Page 310 - Kryukov_M_V_-_Sistema_rodstva_kitaytsev_-_1972

SUMMARY

As ackhowledged by most 20th century ethnologists, a relation exists
between kinship nomenclature and social organization. But the question of
the degree and the nature of this relation has not yet been completely
settled.
Some preconditions for the satisfactory solution of the question are to>
be taken into account, the problem of the typology of kinship patterns as
well as their historical consequences being the most important ones.
Two different methods of singling out types of kinship systems are
used. One deals with synchronous treatment of systems available through
ethnographic investigations. It is possible to compare the various termionolo-
gies as the number of described systems in increasing. But the shortcoming
of this method is its failure to demonstrate immediately the historicaf
interrelation between the established types of kinship nomenclature.
The other method is a diachronic study of the subsequent stages of
development of a given system. It can be used to analyze the ethnographic
data obtained over a considerable period of time; more specific for the
diachronic method are written historical sources concerning the early
history of civilized societies which is beyond the limits of ethnographic-
investigations.
The combination of the two methods is even more useful. Unfortunately
it is acceptable but for a few societies. Among them the Chinese society is-
unquestionably of a great interest. It provides a unique example of a
kinship system the history of which is documented for the period of at
least thirty centuries; a dozen of modern nomenclatures in various dialects
of the Chinese language have been comparatively studied as well. The
present author agrees with D. IA. Olderogge that «the investigation of the
Chinese kinship system is extremely interesting for the student of social
history. The possibility to examine the changes in this system during several
thousand years promises more theoretical results than the study of any
other systems» (Olderogge, 1951).
The purpose of the present study is to substantiate the main shifts in
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