家庭是中國傳統(tǒng)社會的基礎(chǔ)。在中國傳統(tǒng)家庭中，每個人與不同的家人相處時，都要循規(guī)蹈矩地遵守一定的禮節(jié)(etiquette)。特別是在那些人口眾多且成員復(fù)雜的大家族里。更需要嚴(yán)格的禮節(jié)和規(guī)矩，以界定彼此的關(guān)系，約束個人的行為。而使家庭和諧有序。在一個大家族里，輩分最高的人往往具有至高無上的權(quán)威。受“男尊女卑”觀念(“patriarchal”mentality)的影響，丈夫在家庭中的地位絕對在妻子之上。受現(xiàn)代文明的沖擊，女性的地位如今有所提高。
　　Families are the foundation of traditional Chinese society. In traditional Chinese families, each person must observe certain etiquette in his or her relationship with other family members. Especially in those large families that have numerous people with complex background, more strict etiquette and rules are observed so as to define their relationships and discipline individuals' behavior, to keep harmonious family order. In a huge family, the person of highest seniority used to have the highest authority. Due to the "patriarchal" mentality that takes male superior to female, husband might have absolutely dominant status on wife. But under the impact of modem civilization, the status of women has been improved by now.