.....The Zheng family and the aforementioned Fan family have the same things in terms of family wealth, but there are also differences: one is the land ownership and subdivision, and the other is the land property. Above, the Fan family is provided by one person, and the Zheng family is owned by the joint family.

There is a "Zheng Family Code" for the surname Zheng, which describes his family life in detail.

The Zheng family of Yimen lived in Renyili, Gande Township, Pujiang, Zhejiang. Their distant ancestor Zheng Qi, a member of the same clan, married Cuan in the early Southern Song Dynasty. The brothers Zheng Degui and Dezhang, their fourth descendants, were framed by their enemies, and the brothers fought over each other. After being thrown into prison, Degui finally died in prison. Dezhang treated his brother's son Zheng Wensi as his own son, and was known to the world as a filial friend ("Song History·Zheng Qi Biography").

When Zheng Wensi was in charge of the family, ten generations had lived together for two and a half centuries. The clan members did not dare to hide a penny or a piece of silk. Yuan Wuzong (reigned from 1308 to 1311) ) refers to it as "Yimen".

When Wen Si's cousin Wen Rong (Tai He) was in charge of housekeeping, he established 58 clan rules and made management more stringent. The emperor of the Yuan Dynasty exempted the clan from taxes and servitude ("Yuan Shi Biography of Zheng Wen Si" ).

By the Ming Dynasty, the Zheng family had hundreds of people, and some people entered politics.

Zheng Lian came to Nanjing with grain crops. Zhu Yuanzhang (reigned from 1368 to 1398) summoned him and asked him about his methods of running the family, showing his strong interest in the family.

After the Hu Weiyong case was discovered, the Zheng family was implicated, and brothers Zheng Lian and Zheng Shi rushed to jail.

When Zhu Yuanzhang found out, he said that there would be no rebellion in such a benevolent family, so there was no need to interrogate him, and he further appointed Zheng Shi as the left counselor.

When there was a shortage of officials in the East Palace, the Ming Dynasty appointed Zheng Ji as Chunfang Zuo Shuzi, recruited Zheng Yi in white as the Minister of Rites, Zheng Xi Qing and Wu Youru painted "Zheng Family Yimen" as the censor, and Zheng Tang was appointed as the Imperial Academy official review.

Gate ("History of Ming Dynasty·Zheng Lian Biography").

The Zheng family has lived together in the Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty.

The family rules set by Zheng Wenrong were revised and supplemented by Zheng Qin, Zheng Xuan, Zheng Tao, Zheng Shi and others. There are 168 items in total, which are called "Zheng's Rules" and are published in the world.

Later, "Xue Hai Lei Bian" included it. We now mainly use this standard to examine the living conditions of the Zheng clan.

The parents of the Zheng family are produced through the method of descending from elder brother to younger brother. The eldest son is not necessarily the patriarch.

According to the records of "History of Ming Dynasty·Zheng Lian Biography", starting from Zheng Wensi, the patriarch's teachings are as follows:

Zheng Wensi→Zheng Wenrong

↓

Zheng Qin→Zheng Ju→Zheng Ming→Zheng Xuan

↓

Zheng Wei→Zheng Lian→Zheng

You can know it just by looking at the name. Zheng Wensi's generation is named with the character "文", Zheng Qin's generation is named with the character "金" next to it, and the younger generation is named with the character "水" next to it.

The law of inheritance is that elder brother succeeds younger brother and respects seniority and seniority.

The Zheng family has a lot of land. 150 acres of land are dedicated to fund sacrifices, and as many as 1,500 acres of land are used to fund weddings. I don’t know how much land they have in total. From the above two items, we know that it must be a lot. .

Land rent is the main source of Zheng's economy.

In addition, Zheng also has income from shops, forestry, livestock and other income.

With these profits, the Zheng family was able to achieve a comfortable life, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, funerals, marriages, education, entertaining guests, and helping neighbors. All funds came from this.

The clothing of the Zheng clan is controlled by a specially designated head of shame. The clan members receive summer clothing materials in April and winter clothing materials in September to facilitate the change of seasons.

Zheng’s men and women start to receive clothing materials when they turn one year old. Men under 16 years old receive cloth. Those under 40 years old receive part of the silk fabric in addition to the cloth. Those over 40 years old receive all silk fabrics. All people receive ready-made clothes at the same time. fee.

When a man reaches the age of being crowned, he will receive a special dress.

In addition, new headscarves and shoes are given every year.

Women receive clothing in the same way as men, but they can only receive it once every two years.

When a girl reaches the age of hairpins, she can get a pair of silver jewelry.

In addition to receiving clothes, the women also receive materials for making shoes, hair oil, powder, needles, flowers and other needlework and cosmetics from the dress chief on the day after the four o'clock sacrifices.

