From the Soil, the Foundations of Chinese Society: A Translation of Fei Xiaotong's Xiangtu Zhongguo, with an Introduction and EpilogueThis classic text by Fei Xiaotong, China's finest social scientist, was first published in 1947 and is Fei's chief theoretical statement about the distinctive characteristics of Chinese society. Written in Chinese from a Chinese point of view for a Chinese audience, From the Soil describes the contrasting organizational principles of Chinese and Western societies, thereby conveying the essential features of both. Fei shows how these unique features reflect and are reflected in the moral and ethical characters of people in these societies. This profound, challenging book is both succinct and accessible. In its first complete English-language edition, it is likely to have a wide impact on Western social theorists. Gary G. Hamilton and Wang Zheng's translation captures Fei's jargonless, straightforward style of writing. Their introduction describes Fei's education and career as a sociologist, the fate of his writings on and off the Mainland, and the sociological significance of his analysis. The translators' epilogue highlights the social reforms for China that Fei drew from his analysis and advocated in a companion text written in the same period. |
Contents
Fei Xiaotong and the Beginnings of a Chinese Sociology | 1 |
1 Special Characteristics of Rural Society | 37 |
2 Bringing Literacy to the Countryside | 45 |
3 More Thoughts on Bringing Literacy to the Countryside | 53 |
The Differential Mode of Association | 60 |
5 The Morality of Personal Relationships | 71 |
6 Patrilineages | 80 |
7 Between Men and Women There Are Only Differences | 87 |
10 An Inactive Government | 108 |
11 Rule by Elders | 114 |
12 Consanguinity and Regionalism | 120 |
13 Separating Names from Reality | 128 |
14 From Desire to Necessity | 134 |
Sociology and the Reconstructionof Rural China | 141 |
Glossary | 153 |
157 | |
Other editions - View all
From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society Xiaotong Fei,Gary G. Hamilton,Wang Zheng Limited preview - 1992 |
Common terms and phrases
action Analects Arkush basic become behavior chap chapter chaxugeju Chen Sheng Chinese families Chinese rural society Chinese social structure Chinese society circles concept Confucian Confucius consanguineous consensual power context countryside create culture develop dictatorial power differential mode discussion economic emotions fact father Faustian Fei Xiaotong Fei's George Herbert Mead guanxi household human Ibid individual kind kinship land laws lineage live maintain Marxism means Mencius mode of association morality networks norms ofthe one's organization patterns peasants people's political principles problems Reconstructing rural reforms rituals role rule ruler rural areas rural China social order social relationships sociology soil symbol Taiwan term theory tion traditional translation types understand University Press village Warring States period West Western society written language Wu Guang wuwei Xiangtu chongjian Xiangtu Zhongguo Yang Zhu Yunnan zhong