传统中国社会的基层是乡村 ,乡村社会中的基本细胞是家庭 ,家庭的繁衍与互相之间的通婚 ,构成了中国社会一个稳固的网络。为了统治稳定 ,封建统治者就抓住了这个网络。在组织上 ,先秦推行宗法制度 ,魏晋盛行门阀制度 ,唐宋以后家族制度向两个方向发展 :一是提倡累世同居的大家庭制度 ,以此家庭作为乡村的楷模 ,以其家长作为乡村的管理者 ,以维护地方统治 ;二是在乡村中提倡建祠堂、置族田、修家谱 ,以稳固家族制度。在理论上 ,《论语》首倡孝道 ,《大学》又将其发展成为“治国必先齐其家”的理论 ,经宋儒们及统治者的大力倡导 ,使族权与政权紧密结合起来 ,从阶级斗争角度讲 ,形成了严密的封建统治网 ,但从稳定意义上讲 ,家族制度确实也起到了稳定社会的作用 The grassroots of traditional Chinese society are rural areas. The basic cells in rural society are the multiplication of families, families and intermarriage with each other, forming a stable network in Chinese society. In order to rule the stability, feudal rulers seized this network. On the organization, the pre-Qin system of patriarchal clan system and the prevalent of Wei and Jin dynasties, the family system after the Tang and Song dynasties developed in two directions: one is to promote the family living together throughout the world as a model of the country, with its parents as the rural Managers to maintain local rule; the second is to promote the establishment of ancestral temples in the villages, pay tribes and cultivate genealogies to stabilize the family system. In theory, the Analects first advocated filial piety and “university” turned it into a theory that “governing the country must be the first to get along with its home.” After the Confucianists and rulers advocated it vigorously, ethnic clashes and political power were closely linked. In the perspective of class struggle, the formation of a tight network of feudal rule, but in a stable sense, the family system has indeed played a role in stabilizing the society