Many scholar-officials also formed communities out of their own extended families by establishing clan congregations, updating genealogies, and setting up private schools to educate promising youngsters.
許多士大夫也在宗族間設立宗親會，像是今天宗族的祭祀公業，修繕族譜，設立私塾，獎勵子弟向學，使宗族也成為一個社區。