Films

The Secret of the Stone

2009 / 39 minutes

Directed by: Zhifang Song Gary Seaman Steven Rousso-Schindler

Anthropologist

Country of production: United States China

Series: Song Family Village

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Located on the North China Plain about 200 miles south of Beijing, ‘Song Family Village’ is home to about 1,300 people. Some 80% of all villagers are members of a single lineage of the Song surname. The film documents New Year’s customs to demonstrate the segmentary structure of the Song family lineage. Ancestor temples provide the focus for collective rituals that express historical growth and subsequent fissioning into lineage segments. Minimal segments (Wufu or mourning groups) are shown as interaction groups focused on the household shrines of senior living agnates. Although the Communist-led Cultural Revolution tried to eliminate traditional kin-based institutions, this film shows that segmentary lineages are still a vigorous aspect of life in this North China village.

Language and subtitles: English and Chinese with English Subtitles

Region: Central Asia and Far East

Country: China

Keywords: Family / Kinship Collective / Community identity Ritual Festivals / Carnival

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