When women need to dye cloth, they also ask the head of the shameless dress to make arrangements. However, the amount of dyeing in each room must be consistent to avoid competing for the longer and shorter.

The Zheng family has two people in charge of the meal, who are responsible for everyone's meals, arranging and supervising the kitchen staff, and making meals in time so that the clan members can eat on time.

When people are over 60 years old, they are taken care of and eat meals that suit their tastes made individually by the dining hall.

If the person in charge of the meal does not do it carefully, he will be punished.

Men under the age of 30 are not allowed to drink, and men over the age of 30 can only drink less. If they drink too much and make a noise, they will be punished with a slap in the face.

Women are not allowed to drink, and only those over 50 years old are allowed to drink a little.

If the tribesmen cannot satisfy their appetite by eating the same meal, they want to make their own diet. If they do, they will be reprimanded for the first time and punished for the second time.

Confinement women and patients can make their own diet because this is a special need.

When a person's relatives and friends come, meals are prepared in the dining hall, but the banquet must be dispersed early and not until the first watch. If there are more than 10 people, no banquet is allowed at night.

It’s not that I can’t prepare meals, but I’m afraid of ruining the simple customs.

Young people who are still young in school are not allowed to eat meat in order to develop the habit of enduring hardship. They know that food, rice, oil and salt are not easy to come by.

Daily necessities other than food and clothing are also purchased by the court chief and distributed evenly to each room.

Of course, if you want to use good and pleasant things personally, you can't do it. If you entrust someone to buy them privately, you are not allowed to do so, because this will cause uneven distribution of houses and easily lead to jealousy and competition.

Because daily necessities come from the court, individuals cannot have any private wealth.

If a tribesman buys land privately and keeps gold and silver money privately, and his parents find out, he will be called to the ancestral hall to be punished, and all private property will be confiscated.

If the tribesmen disobey, they will be taken to the government and executed for the crime of unfilial piety.

As for descendants accepting gifts from relatives and friends,

they must be handed over to the court and cannot be kept privately. Gifts in return naturally do not require personal responsibility and will be handled by the court.

The daughters-in-law’s natal families are rich and poor, and their dowries and daily gifts are also different. Therefore, there will be differences in the clothing and supplies between the sisters-in-law. In order to ensure that the poor have no complaints, the parents will Depending on the situation, just give some things owned by others to those from poor families.

The Zheng family attaches great importance to ancestor worship, and worshiping in ancestral halls is an important part of their lives.

There are many days for public sacrifices by the clan. They go to the ancestral hall to worship on the first and fifteenth day of each month, the New Year's Day, the birthday of the ancestors on the first day of April, the New Year's Day, the Cold Food Festival, and the beginning of October. On one day, we go to the tombs to sweep and offer sacrifices, and the grandsons of each house will pay their own respects on the death day of their ancestors. The sacrificial vessels and sacrificial clothes are for special use and cannot be used for other purposes.

When the tribesmen participate in sacrifices, they dress neatly, do not laugh or talk, salute respectfully, do not leave the table at will, cannot stretch, yawn, or even sneeze or cough.

On the anniversary of the death of an ancestor, one should not drink alcohol, eat meat, listen to music, or have sex with his wife.

To commemorate the birth of the ancestor, the family tree is recited, and women are not allowed to participate in the tomb sweeping.

After Shuowang paid homage to the ancestral hall, a ceremony was held to instruct his children. The patriarch sat in the hall, and the men and women of the clan stood at the foot of the hall, beating drums 24 times. One of the children sang: "Listen, listen, listen! Everything is for you. A son must be filial to his parents, a wife must respect her husband, a brother must love his brother, and a brother must respect his brother.

Listen, listen, listen! Do not interfere with the great righteousness by showing favoritism. Do not neglect your emotions and indulge in desolate affairs, do not indulge in extravagance to serve the punishment of heaven, do not use women's words to harm the harmony, do not do anything unruly to disturb the family, do not delay the tillering to cause chaos and death, there is one thing here, once the virtue is destroyed, it will be restored. "Fan Er Yun, following the ancestral precepts is really related to success and failure. I have said it again and again, and you should take a deep warning!" After listening, everyone bowed to each other, then sat down and listened to another story about filial piety and brotherhood before they dispersed.

Children and young people must receive ethical and cultural education and work ability training.

Children begin to learn rituals at the age of 5, participate in Shuowang's ancestral rituals, enter a private school at the age of 8, and become a foreigner at the age of 12. They can continue to study until they are 21 years old. If they obtain merit, they have the right to continue studying. Just engage in housekeeping activities.

During the school period, students must be strictly disciplined. They must live in the school dormitory at night and are not allowed to enter the middle school.

