Chinese Values Western Values And The Survival of The Chinese Clan As Social Institution by Rachel Chan Suet Kay

This book examines the survival of Chinese clan associations in the Chinese diaspora., Chinese majority societies, as well as within particular Western societies, in contemporary life. The uniqueness of the Chinese clan is that it has survived as a social institution despite most similar social institutions achieving obsolescence. Historically, China and its Western counterparts have been compared in terms of value systems. Thus, a major question would be whether this phenomenon has anything to do with the Chinese clan association's continued relevance? Findings from four sites containing Chinese clan associations are compared, namely among the Chinese overseas communities in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, and Penang, which contains a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Malaysia: Chinese clan associations in a Western society in Vancouver, Canada; and in mainland China itself, the origin of Chinese clan associations, specifically in Guangdong, China, from which many Chinese had migrated out of into other host countries. Confucianism and its association with traditional and survivalist values, already embedded in the primordial origins of Chinese culture, is outlined as a major aspect of Chinese clan associations, seen in the centrality of ancestor worship. Chinese associations in general, or buiguan, are also explained. This book also outlines dynamism within the membership as well as expected and achieved advantages of clan membership in terms of ascribed/achieved status and agency/habitus in their everyday lives. Finally, the reason for the continued survival of the Chinese clan association as social institution in contemporary society is attributed to Parsons' functional imperatives, as well its role in promoting social cohesion.