Abstract: In the special geographical environment of Jianghan Plain, there is a complex relationship between the development of clan organizations and water resources. Previous studies have shown that before the middle of the Qing dynasty, struggling over lake products and wetlands was the main cause and driving force for the construction of clan organizations in Jianghan Plain. However, the study of the clans in Jianghan Plain during the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China the construction of clan organization in this later period arose from the perspective of modernization. From the process of the clan construction of the Fans in Huangpi, Hubei Province in the late Qing dynasty and the Republican period, we can see how the clan organization adapted and used the new situation to maintain and continue the established “ownership.” From the struggle for lake products and wetlands to the development of a commercial center, the Fans constituted the historical epitome of the development of the Jianghan Plain lake area since the Qing dynasty.