OF THE HUMAN FAMILY. 421 



INIy mother's sister, if older than my mother, I call ta-e-ma, and if younger, 

 Icaon-e-ma, which is rendered by Mr. Hart my " great" or " little outside mama." 

 Whether in common usage she is called mother does not appear. Her son and 

 daughter I call e-peaon-heung-te, and e-peaon-tsze-mei, my brother and sister of 

 the e-peaon class. The force of the E, appears to be, to make this class more 

 remote than the peaon, which is another departure from the spirit of the Turanian 

 form. As phrases, they are equivalent to " outside external," brother and sister. 

 I also call them elder or younger brother and sister. The children of this brother 

 are my sons and daughters of the c-pcaon class; and the children of the latter are 

 my grandchildren of the same class. On the other hand, the son aiid daughter of 

 this collateral sister I call wae-e-peaon-chih and wae-e-peaon-chih-nev., which Mr. 

 Hart translates my nephew and niece of the woe branch of the c-pcaon class. 

 Their children are my grandchildren of the same class. 



It will be observed that the children of brothers are placed upon the same level 

 imder the relationship of " Hall brothers" and "Hall sisters;" that the children 

 of sisters are placed upon equality as " external outside brothers and sisters ;" and 

 that the children of a brother and sister are similarly placed as " outside brothers 

 and sisters." The members of each of the three classes are equal amongst them- 

 selves, but stand in different relationships as classes, the difference being made in 

 the qualifying terms. By the terms of consanguinity they are all brothers and 

 sisters to each other, Avhich is another departure from the Turanian system. 



The wives of these several collateral brothers in each of the four branches of the 

 second collateral line, are each my sister-in-law ; and the husbands of each of these 

 collateral sisters are my brothers-in-law, each of them addressing me by the cor- 

 relative term ; but they are distinguished from each other, in the same manner as 

 blood relations, by the qualifying terms expressive of the class with which they are 

 respectively connected by marriage. This disposes of the second collateral line. 



It will be sufficient to present in detail one of the four branches of the third 

 collateral line. My father's father's sister I call Im-mQ, my aunt-mother the same 

 as my father's sister ; her son if older than my father I call peaon-poJi, if younger 

 peaon-sJmh, my "senior" or "junior," of the 2>eaon class. If the relationship in 

 this case was that of uncle, it would be more consistent. My father's sister's 

 daughter I call peao7i-?vU, my aunt of the jxaon class. The children of each I call 

 peaon-heung-te, and peaon-tsze-mei, my brother and sister of the peaon class. The 

 son and daughter of this collateral brother are my children, and the children of the 

 latter are my grandchildren of the same class. 



We have now, Avith tedious minuteness, presented the material parts of the 

 Chinese system of relationship. Although the contents of this remarkable system 

 are by no means exhausted by the explanations given, they exhibit its form suffi- 

 ciently to illustrate its elaborate and artificial character. It embodies a well-con- 

 sidered plan, which works out its results in a coherent and harmonious manner. 

 If we eliminate from the system the supplemental portion which renders specific 

 the classes, and their branches, and examine the terms of relationship which 

 remain, together with the classification of consanguine! under them, the primitive 

 system of the people will be revealed with considerable certainty. It will thus be 



