clan, surname

氏 depicts a bowing man holding a frame, the frame means enclosing a piece of land, implies someone obtaining a piece of land. In ancient China, vassal will get another surname after a piece of land is granted to him, such surname is 氏, usually named under the name of a country, a place or an official position. On the other hand, both 姓 and 氏 mean surname, but 姓 comes from mother while 氏 comes from father, such phenomenon is caused by the different stage of society, the difference between matriarchy and patriarchy. Now there is no different between 姓 or 氏, since all of us inherit our surnames from our fathers.