Chinese Journal of Sociology

What is “Freedom”: The Chinese Implications of Taixu's Reformation of Buddhism

HUI Yichen

2023, 43(4): 1-39.

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This paper focuses on the Buddhist reform and social thought of the famous modern monk Taixu in the 1920s-1940s, analyzing how Taixu reconstructed social reform plans by drawing on Buddhist teachings and responding to various social currents at that time. In addition, this study discusses the interdependent relationships between Buddhism, social ideas and social transformation. On the one hand, Taixu put forward the ultimate "freedom" of the mind as a value guide in the Historical View of Freedom in order to solve the authoritarian consequences brought about by the introduction of Western social progressivism. On the other hand, Taixu interpreted the "gradual" teaching that was not emphasized in the Mahayana Buddhist system previously as a way to guide human society from individual worldly perfection to the complete enlightenment of the "Bodhisattva path", making the construction of society a practice of the "Bodhisattva path". In addition, Taixu, who had experiences of studying abroad, recognized the drawbacks of Western postwar social group organizations and saw that the Chinese society based on "families" was becoming more "individualized". Therefore, how to restrain "selfishness" had become the basic principle in Taixu's envision of the modern China social organization. His plan was to integrate the "altruistic" perspective of the "Bodhisattva path" into civic morality, using the Buddhist concept of "dependent origination" to build a basic social relationship in which people were equal to each other. This study explores the creative adaptation and transformation of Buddhist civilization in the face of modern society. In his active engagement with the world, Taixu inadvertently started a dialogue with Weber's comparative sociology of religion, particularly regarding his discussions on Mahayana Buddhism's worldly mentality and life motivation. Finally, this study attempts to extract the social theoretical value of Taixu's concepts of "skillful means" and "ultimate reality", providing new perspectives for the study of the Sinicization of Buddhism.

“Tongguoshen”: Another Perspective to Understand the Theory of “Embodiment” in Chinese Culture

FENG Biying, XUAN Chaoqing

2023, 43(4): 40-71.

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“Embodiment” is an important research topic in body research in recent years. Although "embodiment" takes transcending the dualism of mind-body as its premise, it fails to eliminate the traces of dualism in its reasoning and thus creates an internal dilemma of the theory. From the cultural comparative point of view, the mind-body monism in Chinese culture and the mind-body dualism in Western culture are used as reference framework in this study. In view of this, this paper is a study of the history of Chinese social thought on "embodiment", focusing on the concept of "Tongguoshen" proposed by Dong Zhongshu in the book Chunqiu Fanlu(春秋繁露). The paper analyzes the mechanism of "embodiment" in the holism of body and mind, and discusses why the "body" is the foundation for the construction of Chinese society. "Tongguoshen" means that body-management and country-governing are interlinked. This has two important reference values:First, in terms of overcoming the theoretical dilemma of "embodiment", Chinese culture regards"body" as a sympathetic system of life experience, which can dispel the original physical and mental boundaries, and eventually eliminate the priority of mind over body. These two aspects are the key to solving the problem of dualism in embodiment theory. Second, the study touches an unexplored area of Chinese research on the biology-sociality integration view of native body that constitutes the basis for understanding Chinese society. With the understanding of "body", we can begin to make sense of "human being" with biological and social factors from the perspective of biological evolution and social existence, and further enrich our basic understanding of "society". In this sense, "body" deserves to be rediscovered as an important resource that expands the traditional boundaries of sociology. In addition, the study points out that the thought of "body-management" in Chinese culture tradition is of great significance to understanding contemporary Chinese society, and provides useful reference for specific issues such as social governance and social construction.

Eichmann, The Banality of Evil and Obedience Research: Jewish Trauma and Alternative Narrative of Social Psychology

ZHOU Xiaohong

2023, 43(4): 72-96.