After the age of 16, if you can recite the Four Books and Five Classics and explain the great principles, you can hold a crown ceremony. If you cannot, you have to be 21 years old; if the younger brother reaches the standard, give the younger brother a crown ceremony first to humiliate him. His brother promoted his studies.

Those who have been crowned and are studying will take turns to endorse the words once every 10 days. If they cannot memorize it once, they will take off their headscarves. If they fail three times, it will be treated as if they have not been crowned as a punishment.

The purpose of studying Confucian classics is first to understand etiquette and meaning, and secondly to understand the diction.

It is not allowed to read indecent books. Any books with sexual language or magical spells will not only not be read, but also burned.

Young people who participate in housework activities strive to learn the ability to do things, such as following the steward to the government office to learn to handle affairs and interpersonal relationships.

When you reach old age, especially those in your seventies, you no longer need to go out to do errands.

The marriages of young men and women in the tribe are arranged by their parents.

When choosing a marriage partner, don’t be greedy for wealth, but look at whether the person comes from a gentle family and whether there is a family history of disease.

When getting married, the groom wears dark clothes, headscarf and shoes specially made for him. The wedding ceremony is carried out according to the etiquette formulated by Zhu Xi.

After the bride enters the house, she pays homage to the ancestral hall and her parents for three days, and the parents tell her the family rules.

The tribe is not allowed to take concubines. If you don’t have a son at the age of 40, you can take a concubine, but the concubine cannot sit in the court.

The marriage of a woman is decided by her parents and the elders of her clan. If the engagement was decided by her parents when she was young, the clan elders will express dissatisfaction because they did not participate in the matter and will not give a dowry when they get married.

When the daughter and son-in-law return home, the court will give them a meeting gift, and individuals are not allowed to give any more gifts.

The funeral expenses of the tribe come from the public hall, and there is no need for fun during the funeral. During the mourning period, the descendants do not drink alcohol or eat meat. Violators will be punished as unfilial.

Zheng does not believe in Buddhism and Laoism, nor is she superstitious about the Yin and Yang family, but she adheres to Confucian funeral rituals.

The Zheng clan and its members have a set of principles for dealing with relationships between relatives and friends.

In the court, there are two Zhibins, who are responsible for receiving guests, preparing tea, meals, and accommodation.

There is a guest house in the court hall. Even when close relatives come, they do not stay in the inner house but always stay in the guest house.

For in-laws, give them a festive gift once a year, and send them separately if there are weddings or weddings.

Relatives, rich and poor, all receive the same gifts.

When Zheng's daughter got married and gave birth to her first child, the Zheng family gave her gifts when she was full moon, but not again after the second child.

When the in-laws meet for the first time, they give each other money and silk as gifts. They do not give gold, silver and their products, and they do not accept generous gifts.

The court also takes care of the Zheng clan members who do not fall within the scope of cohabitation.

If the clan members are poor and unable, financial aid will be provided for marriages; in times of disaster, six buckets of grain will be given every month starting from the spring and will be stopped during the autumn harvest; free schools will be set up to accept the children of the clan to study for free; for homeless people, Houses should be allocated to family members who can return to their families; for family members who have no children, help them establish descendants and provide a small amount of financial support; family members who do not have winter clothes or quilts should also be subsidized; and a memorial hall should be established to commemorate the family members. There are no descendants among the people.

Zheng pays attention to handling relations with neighbors.

Set up a free grave for the poor to bury; when a poor family gives birth to a child, two buckets and five liters of "porridge grain" are given to the villagers; the villagers are short of food and loan grain without charging interest; the villagers are sick, and they are given as appropriate. medicinal materials; build bridges and pave roads to make it easier for villagers to walk; and do not accept even small gifts from villagers.

The handling of internal relations among the Zheng clan is a matter of great concern in life.

A young man cannot pronounce. I hope that he has grown up in all aspects and has been recognized by the society. Only then will his reputation be recognized and everyone will respect him. Only when a nephew is 60 years old can he sit with his uncle. , otherwise you will be punished; the younger brother must listen to the instructions of his elders, even if the elder brother is only one day older, the younger brother must obey; the elder must rebuke the younger child, even if it is not true, the younger child must listen patiently and not be allowed to argue; the elder must also discipline the younger brother. Seek truth from facts and be particular about your attitude and language. Only when you have no choice will you gather people together and give you a beating.

Men in the Zheng clan have many rules to abide by in terms of how they behave.

