历史上不同时期,存在着对民众居住方式有着不同影响的制度。概言之,既有抑制亲子分爨、兄弟分家和鼓励大家庭维系的制度,也存在有利于小家庭成长的制度环境。在多数时期,法律、政策、宗规族训、惯习等对分家的限制虽有作用,但较少刚性,并且元明清时代法律对分家的限制作出了让步。由于非福利社会中家庭养老是子代不可推托的义务,父母在世时尽管兄弟不分家的复合型家庭难以普遍保持,但直系家庭是近代之前的重要形式。总体看,历史上的家庭形态构成为直系家庭、复合家庭和核心家庭并存。直系家庭和核心家庭这两类中小型家庭高于复合型大家庭,当然在不同社会阶层中会有差异。 At different periods in history, there are systems that have different influences on the way people live. In short, both the system of restraining paternity and separation, the separation of brothers and the encouragement of extended families, there is also a system environment conducive to the growth of small families. For most of the time, laws, policies, clan traditions, and customary restrictions on dwelling division played a role, but they were less rigid, and the law of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties made concessions to the separation of dwelling units. Since family support in the non-welfare society is an obligation not to be dwelling on behalf of offspring, it is difficult for families with mixed families of brothers and daughters to maintain their common families while their parents are alive. However, immediate families were an important form before modern times. Overall, historically, the family form is composed of an immediate family, a complex family and a nuclear family. Both the immediate family and the core family are higher than the multi-family in the two categories of small and medium-sized families, of course, there will be differences in different social strata.