Early Chinese Clan Organizations in Singapore and Malaya, 1819–1911

The Chinese have always been known to have elaborate family and clan systems. In traditional Chinese society, the family was a close-knit group with four or five generations under the same roof. It was a biological and economic unit, and was the nucleus of all important social activities. The clan, which comprised various kinship-bound families, also formed an important part of the social fabric of the traditional Chinese society.