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In the history of social psychology, the influence of others or groups on individual behavior has always been an interesting and fruitful field. At the very beginning, Lewin attempted to use the concept of "group dynamics" to explore the interaction of various potential dynamics in groups, the influence of groups on individual behavior, and the psychological relationship among group members. Later, Sherif and Asch each applied experimental methods to confirm the extent to which individual judgment was influenced by other people's or group norms. Further, Nazi Germany's frenzied massacre of Jews in World War II, as well as the mechanical, cold and ruthless performance of executioners like Eichmann for "fulfilling their duties" not only triggered Arendt's discussion about "the banality of evil" but also led to the obedience behavior experiments in the field of social psychology by Milgram. If Arendt profoundly revealed the darkness of human nature hidden behind the daily routines, then Milgram proved that people under pressure indeed had a tendency to blindly follow. In fact, both Arendt's insights and Milgram's experiments are directly derived from the long term physical and spiritual trauma that the Jews suffered in World War II. It is the long time suffering of Jewish people that makes the issue of conformity and obedience a haunting nightmare for Jewish scholars, and also a lasting alternative narrative in the field of social psychology. If one considers that all kinds of network chaos caused by the development of communication in contemporary society, especially the fact that "cyber violence" may bring about "the banality of evil" once again, this discussion certainly holds very significant value.

Public Opinion Domination and Triple Social Vision: Durkheim's Reconstruction of Rousseau's Social Theory

HUANG Jianbo, MEI Ruyang

2023, 43(4): 97-128.

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Public opinion is not only the key to Rousseau's interpretation of social conditions, but also an important reference in Durkheim's analysis of social facts. By focusing on Durkheim's discussion of public opinion domination, we are able to present his triple vision of social facts and reveal how Rousseau's social theory is reconstructed through a process of interpretative system revision. In Rousseau's view, the domination of public opinion is the root of social degradation, and it needs the guidance of legislators to become the keystone of political building. In the early path of social morphology, Durkheim analyzed the internal relationship and differences between public opinion and law, and examined the causal and functional relationship between "comparative law" and social types. While objecting to Rousseau's fundamental point of human nature and negative social landscape, he emphasized the role of society in enhancing human nature. To rid of the materialistic social determinism, Durkheim included individual consent conditions for the public opinion mechanism in the debate with Tarde, making society a "natural constraint" in line with individual nature. From the perspective of collective representation, Durkheim's social vison was completely free from the negative elements in Rousseau's view and it was transformed into a mechanism for maintaining and reconstructing "moral ideals". At the same time, the fundamental point of human nature was also shifted from Rousseau's natural nature to the duality of individuality and sociality. In so doing, while perfecting his own explanatory system, Durkheim had inverted Rousseau's hierarchical sequence of nature and society, and remade social facts from the shackles of human nature that "suppressed nature" to the cornerstone of civilisation that "enhanced nature".

The Formation of a Positive Theory of Power: A Discussion Centred around the Relationship between Foucault and Canguilhem

YE Chenyang

2023, 43(4): 129-153.

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After the 1970s, Foucault gradually developed a new theory of power that differed from the previous one based on the "repressive hypothesis." This new theory emphasises the productive and positive character of power, strongly reflecting Foucault's distinctive perspective. However, it is evident that Canguilhem's influence on Foucault can be discerned through the key term "norm" in Foucault's writing from this period.
It is widely acknowledged that Foucault recognized that modern societies not only rely on sovereign powers that rule through law but also hinge upon other forms of power that govern through norms. Despite nuances in their respective usages, Canguilhem's concept of "norm" as an immanent and positive form of life provided Foucault with the conceptual tool to characterize these modern forms of power governing through norms from a positive perspective. This characterization included both the disciplinary power over individuals and the biopower over populations, manifesting through active and positive selection and cultivation of specific values. While repressive effects were possible in this process, they were fundamentally of secondary importance.
Furthermore, as Foucault constructed the normative foundations and value judgments in his own theory of power, there was a continued resonance with Canguilhem's theory of normativity. Just as Canguilhem's "norm of norms" for judging the strengths and weaknesses of normativity was the functional criterion of whether normativity could continue to produce norms, Foucault's normative judgment rested on the functional judgment of whether power relations could remain fluid.

Is Individualisation an Obstacle to Fertility? A Discussion on the Evolution and Underlying Logic of French Family Policy

WU Zhen

2023, 43(4): 154-184.

