Dream of the Red Chamber

Dream of the Red Chamber

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Direct And Indirect Family Lines

Explaining a few confusing terms

Daniel Evensen's avatar
Daniel Evensen
Jan 05, 2026
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Direct And Indirect Family Lines

Yesterday we ran into the word 嫡派 (dípài), which means a descendant from the “direct line.”

This is kind of a confusing term, and so I though it would be good to take some time to explain how this works and how other similar generational terms work.

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