As we have known, ethnography is a long process of observing and describing individual of particular group throughout field work. It takes at least a year to have a full view of one human group. The author of case study which I have chosen spends around two years for fulfilling her field work. One year is for studying the language, and the other is time for a real observation. Her name is Margery Wolf who does not agree herself as an anthropologist but her husband is an anthropologist who is interested in Chinese families. Otherwise, Wolf would like to send to her readers three things "to present a case study for the social scientist interested in the strains inherent to the form of family considered ideal in China, to provide another account of village life for those with a more general interest in China, and to tell a good story" (page vi). She did an observation from 1959 to 1961, and the ethnography was taken place and published until 1968. Both Wolf and her husband choose Taiwan for the case study instead of China because China is such a huge country which can be hard to observe. To be specific, Wolf wants to remind everyone that Taiwan is not an independent country, but it's a part of China. It will be easier for her to observe Taiwanese by living within their family. Luckily, Wolf has succeeded to ask one of the biggest and most respected families in Peihotien village named the Lim family for renting a room while they live there. .
Peihotien village is located in Hotien district where four different distinct areas has. It includes mostly the Lim lineage who has the most powerful in village. Even though the village has other families such as the Ong family originated a hundred years ago, the Lim family is still dominance in the village. Living in the Lim family, Wolf also takes some responsibility toward a good name of the family because it has a great effective leadership within Peihotien country village.