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Individualisation is often considered as an important cause for fertility decline. The inverse correlation between the individualisation and the fertility rate was tentatively verified by the demographic evolution trajectory of many countries around the world, but it was questioned during the successful implementation of family policies in France which had led to a rebound in fertility. This process, revolving around the different attitude towards the individualisation of family, could be divided into two stages. The first stage occurred before the end of the 1960s. The core concept was to suppress individuality and revive family order. As a result, the instability of marriage and family gradually increased, and the birth rate did not rise but fell. The second stage began in the 1970s with a new shift of law and policies towards accommodating individual demands and respect ing individual choices. The government paid more attention to assist vulnerable individuals in the redistribution of economic and social resources. This had brought about a rebound in fertility since the 1990s.
The experience in the latter stage reflects the understanding of the French academic and political circles on the dual connotations of individualisation. In the face of the positive aspects of individualisation, they advocated accepting and making good use of the initiatives exhibited by individuals, and thus introduced a series of regulations and measures to ensure his or her autonomy in marriage and childbirth. However, in the face of the negative aspects of individualization, attempts were made to level the gap between different individuals in terms of gender and intergenerational relationships in order to prevent and curb social injustice. As a result, an underlying logic of taking into account both individual freedom and social fairness has been gradually formed in the French family policies. The French government has used this as a criterion to consistently adjust and implement laws and policies, and ultimately eased the fertility decline issue set by individualisation. The purpose of this study is not only to present specific measures for encouraging birthrate, but also to explore appropriate policy intervention to reverse the impact of individualisation on fertility, so as to provide ideas and inspiration for countries that are still trying to find an effective solution to the problem.

The Construction of China Social Organization System From 1949 to 1956

CHEN Jiajun, MAO Dan

2023, 43(4): 185-213.

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Between 1949 and 1956, China built a social organization system that is neither the so-called "third sector" in Western countries nor a collection of civil associations. It is composed of three types of social organizations in broad sense:mass organizations led by the CCP, social organizations received re-accreditation, and non-registered resident mutual aid organizations. It is a specific type of adaptive political power construction that is driven by the joint-action of three forces:state-structured social organizations, social elite collaboration, and social members filling in the gap on marginal affairs. Among the three, the power and role of state-structured social organizations are the most evident and powerful, and they determine the space and strength of the latter two forces. Elite collaborative social organizations, except mass organizations, play a moderate role, while resident organizatoins handling periphery social issues are in the weakest position. In China, the social organization system created in this way is highly compatible with nation-building but weak in managing social affairs. In the following decades, the Chinese social organization system has witnessed noticeable changes. The three types of social organizations have all been expanded and the allocation of strength has also changed. However, there are always continuous or persistent characteristics that do not change, such as the CCP's leadership over the social organisation system, the rule of administrative regulations and the unity of all social elements for the nation-building. The above-discussed historical process shows that the future reform of China's social organization system will keep its focus on activating the social function of the three types of organisations while maintaining the tradition of a unified society under the state and regulation of social organizations.

Governance Risk and Staff Personnel Management: A Political Logic Analysis of the Formation of Officials and Local Staff Separation and Its Persistence

WANG Quanwei

2023, 43(4): 214-239.

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The separation of officials and local staff(官吏分途)was an important phenomenon in the history of Chinese political system. Recently, some scholars have argued for the rationality of its existence from the logic of governance. This paper attempts to demonstrate that the division between officials and local staff is a troublesome institutional arrangement from the perspective of governance, and its formation and persistence are mainly the result of political logic. In ancient China, problems of bureaucratic cliques and aristocratization often led to the erosion of imperial governance power and endangerment of the ruling power. The management system handling petty bureaucratic functionaries at all levels was thus closely associated with governance risk prevention. First of all, this study argued that separating officials from local staff began with the bureaucratic aristocratization during the Eastern Han dynasty. The difference in social status between nobles and commoners affected the establishment of formal official ranking system, resulting in a total separation between officials and local staff in recruitment, ranking and moral prestige. Secondly, the continuity of this separation after the Tang dynasty was closely related to the rulers' desire to prevent governance risks. After Song dynasty, the problems associated with the separation between officials and local staff became well recognised. For each succeeding dynasty, reform proposals were attempted but more or less all wanted to go back to the open but politically highly risky selection system(pishu, 辟署制). The Imperial rulers would rather endure the ills of the system than change it. This paper reveals the bureaucratic personnel risks that have not been explored previously and its profound influence on the ancient Chinese bureaucracy. It is worth noting that similar political risks still exist in contemporary times, and they are now receiving increasing attention and rectification.

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