Chinese Family - Partial or No Consanguinity

Partial or No Consanguinity

The following familial relationship suggests partial or no consanguinity. Most of them are not a modern phenomenon, however. In fact, polygamy (specifically polygyny) was widely accepted in pre-republican China.

The saying of "three fathers and eight mothers" (三父八母) refers to:

• Cohabiting stepfather (同居的繼父)
• Non-cohabiting stepfather (不同居的繼父)
• Stepfather from re-marriage of father and mother (從父母嫁之繼父)
• 嫡母 - father's official wife (when birth mother of ego is a concubine)
• 繼母 - stepmother
• 養母 - adopted mother
• 慈母 - concubine replacing ego's birth mother who died
• 嫁母 - widowed birth mother who has remarried
• 出母 - birth mother who has been divorced
• 庶母 - father's concubine who is also a mother (when birth mother of ego is the official wife)
• 乳母 - wet nurse

Another saying of "five fathers and ten mothers" (五父十母) refers to

• 生父 - birth father
• 養父 - adopted father
• 繼父 - stepfather
• 義父 - godfather
• 師父 - (male) teacher/coach/master

and two mothers added to the eight mentioned above:

• 生母 - birth mother
• 諸母 - father's concubine

As a result of polygamy there would be half-siblings:

• 同父異母兄弟姐妹 - siblings sharing the same father
• 同母異父兄弟姐妹 - siblings sharing the same mother