The Song-Yuan (960-1368) period is crucial for the formation of patriarchal families in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Therefore,the study of the Huizhou society at the Ming-Qing period cannot afford to neglect the influences of the Song-Yuan tradition.In the Song-Yuan period,Huizhou was one of the most flourishing districts for the development of Neo-Confucianism as well as for the construction of patriarchal families.The Neo-Confucianism in the Huizhou district-the Xin’an School of Neo-Confucianism-belongs to the transition to secularism in Zhu Xi Studies;moreover,this secularization process is closely related to the institutionalizing of patriarchal families.The transformation of academic Neo-Confucian studies into secular ceremonial rites and regulations was among the serious concerns by Zhu Xi in his later years.In doing so,Zhu Xi established a set of rites for the plebeian patriarchal families-The Family Rituals,which had become the guidelines for Neo-Confucians in the secularizing process of Zhu Xi Studies.The Family Rituals consist of four major aspects:the capping ceremony,weddings,funerals,and sacrificial rites.Just like the funerals,the sacrificial rites in the ancestral hall,among others,would strengthen the patriarchal consciousness of each member.In other words,the secularization of Zhu Xi’s ritual system provided institutional guarantee as well as spiritual solidarity for the construction of patriarchal families. From the death of Zhu Xi till the end of the Southern Song Dynasty,some of the practical principles of Neo-Confucianism,for instance,the ritual system propounded by Zhu Xi,gradually infiltrated into different walks of social life with the advocacy of such Neo-Confucians as Cheng Yongqi,Jiang Shitian and Wu Mengyang,and at the same time the plebeianization of ritual systems gradually merged into the construction of patriarchal families. The Song-Yuan (960-1368) period is crucial for the formation of patriarchal families in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Therefore, the study of the Huizhou society at the Ming-Qing period can not afford to neglect the influences of the Song-Yuan tradition.In the Song-Yuan period, Huizhou was one of the most flourishing districts for the development of Neo-Confucianism as well as for the construction of patriarchal families. Neo-Confucianism in the Huizhou district-the Xin’an School of Neo -Confucianism-belongs to the transition to secularism in Zhu Xi Studies; moreover, this secularization process is closely related to the institutionalizing of patriarchal families. The transformation of academic Neo-Confucian studies into secular ceremonial rites and regulations was among the serious concerns by Zhu Xi in his later years. In doing so, Zhu Xi established a set of rites for the plebeian patriarchal families-The Family Rituals, which had become the guidelines for Neo-Confucians in the secularizing process of Zhu Xi Studies. Family Rituals consist of four major aspects: the capping ceremony, weddings, funerals, and sacrificial rites. Just like the funerals, the sacrificial rites in the ancestral hall, among others, would strengthen the patriarchal consciousness of each member.In other words, the secularization of Zhu Xi’s ritual system provided institutional guarantee as well as spiritual solidarity for the construction of patriarchal families. From the death of Zhu Xi till the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, some of the practical principles of Neo -Confucianism, for instance, the ritual system propounded by Zhu Xi, gradually infiltrated into different walks of social life with the advocacy of such Neo-Confucians as Cheng Yongqi, Jiang Shitian and Wu Mengyang, and at the same time the plebeianization of ritual systems gradually merged into the construction of patriarchal families.