Chinese Journal of Sociology

From Wealth Distribution to Risk Distribution： The Multiple Forces Behind China’s Social Restructuring and Their Relationships

Li Youmei

2008, 28(6): 1-14 .

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In the context of an open society， there are many forces driving social restructuring， and each force has its own unique influence. Their partially overlapped functions and conflicts have created tremendous complexity in the social structure. In the past 30 years since the open reform， China’s sociological studies on social structure have followed the logic of wealth distribution. In this paper， the author claims that since the beginning of the 21st century， a new force that plays a key role in the Chinese social structural changes in a riskoriented society is emerging. On the one hand， the permeation of the risks and their omnipresence have made possible the mobilization of the whole society beyond classes， strata， occupations， sexes， beliefs， and races， thus giving a new impetus to the production of civil society. On the other hand， risk distribution is isomorphic with class and stratus differentiation to some extent， with the former to intensify the latter. Meanwhile， it is possible that risk conflicts may become a force that would bring about new social conflicts. In the new century， the interaction between the logics of wealth distribution and risk distribution will shape China’s social structure into a new tendency.

The Structure of Social Network Research: The Organizational Theory and Management Research as Examples

Luo Jiade;Wang Jing;Zhang Jiayin;Xie Zhaoxia

2008, 28(6): 15-38 .

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There are seven areas in social network research. First， how field forces or interference factors in the collective social network structure influence relations； second， how relations influence individual actions； third， how field forces or interference factors in the collective social network structure influence individuals' structural positions， fourth， how individuals' structural positions influence their individual actions； fifth， how individual actions influence the collective social network structure， sixth， how the collective social network influences collective actions， and seventh， how collective actions influence field forces. This paper takes the organizational theory and management research as examples to illustrate the research contents in each area and explains how social network serves as a bridge to connect collective actions and individual actions. The phenomenon of selforganization refutes the notion of collective actions equaling to a linear sum of individual actions； it manifests features of a complex phenomenondifferent selforganizations will lead to action ramifications and identical individual actions may result in opposing collective actions in different structures. To solve this nonlinear riddle is the important task in future social network research.

Boundaries of Guanxi Networks： Empirical Evidence from the Emerging Labor Market in China

Huang Xianbi

2008, 28(6): 39-59 .

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Social networks are an important factor affecting socioeconomic behaviors and outcomes. Guanxi， a form of social networks， is deeply rooted in the Chinese culture and it permeates every aspect in the economy and social life. Based on the indepth interviews of the urbanemployment seekers， this paper analyses the effectiveness of jobseekers’ utilization of their guanxi in the process of obtaining employment and the boundaries of its impact， and its theoretical significance in the institutional context of the labor market reform as well. The results indicate that， with the ongoing of the market reform， guanxi networks are still playing a significant role in the process of obtaining employment but its impact is a function of the ownership type of the work unit， the competition intensity in the labor market， and the skill requirements of the position. The impact boundaries of guanxi networks are closely tied to the institutions in a society in transformation. The concept of “guanxi networks” in Chinese society cherishes much richer meanings than the concept of “social networks” in the Western academia.

Concepts and Measurement of Corporative Social Capital： A Comprehensive Theoretical Framework

Wei Jianwen

2008, 28(6): 60-70 .

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Based on the perspectives of “network closure” and “structural hole” of social capital， this paper argues that “trust” and “network position” are the fundamental characteristics of corporative social capital. It is proposed that corporative social capital should be analysed on the organizational and group levels and within the internal and external entities of the corporation. In this analytical framework for measurement of corporative social capital， the corporation on the organizational level is viewed as the node in the network and corporative social capital is treated as the corporation’s formal relationships characteristic of the network structure. On the group level， corporative social capital is treated as the internal trust within the personnel and its position in personal networks.

The Faith Model of the Chinese：Centered around the Confucian Beliefs

Li Xiangping;Shi Dajian

2008, 28(6): 71-89 .

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As far as Western Christianity is concerned， “religion” in English refers to the institutional religion， whereas in Chinese “religion” does not necessarily mean religion at its institutional level. Confucianism of China is certainly not equivalent to the institutional religion in the English semantics； nevertheless， it is a faith system characteristic of religion. The socalled “diffused religion” concept from C. K. Yang is very similar to the faith model of the Chinese discussed here in this paper， and also similar to the private and diffused identity belief model outside the power order and institutional religion. So， the Confucian identity model in this paper is regarded as a result of the interaction between the individual’s private faith and other people’s faith， and between followers of Confucianism and other social members. Meanwhile， belief identity is regarded not only as the action unit of Confucianism， but also as a tool for analysis. To discuss Confucianism and its faith followers’ construing logic through an examination of the regularities in the Confucian belief identity， we will be able to analyse the patterns and developmental course of Confucian beliefs that have governed Chinese society.

Is Modern Religion by Rational Choice A Critique on the Rational Choice Theory of Religion

Fan Lizhu

2008, 28(6): 90-109 .

