OF THE HUMAN FAMILY 415 



teristics. The schedule gives the system in the Pekin or Mandarin dialect. It 

 will be found at the end of this chapter in a form more convenient for special exa- 

 mination than in the Table, together with Mr. Hart's observations upon the Chinese 

 system. 



The Chinese classify the consanguinei of any given person under nine grades of 

 relationship, four of which are above, and four below Eyo. It would seem that 

 collateral consanguinei are included to some extent in the nine grades, and stand 

 in the same relationship to Ego, respectively, asjhe person in the lineal line does 

 who is at the same distance in degree from the common ancestor. For example, 

 my first, second, and third cousins, male, under our system, are my brothers under 

 the Chinese, and the sons of the latter are my sons ; and they stand in the same 

 grades respectively as my own brothers and my own sons. Mr. Hart furnishes, in 

 his observations, the following translation from a Chinese author upon this subject: 



" ( A) All men who are born into the world have nine ranks of relations. My 

 own generation is one grade, my father's is one, my grandfather's is one, that of 

 my grandfather's father is one, and that of my grandfather's grandfather is one ; 

 thus above me are four grades : my son's generation is one grade, my grandson's is 

 one, that of my grandson's son is one, and that of my grandson's grandson is one ; 

 thus below me are four grades of relations ; including myself in the estimate, there 

 are in all nine grades. These are brethren, and though each grade belongs to a 

 different house or family, yet they are all my relations, and these are called the 

 nine grades of relations." 



" (B) The degrees of kindred in a family are like the streamlets of a fountain, 

 or the branches of a tree ; although the streams differ in being more or less remote, 

 and the branches in being more or less close, yet there is but one trunk, and one 

 fountain head." 



The chief question of interest in the interpretation of this fragment is, whether 

 the members of each grade of relations stand upon a level and fall under the same 

 relationship to Ego as the person in the lineal line at the same remove from the 

 common ancestor, e. g,, whether my father's brother and my mother's brother are 

 equally my fathers, my brother's son and my sister's son are equally my sons ; or 

 whether it is a division of a man's kindred into generations simply, founded upon 

 the degrees in the lineal line. In the former case all consanguinei, near and remote, 

 would stand to Ego in the relation either of fathers or mothers, brothers or sisters, 

 sons or daughters, grandparents or grandchildren of different degrees. This would 

 render the Chinese and Malayan forms identical, and tend to show that the true 

 ethnic position of the Chinese is at the head of the Malayan family. In the latter 

 case, if consanguinei are merely classified into generations according to the distance 

 of particular persons from common ancestors, whilst the division has but little sig- 

 nificance, it would leave the relationships of persons unaffected. The system itself 

 does not fully sustain either interpretation, although it contains abundant internal 

 evidence of an original affinity with the Malayan form. 



It is now proposed to take up the several lines in their order, and present them 

 with fulness of detail that a complete knowledge of this singular system may be 

 obtained. 



