A Chinese clan (会馆, pinyin: Huìgǔan) is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname and sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral village (see clan). Pinyin (Chinese: 拼音, pÄ«nyÄ«n) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard... list of Chinese people ethnic groups of China (with list) zhonghua minzu This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... A Chinese surname, family name (Chinese: 姓; pinyin: or clan name 氏; shì), is one of the hundreds or thousands of family names that have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, and among ethnic Chinese in overseas Chinese communities. ... In kinship and descent, an apical ancestor is a common ancestor from whom a lineage or clan may trace its descent. ... A clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by perceived descent from a common ancestor. ...

Clan loyalties tend to be very strong in the south of China, and to a large extent are reinforced by ties to the ancestral village, common property, and often a common spoken Chinese dialect which can be unintelligible to people outside the village. Clan structures tend to be weaker in the north of China, clan members do not usually reside in the same village nor share property in common. Spoken Chinese The Chinese spoken language(s) comprise(s) many regional variants. ...

In Imperial times a consort clan was a clan with special status due to its connection with an Emperor. Throughout Chinese history consort clans have exercised great power at various times. There have been several usurptions of power by consort clans, the most notable being the Han Dynasty's Empress Dowager Lü (呂太后, pinyin: Lü Taihou), the Tang Dynasty's Empress Wu (武則天, pinyin: Wu Zetian), and the Qing Dynasty's Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧太后, pinyin: Cíxǐ). The Han Dynasty usurper Wang Mang was a relative of the Grand Empress Dowager Wang. The consort clan (外戚 Pinyin: waichi) is the family, clan or a group related to a spouse or a empress dowager of the Chinese dynastic ruler or a warlord. ... Han commanderies and kingdoms AD 2. ... Empress Dowager Lü (呂太后, pinyin: Lü Taihou) or Empress Gao (高皇后, pinyin: Gao Huanghou) (d. ... Also the name of a rock band. ... Wu Zetian (武則天) (625 - December 16, 705), personal name Wu Zhao (武曌), was the only female emperor in the history of China, founding her own dynasty, the Zhou (周), and ruling under the name Emperor Shengshen (聖神皇帝) from 690 to 705. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qÄ«ng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing... Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) The Empress Dowager Cixi (Chinese: 慈禧太后; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Tzu-hsi) (November 29, 1835–November 15, 1908), popularly known in China as the Western Empress Dowager (西太后), and officially known posthumously as Empress Xiaoqin Xian (孝欽顯皇后), was a powerful and charismatic figure who was the de facto... Han commanderies and kingdoms AD 2. ... Wang Mang (王莽, pinyin: Wáng Măng) (45 BC–October 6, 23), courtesy name Jujun (巨君), was a Han Dynasty official who seized the throne from the Liu family and founded Xin (or Hsin) Dynasty (新朝, meaning new dynasty), ruling AD 8–23. ... Empress Wang Zhengjun (Traditional Chinese: 王政君), official short-form imperial title Empress Yuan of Han (元皇后), later and more commonly known as Grand Empress Dowager Wang (b. ...

During the Qing dynasty, the Imperial government encouraged Chinese clans to take up some quasi-governmental functions such as those involved social welfare and primary education. The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing...