Chinese Journal of Sociology

Pricing the Bridewealth: On the Moral Embedding in the Mechanism of Rural Betrothal Gifts Negotiation——Case Analysis Based on L County, Gansu Province

WANG Sining, JIA Yujing, TIAN Geng

2020, 40(1): 1-24.

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Bridewealth is both a monetary as well as a cultural component of Chinese marriage. The existing research employs two major frames to examine it:the marriage market theory and the gift flow theory.The former attributes the rising price of bridewealth to the imbalance of the gender ratio in the marriage circle, and the latter regards bridewealth as a venue in which property flows intergenerationally. However, neither of them ably facilitates the study of bridewealth as a social process, namely, the negotiating between seniors representing the engaged families to decide the monetary value of an appropriate bridewealth. The fieldwork of this paper focuses on how the "negotiation" is initiated and moves on until both families settle on a descent bridewealth. In the process, both families first refer to the "baseline" price (dahang) in the local place and then claim that their family status entitles them to raise or lower the bridewealth from da hang. The bargaining behaviors of both families and their understanding of each other's behaviors are in strategical alignment with da hang. The strength of da hang, this paper argues, consists not so much in being a monetary indicator of the average bridewealth as in being a moral measurement of the decency of the bargaining families. On the one hand, a bridewealth significantly higher or lower than dahang may signify in the community that those families are breaking the moral sanctions of da hang and thus leads to questioning and even devaluation of their family status.Therefore, the negotiating families must find ways to morally justify the price-ups or-downs. On the other hand, even the most consenting families don't reduce the pricing process into a polite formality. The ultimate ethic code about marriage making lies not so much in mutual understanding of the two families as in their strategies to follow the moral sanctions of da hang despite of a deviating price. The imperatives to follow da hang and the strategical efforts to morally legitimize a "price" fluctuating from itare central to theorize the normative embeddedness of the bridewealth in the community moral fabrication.

Public Space Without Public: State and Individual in Courtyard Space in Dashilar, Beijing

LI Alin

2020, 40(1): 25-44.

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In this paper, the meaning of public space and the problem of public reconstruction are discussed through an experiment study of community formation and courtyard space adjustment in the old neighborhood of Dashilar in Beijing (2014-2017). Unlike the western theoretical circles, which generally regard public space as public life with political or social significance, the courtyard of Dashilar is a public space shared by several families but with little social life, and the neighbors are acquainted but remain strangers and the relationship can be tense and often in open conflicts.The paper begins with the perspective of "the property rights of public space cognition, management and usage" to sort out the historical process of Dashilar courtyards from state-owned urban space in the 1980s to privatized properties in the later years. In this process, even though residents understood that public spaces like courtyards and hutongs wereowned by the state, they still gradually encroached and divided these administratively neglected public spaces for private use. The act of encroaching on public spaces by residents is not only the result of housing shortage, but also influenced by the historical relationship between the state and the individual. Under such circumstances, the public space is no longer a mere functional material space, but is full of interaction between various actors, revealed both in the expansion of private space by individuals in daily life and in the "public disturbance" events by collectives in the construction of space. The experiment in this paper introduces two strong social interventions of "rebuilding social life" and "defining the public and private boundaries" to facilitate courtyard space adaptation. The two experiments ended in failure for the former and success for the latter respectively. This tells us that public reconstruction is not just about rebuilding social interaction between people, but also about adjusting the state-individual relationship and establishing the rules of living together in public space.

Integrating Medicine and Rituals: The Operating Mechanism of the Medical System among the Akha

WANG Ruijing

2020, 40(1): 45-74.

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By using cultural interpretation method in reference to the cosmic belief of the Akha at the Sino-Myanmar border, this paper analyzes the Akha people's view on illness and their corresponding treatment practice in order to understand the integration of medicine and rituals and the operating mechanism of this system. The finding points out that the Akha people believe that humans possess both body and soul. Some illnesses are physical and can be healed by drugs, while others involve the soul, ghosts, spirits, deities and the Supreme God, and need to resort to ritual treatment. Ritual therapy in a set of socio-cosmological rules called "Li", is closely related to the Akha's cosmology, social organization, kinship system, temporal and spatial arrangements, behavioral norms and so on.Li defines the overall cosmic order of the Akha, coordinates the rules of interaction between people and ghosts, gods, spirits and other living things in the universe, as well as regulates the life of the human world. In this intermingled world, manifested in illness, human body is the carrier of messages given by nonhuman beings. Such illnesses are regarded as punishments from the divine for discordance with the socio-cosmological order and a call for people to correct mistakes and restore harmony. Therefore, the proper way to heal illness is to remove physical discomfort by taking medicine, and to satisfy nonhuman beings with sacrificing rituals. In so doing, the collective socio-cosmological morality is internalized into the individual through uncertain ailments and healing rituals that repeatedly confirm and maintain the authority of the social-cosmic order. It is this pluralistic medical practice of combining medicine with rituals that keeps the Akha Li alive.

Living in Between Hub and Border: A Study on the Image Construction of Han Chinese in Border Areas during the Republic of China

FENG Jianyong

2020, 40(1): 75-95.

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During the period of the Republic of China, some researchers with academic training in western anthropology, ethnology, and sociology realized that the migration of Han Chinese from the interior to periphery regions made the geographical concept of "border" richer in its cultural and political meaning. Various scholars saw the role and mission of these Han Chinese in a different light:Wu Wenzao, Tao Yunkui and others followed Robert Parker's "marginal man" theory to present helpfully the Han migrants as "pivotal men" contributing to the building of frontiers; in contrast, ethnographers, such as Li Anzhai, Liang Zhaotao and Fei Xiaotong, used their field observations to show that the image of "central people" and "key players" did not capture the whole picture of the Han Chinese in border regions. Instead, in their view, the self-interest motive and behavior of the Hans could sometimes be a "problem" for border areas. The two contradictory images expressed by these scholars are both, nevertheless, in direct and indirect conversations with Parker's "marginal man" theory and reflect the difference among the Chinese intellectuals about the ways of social change in border regions. No matter of the differences, both camps represented the concerns and hopes of the Chinese intellectual elites over the development of frontier areas and the reality of the complexity of the matter over the centuries of people integration between center and periphery. For the Han Chinese in border regions, a group with diverse origin and culture, any single image will be undeniably partial.

Market Towns Since Ming and Qing: The Historical Cause of China's Urbanization Development

FU Chunhui

2020, 40(1): 96-123.

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Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the extensive network of market towns has been a major feature of China's urban and rural structure. Unlike in the developed Western countries, Chinese market towns did not become a transitional stage in the development of urbanization. Industrialization and land development have not fully moved China's urbanization towards the path of large cities and megacities. This paper is devoted to clarifying the theoretical tradition of market town research, and examining the economic, social, and political aspects of their evolution since Ming and Qing. From the economic point of view, market towns are joint points connecting local markets and the world, and are increasingly characterized by super-leveling, cross-regional and financialization. At the social level, market towns are hierarchical, organized and highly inclusive. From the political point of view, they are the focal point of local autonomy and national state power. This intermediate nature is the essential feature of market towns. From its beginning Chinese sociology has paid close attention to the study of market towns. Many relevant issues are discussed such as family, community, daily life, social mobility, grass-roots governance and so on. Sociological study of market town must treat the subject as a general social fact and the relationship between market towns and specific systems and social structures should be examined on the premise of studying elements of life experience, life wisdom, ethics and morality, customs and other factors.

Subversion and Nihility: The Subjective Difficulty in Shakespeare's Macbeth and Hamlet

WANG Nan

2020, 40(1): 124-163.

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William Shakespeare lived in the Tudor period and in his plays created a series of classic characters, foreshadowing many fundamental traits of modern men. This paper compares Macbeth and Hamlet, two infamous characters of Shakespeare's great tragedies, and analyzes the characteristic defects that led to their tragic fate from the subjective point of view. The study explores the modern meaning of Shakespeare's creation of these two characters. Tempted by ambition Macbeth murdered the king, and later was tormented with fear by a powerful imagination, conjuring up manipulations and cover ups to keep himself safe. In so doing, Macbeth fell deeper in sin with his own actions, sinking into nihilistic nothingness. Hamlet's dilemma is that his highly dualistic metaphysical thinking created for him a world of opposites between thinking and being, essence and appearance, ideal and reality. Paralyzed by the conflict, Hamlet could not bridge abstract thoughts with actions and bring himself to take vengeance. In the end, he could do nothing but submit himself to the will of the unknown God. These two characters by Shakespeare can well be regarded as accurate portraits of the highly subjective and abstract modern people today. Macbeth is an ambitious man who pursues his dream at all costs, while Hamlet is a poetic philosopher who indulges in his ideal world and laments the evils and impermanence of the world.

Devolution: Social Power in the Kula Ring

LIANG Yongjia

2020, 40(1): 164-186.

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The paper borrows some of Laozi's ideas to interpret the classic anthropological case of "Kula Ring". It is suggested that Kula society illustrates Michael Mann's question of "devolution" conundrum. Two concepts of Laozi help us to capture two characteristics of Kula society:first,"non-accumulation" (buji) allows us to understand that no matter how hard people try to acquire Kula treasures and fame,neither can be accumulated,thereby preventing the concentration of economic and political power. Second,"small kingdoms with few people" (xiaobang guamin) reveals that the organization,technology and calendar of Kula society purposefully limit the size of society. Kula's trading rules also keep the society peaceful,thereby inhibiting the accumulation of political and military powers. The paper argues that Laozi gives us a unique perspective to better understand the overall purpose of Kula society:through deliberate non-action,Kula society could be kept in a "non-civilized" state of devolution.

Unsuccessful Transplant of the Concept of Charity: An Analysis from the Perspective of Policy Process

ZHANG Gaorong

2020, 40(1): 187-212.

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In the process of legal modernization,China has always been faced with conflicts between transplanted laws and domestic customs. How to build a legal system that both embodies formal rationality and absorbs Chinese cultural traditions has become a significant theoretical problem in the process of China's transformation. Due to the lack of research on micro-policy making processes,the discussions on this issue mostly remain at the macro level. Therefore,this article takes the formation of the concept of "charity" in the Charity Law of the People's Republic of China as an example to explore how legal transplant and domestic customs affect legislation. Weber's formal rational law and substantive rational law,as well as the concept of legal pluralism are applied as theoretical framework for this study. Through the analysis of the legislative process of defining the concept of "charity",it is found that legislation is influenced by two factors:the legislature needs to response to the public demands to enhance its legitimacy,and the legislators themselves are part of the public. These two factors make the concept of charity in law fully reflect domestic customs. The transplant of the legal concept of charity is mainly achieved through the cooperation between legal experts and legislators. Through such interactions,legislators recognize that incorporating local customs into the legal system undermines the internal logic of the law. Therefore,there is a growing demand in China's current legislative process to integrate legal transplant with local customs in a more organic manner. However,due to the separation of proposal and deliberation in the legislative process and the decision-making mode of political bureaucracy,the construction of formal rational law faces a double disintegration. Thus,to facilitate better integration of legal transplant and local customs,the legislative system,with the full participation of legal experts,needs to integrate the drafting and deliberation process,and remove the information constraints on the legislative decision makers (non-legislative technocrats).

The Influence of Regional Divorce Culture on Marital Stability: A Study Based on Trans-Provincial Migrants

SHI Zhilei

2020, 40(1): 213-242.

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Using the data from the Inter-Provincial Migration Survey (2013-2015),this paper examines the impact of regional divorce culture on migrants' marital stability from a dynamic perspective. The study finds that high divorce rate regions created a strong culture of divorce acceptance that influence both in-flow and out-flow migrants. With control for major confounders,the instrumental variable approach analysis shows that,1) for every additional divorce case (per 100 couples) in the destination area,the probability of divorce increased by 1.38 to 1.65 percentage points among in-flow migrants,and 2) for every additional couple divorce (per 100 couples) in the area of origin,the probability of divorce increased by 1.32 to 1.91 percentage points among out-flow migrants. Further,the regression results show that the influence of divorce culture on individual behavior is characterized by inheritance and immersion effect. Inheritance effect is reflected in the continuous impact of the original divorce culture among migrants who have settled in a new place. Immersion effect shows migrants assimilate themselves into the divorce culture of the new place. Young migrants are more likely to be affected by the cultural immersion effect,while older people are more vulnerable to the cultural inheritance effect. The study also shows that in a new environment,men are more receptive to new things,while women are more likely to retain their original cultural identity.

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