InancientChina,thecompositionofatypicalfamilywasbasicallythesameasthecompositionofthenation.Familes,mostscholarssuggest,composedthebackboneofancientChinesesociety;thatculturewasfamilycentered,andtheminoritypeopleshelpedfromthefoundationuponwhichsocietywasbuilt.Thatisnotnecessarilythecase,butthesuggestionputsforwardtheconceptthatthefamilyunitwasthemainfeatureofancientChinesecultureandsociety.