Law Without Lawyers, Justice Without Courts by Goh Bee Chen;

Author:Goh, Bee Chen;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

The Families And Clans

The family (clan included) was the basic unit of the traditional Chinese society, the importance of which has been dealt with in the foregoing Chapter. Here, it is attempted to examine the role of the families and clans in the settlement of disputes.

Within the small family itself, the authority of the chia chang was obeyed, and he held control and general superintendence of family matters. Van der Sprenkel writes, ‘the inculcation of personal virtues — such as filial piety, deferring to one’s seniors, supporting parents in old age, the merits of rang — that is, yielding to others for the sake of avoiding dissension — began in childhood in the constituent chia, lapses being punished by the chia chang, by a sort of delegated political authority’.42 This shows the family as a social control unit in the traditional Chinese way of life. Needless to say, the family assumed fundamental importance in settling disputes amongst the members within it.43

As for the tsu, one of the primary duties of the tsu head was to preserve social harmony within the tsu itsclf. He was also responsible for settling inter-family quarrels. In most cases, he acted as ‘judge and arbitrator’ and was regarded as ‘the supreme judicial authority’ within his clan.44

A Chinese saying to the effect that ‘family ignominy should not be published to the outsider’45 illustrates the Chinese concern for ‘face’ and the effectiveness of dispute resolution as a means of control mechanism within the family or clan. This view is further supported by the fact that the so-called rules of the clan very often forbade its members to get involved in litigation; rather, they had first to submit their case to the clan leaders. They were strongly discouraged by the tsu rules from getting entangled in disputes within or without the tsu.46

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