Family is the basic unit of the society. Its structure changes along with the development of the society. In China's feudal society which lasted several thousand years, most families consisted of several generations, with the male members making all the important decisions. During the last hundred years, great changes have taken place in Chinese family concept, and accordingly in the Chinese family structure. Large families began to divide into smaller families and stem families. There also appear many nuclear families composed of a couple and their unmarried children.