Chinese clan
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A Chinese clan (Chinese: 宗族; pinyin: zōngzú) is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral home (see clan).
Clan loyalties tend to be strong in southern China, reinforced by ties to an ancestral village, common property, and often a common spoken Chinese dialect unintelligible to people outside the village. Clan structures tend to be weaker in northern China, with clan members that do not usually reside in the same village nor share property.
In Imperial times, a consort clan was a clan with special status due to its connection with an Emperor. Throughout Chinese history consort clans have exercised great power at various times. There have been several usurptions of power by consort clans, the most notable being the Han Dynasty's Empress Dowager Lü (Chinese: 呂太后; pinyin: Lǚ Tàihòu), the Tang Dynasty's Empress Wu (simplified Chinese: 武则天; traditional Chinese: 武則天; pinyin: Wǔ Zétiān), and the Qing Dynasty's Empress Dowager Cixi (Chinese: 慈禧太后; pinyin: Cíxǐ tàihòu). The Han Dynasty usurper Wang Mang was a relative of the Grand Empress Dowager Wang.
During the Qing dynasty, the Imperial government encouraged Chinese clans to take up some quasi-governmental functions such as those involved social welfare and primary education.
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