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宗法

zōngfǎ
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 patriarchal clan system
  2. 2 rules of clan and lineage
  3. 3 to model on / take as one's stylistic master

Examples

HSK 4
他的诗宗法盛唐。
Tā de shī zōngfǎ Shèng Táng.
His poetry takes the High Tang as its model.
HSK 7-9
宗法制度在中国古代社会影响深远。
Zōngfǎ zhìdù zài Zhōngguó gǔdài shèhuì yǐngxiǎng shēnyuǎn.
The patriarchal clan system had a profound influence on ancient Chinese society.

Tips

history
Emerged in the Western Zhou (西周, ~1046-771 BCE) as a system tying political authority to bloodline: the eldest son of the principal wife (嫡长子) inherited the main line, with younger sons forming branch lines. It shaped Chinese family structure, inheritance, and ritual for the next three thousand years.
usage
The second sense - 'to take as one's stylistic master' - is a classical-literary reading and only appears in art criticism and poetry commentary, e.g. 宗法 《文选》 'modeling on the Wenxuan anthology.'

Stroke Order

宗 zōng
法 fǎ