浙南地區收養異姓子,并以異姓子主祭的現象,被南宋理學家關注。隨著明清宗族組織的發展和族產的擴大,鄉間抱養異姓、異姓為嗣,從放任不受管制的狀態,變成宗族管理、限制的重點事項,并在族譜編纂中發展出一套針對立嗣異姓的規則和安排異姓子孫的方法。在這個過程中,"民不祀非族"的理念和"異姓不得亂宗"的律條,被各方所引用和詮釋;訴訟成為人們修改規則的手段。禮、法關系的歷史,賦役制度變革帶來國家與家庭關系的改變,宗族組織的發展趨勢,以及每個宗族內部的資源分配和權力斗爭,都給"異姓為嗣"習俗的產生、確認和改變帶來影響。

In the Southern Song dynasty,the custom of adopting male children with different surnames and having them officiate the sacrificial rites of the adopting clan became prevalent in the southern Zhejiang region,drawing the attention of contemporary Neo-Confucians.With the development of clan organizations in the Ming and Qing dynasties and the expansion of clan property,different-surname adoption,which had been unregulated,became a key concern in rural clan management and prescriptions,leading to the development of a set of rules for different-surname succession and arrangements for succeeding generations with different surnames.In the course of this process,the idea thatsacrifices can only be made to one’s own clan"and the law that "[persons with a]different surname must not disrupt the ancestral line"were frequently cited and interpreted by different parties,with litigation acting as a means for people to modify the rules.The history of the relationship between ritual and law,changes in the state-family relationship brought about by changes to the taxation system,the developmental trend of the clan organization,and resource allocation and power struggles within each clan all influenced the emergence,establishment,and changes in the custom of "different-surname successors"