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While this paper is concerned about how to use religious sociological theories to reasonably explain the religious phenomena in modern society， it questions the explanatory power of the rational choice theory of modern religion. Despite of its supposedly strong and comprehensive explanatory power， this paper still wants to criticize the usage of this rational choice theory to account for modern religion， arguing that it is a wrong logic to understand religion from the “supply” and “demand” of the religious market in the “religious economic model” because of the confusion or substitution between the two important concepts of instrumental rationality and value rationality. The paper finally warns the readers of the danger in using only the religious economic market theory to study religion in China and calls for cautious application.

State Regulation and Development of Religious Organizations： An Institutional Analysis of the Historical Relationships Between Government and Buddhist Monasteries During the Chinese Empire

He Rong

2008, 28(6): 110-127 .

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The state-religion relationship is an important topic in the Chinese religion. Based on the history of Chinese Buddhism， this paper uses a historical-comparative perspective to review the issues pertaining to the formation of Buddhist monasteries and the development of their organizations. In the context of a parallel yet competing relationship between Sila and tu-tieh， Sila could be perceived as a mechanism for an organizational identity and a manifestation of the selfgovernance effort of the Buddhist groups. The analysis of the origin， function， and nature of Tu-Tieh， which was one of the traditional religious ruling tactics during the Chinese Empire， led to the conclusion that， in essence， this system reflected the authority position of politics above religion， which in reality had turned out to be an instrument for profits in its implementation. Through the historical， empirical comparison， the author holds that the disciplines and principles in the religious organizations may become a mechanism to bring about social organizations， and argues that the cornerstone in the state-religion relationship is the autonomous characteristic and the selfgovernance competence of the religious organizations. This should be the premise for state regulation of the religion.

A Study on the Sex Segregation in Non-Agricultural Occupations in China in 1982-2000

Wu Yuxiao;Wu Xiaogang

2008, 28(6): 128-152 .

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Based on the census data in 1982， 1990 and 2000 and detailed occupation categories， this paper discusses the degree of the sex segregation in non-agricultural occupations in China and its change trend since the reform as well as its impact on the gender inequality in the labor market. The results have indicated that occupational sex segregation experienced a directional shift from an increasing trend in the 1980s to a decreasing trend in the 1990s. This nonlinearity could be the consequence of the changes of the major factors influencing occupational sex segregation in different historical periods. The extent of sex segregation was also found to vary significantly by region， occupation， employees’ education， and residential registration status （hukou）. Moreover， since the open reform， the nonagricultural occupations in China have followed a trend toward gender integration （gender neutrality）. Finally， the paper discusses several factors that may have influenced occupational sex segregation in China and the direction for future studies upon this topic.

Body Being the Capital and Dagongmei Adapting to City Life

Zhu Hong

2008, 28(6): 153-175 .

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A person’s physical body is being shaped by social forces——the body’s appearance is not only the product of social interaction at its micro level but also influenced by macro-level production and consumption. With the method of observing and interviewing the blue-collar girls （dagongmei） who migrated from rural areas to be working in the restaurant service sector in Guangzhou， the author describes how dagongmei are building their urban world and adapting to the demands of a city life by utilizing and transforming their bodies as their capital resources. The author points out that “to be a real city girl” may be an unrealistic dream to most dagongmei； however， “to look like a city girl” is achievable with just a trivial tactic to change the look of the body. This approach is the precondition for their survival in the city.

Traditional Folk Cultures and Constructing “New Rural Areas”： Temple Festivals in the Huabei Pear Region as an Example

Yue Yongyi

2008, 28(6): 176-193 .

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The Pear Region in the middle of north China （Huabei） used to be known for its status that “every village has its own temple； every temple has its own festival”. The evolution of various temple festivals to express cultures tells us that the ritual practices still follow the same templefestival tradition in the Pear Region， that is， it is the product of the “collusion” of divergent groups， the primary ones being the local officers and villagers. In the context of folkloretourism development and with the temptation of the Utopian illusion， the communal manifestations have made it possible to build local templemuseums， which convenes officers and villagers with varying motives into the same channel toward the same direction. In current times when constructing “New Rural Areas” is being advocated， it is an organismic （and also important） part of constructing “New Rural Areas” to comprehend traditional folk cultures from the life logic of the villagers and to give them appropriate living spaces. Only by taking root in the soil of traditional cultures can new rural areas persist in longevity.

Review of Sociological Research on Automobile Consumption in Foreign Countries

Lin Xiaoshan

2008, 28(6): 194-214 .

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As a metaphor of modernity， automobiles have profoundly changed our everyday life； however， sociology has generally neglected them in its past studies. As a new research field， sociology of auto-consumption has recently attracted extensive attention in foreign countries. In this paper， autoresearch literature is classified systematically into five parts： cultural logics of cars， symbolic critique of cars， cars and urban space， cars and everydaylife practice， and public transportation and private transportation. The paper also reviews the discussions on automobiles by Bourdieu， the Frankfurt school， Barthes， Baudrillard， Lefebvre， Jacobs， Kitamula （北村隆一）， Urry， Featherstone， Miller， and other postmodern theorists. Lastly， this paper presents some opinions about the future of the sociological research on autoconsumption and discusses its implications to our studies in China.

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