In the studies of Chinese lineage system, the dominant viewpoint is that lineage is the natural consequence of family. However, by presenting the main theories of lineage and the studies on the process of Chinese lineage system, the author will argue that the geographic ties will never be the contrast replacement of the blood ties, and descent will be neither the natural consequence of consanguinity nor the result of filiation. As a basic principle of lineage, descent itself is entangled with both blood-relationship and geographic-relationship. Furthermore, the phenomenon is much more obvious in a state like China than the stateless society. In a word, lineage, descent, and blood-relationship are all cultural construction.