In the early morning, when you hear the bell, you get up, sign in the "Early Morning Book", and then everyone does their own thing; the court has a "Punishment Book" to record the merits and demerits of the clan members, as well as " Plates with the word "advise" and the word "punishment" are used to praise or warn those who have made merits or demerits; tribesmen must dress properly, barefoot, barefoot, bare arms, and dance movements; when meeting guests, behave accordingly Be polite, speak solemnly, and do not mix common words; be cautious in making friends, and do not associate with Tu Shu villains; clan members are not allowed to be subordinates, nor are they allowed to become monks or Taoists; individuals cannot donate statues to Buddha and Lao temples, and cannot abuse them. Sacrifice to the gods in order to seek help from ghosts and gods; tribesmen cannot compete with others to avoid extravagance and favor frugality; tribesmen are not allowed to make friends with opera singers, let alone introduce them into their homes; they are not allowed to compose music themselves, and are not allowed to play chess, Shuanglu, or raise eagles and dogs. ; Do not bully your neighbors for money or property; do not gamble.

If a tribesman violates the above rules, his parents will gather everyone and punish him to kneel down. As long as he is one year older than him, he will have to do so 30 times to humiliate him. If he does not repent, he will be punished. If he does not repent, he will be punished. He was expelled from the clan, removed from the clan chart, and sent to the government for punishment. If he repented, he would return to the clan after three years.

There are many corresponding regulations for women.

Women who violate the "seven outings" rule will be punished and even be divorced from home; if a woman wants to take care of external affairs of the family, she will be punished; the bride will receive half a year of education in order to become proficient. Zheng's family rules; women take turns to cook, and are exempted until the age of 60; the bride starts to participate 3 months after entering the house

Kitchen duty, anyone who is absent without reason will be punished by her husband; women spin together during the day Weaving yarn, doing needlework, and embroidery, everyone does their best; women raise silkworms in their own houses, and return the silk to the court. In addition, they will reward the producers with a tenth, and use the court silk and cotton to weave silk and cloth. The weaver will be rewarded with one-tenth of his products, and the excess will be sold in the court as clothing expenses; if the cloth is not well woven, it will be used as clothing material for the family as a punishment; if the daughter-in-law has parents, she is allowed to return to her natal home to visit her. When parents die, even though they have brothers and uncles, they cannot move around. When there are celebrations and funerals in the mother's family, they have to ask someone to express their feelings; among the relatives of the daughter-in-law, there are monks and Taoist priests. According to family rules, they are not allowed to communicate with each other. On the second and sixteenth day of every month, women

***, listen to people explain the stories of ancient virtuous ladies; women are not allowed to drown when they give birth to a baby girl, and they will be punished if they violate it; girls grow up to 8 When she is 6 years old, her mother will no longer take her to her grandmother's house, nor to the homes of other close relatives, otherwise her mother will be punished; women cannot use barbers to get haircuts, because men and women are not close to each other; women of the Zheng family cannot interact with farm girls, let alone Bedrooms were introduced; Zheng’s men and women have separate toilets and bathrooms. Hot water is provided in spring and winter. Women can take a bath once every 10 days.

In order to maintain the order of life and maintain the prosperity of the family, a large family of several hundred people must formulate strict rules and regulations. This requires managers to be loyal to their duties and develop the family business. We also need the tribesmen to abide by discipline and be content with their duties. For this, there are too many things to guard against.

The life of the tribe is secure, but the control is too strict and goes against people's original wishes.

For example, it is against human nature to prohibit women from having close contact with their natal families; sacrificial activities and court education are rigid in form, monotonous in content, and repetitive, which is naturally annoying; etiquette punishments and public humiliation are not easy to accept. .

So people in this kind of family will not live a happy life.

The advocates of Zheng Lian and his like are just mediocre people who "practice mediocre virtues and be cautious in mediocre words" and are not worthy of praise.

This is the comment made by historian Lu Simian, which is both sharp and profound.

The maintenance of China’s patriarchal system relies on its own economic strength, that is, the clan owns farmland.

For example, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the enfeoffment system was implemented. The emperor (big clan) granted fiefs to princes (xiaozong) with the same surname, and the small clans united around the big clan.

After the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty was destroyed, the patriarchal system of the Zhou Dynasty could no longer be realized.

For future generations to maintain their clans, it is not enough to rely on the power of patriarchal ethics, nor is it enough to rely on the support of the state. People know that if they want to "collect the clan", they must have the clan's common economy, that is, use economic power Bring people together.

Fan's Yizhuang and Yimen's Zheng's built a clan system and a unified economy, so that the clan members could unite in the clan ancestral hall and stay together forever.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the patriarchal system of fiefdom was generally implemented among clans. Since the Song and Ming Dynasties, Yizhuang only appeared in a very small number of clans. Judging from the integrity of the patriarchal system, it was no longer viable by the Song and Ming Dynasties. , so the emergence of the Fan family Yizhuang, Yimen Zheng family, etc. is a new strategy for the declining patriarchal system to continue to maintain.

This does not reflect the strong vitality of the patriarchal system, nor does it mean that it is about to disappear. However, it makes people have to believe that the Chinese patriarchal system has a long-term continuation process.