practices, and the Political Changes in Early China (c. 1045-453 BCE)

Xuan, Liu

This dissertation examines how elite lineage organizations varied in response to political changes from the Western Zhou to the Spring and Autumn period (c. 1045–453 BCE). It challenges the traditional “familistic state” model, which assumes that Chinese kinship organizations were autonomous, stagnant, and entirely isolated from the political sphere.

Drawing on the theory of “practical kinship,” it argues that lineage practices functioned as a significant strategy for the elite stratum to maintain status within a changing political structure. Incorporating paleographic, received, and archaeological sources, this dissertation focuses on three types of lineage practices in Zhou society: the construction of internal relations, genealogical compilation, and marriage.

Chapter One discusses the fundamental organizational and personnel features of the Zhou elite lineage, showing that it typically consisted of the household of the lineage head and those of junior members. It also divides a variety of dependent laborers into two categories in terms of the degree of dependency on the elite lineages.

Chapter Two traces the evolution of the internal relations within the elite lineage, suggesting that the Western Zhou lineage was internally differentiated, with the head exercising supreme authority, while such hierarchy gradually dissolved in the Spring and Autumn due to frequent interstate and intra-state conflicts.

Chapter Three investigates a variety of genealogical practices. Despite varying styles due to different political settings, these genealogies served as social capital through which elites gained political leverage.

Chapter Four discusses the elite lineages’ marriage patterns and their different political motivations. Through these case studies, this dissertation shows that Zhou lineage organizations were deeply embedded in the contemporary political world and exhibited a remarkable political adaptability. Moreover, this dissertation offers methodological insights into the study of the state formation in ancient societies.