Abstract
The following quotations from different works on China are apparently contradictory, though all are talking of the family in the twentieth century:
The Kwock and Cheung families are very nearly of equal size, having an estimated 500 to 750 members each, while the smallest unit is Choy with about 200 to 300 members.1
The average size of 5.21 persons per family may be taken as representative.2
The family multiplies as the children grow up and marry. It is not uncommon for the joint household to consist of four or five generations.3
Clearly the authors of these statements were using the word ‘family’ in different ways. But why the confusion? How big was the family?
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© 1979 Hugh D R Baker
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Baker, H.D.R. (1979). The Composition of the Family. In: Chinese Family and Kinship. China in Focus. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-86123-1_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-86123-1_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-25373-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-86123-1
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