Outer kins (Traditional Chinese: 表親、外戚, lit.
"outer family", "out of household") is the kinship clan in Chinese patriarchy.
This term usually referred to the maternal and all descendants of female members of the clan.
After a woman was married (transplanted“嫁”) into a man's family, her husband's family possessed her.
In clans or the empire, outer kins are usually not allowed to hold power because it disrupts the male-centered social order and network.