A part of my English paper about French and Chinese families, thanks! 2. Family structure 2.1 Evolution of Chinese family structure Chinese people value family and kinship. However, in the past 100 years, the family structure in China has undergone great changes. The Chinese traditional family refers to the family of three generations or four generations. This kind of family is male-centered: grandfather, father, son, grandson, uncle and uncle and their children and grandchildren. The population of a large family may be dozens or hundreds. They lived together and all the property belonged to the whole family. Individuals and small families generally could not have their own property. The most powerful person in the family was often the oldest grandfather or great-grandfather. He can not only decide on the distribution and use of property, but also other important things in the family, such as which school children and grandchildren were going to go, what job they did and who to get married. The extended family used Confucianism to educate its children, with particular emphasis on the filial piety of older people. According to the previous rules, if parents died, their sons had to “hold filial piety” for three years. In other words, for three years, they would have to live next to their parents’ tombs to accompany their dead relatives. As dutiful sons, during this period, they must not eat fish or meat, and should not wear beautiful clothes. They must not live in comfortable houses, and must not get married. Living in such a big family, the relationship between people was very complicated. The lives of individuals, especially young people, were very fettered. However, the extended family also guaranteed the lives of its members. People did not need to worry about illness or unemployment. In the history of China, there were many large families of hundreds and thousands of people. This large family was often a village with the same surname. The most powerful person in the family was the patriarch. People in the same family shared a common ancestor and used genealogy to write down the names of each generation in the family and the important family members. In other words, if a person had some special achievement, his deeds would be written on the genealogy. This would not only bring honor to ancestors, but also make the whole family feel proud. This traditional extended family has existed in China for thousands of years.