社会杂志 ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (2): 1-29.

• 专题一：世变与士变 •    下一篇

士大夫的社会世界建构与演变——基于曾国藩日记/通信的案例研究

周雪光(), 张家硕   

  • 出版日期:2026-03-20 发布日期:2026-05-19
  • 作者简介:周雪光  斯坦福大学社会学系，E-mail: xgzhou@stanford.edu
    张家硕  北京大学社会学系

The Social World of Scholar-Officials in Traditional China: A Micro-Sociological Analysis of Zeng Guofan's Diary and Correspondence

Xueguang ZHOU(), Jiashuo ZHANG   

  • Online:2026-03-20 Published:2026-05-19
  • About author:ZHOU Xueguang, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, E-mail: xgzhou@stanford.edu
    ZHANG Jiashuo, Department of Sociology, Peking University

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摘要：

“现实为社会所建构”这一社会学基本命题指出，人们在日常生活中建构的社会世界为个体提供了共享意义的空间和社会行动的基础。本文以这一命题为理论线索，以曾国藩日记和通信为研究资料，探析曾国藩社会行动的微观基础。我们特别关注曾国藩的社会活动与精神活动之间的关系，及其社会世界的特点。研究发现，曾国藩的精神世界与社会世界各有不同表征，后者体现出差序格局的特点，且其结构随时间而发生变化。我们借用个案深入发掘的优势来探讨相关的研究思路、理论概念、分析维度和要素测量，尝试提供一个有关士大夫的社会世界建构的研究案例。

关键词: 社会世界, 差序格局, 士大夫, 曾国藩, 微观社会学

Abstract:

Building on the sociological insight into the "social construction of reality", this study examines how scholar-officials (士大夫) in traditional China constructed their social worlds through everyday activities that served as the basis for social action. Our study begins with the observation that, throughout Chinese history, Confucian culture had fostered a dualism between a family-state-oriented spiritual world and a secular world of kin-based social relations. Although these two worlds integrated, they were fraught with tensions, imparting distinctive characteristics to China's state-building and bureaucratic system. Building on this observation, this study applies a micro-sociological analysis of the diaries and correspondences of Zeng Guofan, a prominent late Qing scholar-official. We explore the relationship between Zeng's social activities and his spiritual pursuits, with a particular focus on the con struction of his social world. Our research reveals that Zeng's spiritual pursuits and social activities were largely distinct from one another and rarely intersected. We measure and analyze types of social groups with whom Zeng interacted, the interaction patterns both within and between groups, and the structural features of the social network centered on Zeng Guofan. While Zeng's two worlds remained distinct, his social world was structured by a"differential mode of association"(差序格局), a relational pattern that was dynamic and evolved over time. By leveraging the depth of a case-study approach, this study makes two main contributions. First, it develops a research approach of combining theoretical insights and analytical concepts for examining individuals' social worlds, a central concern in sociology. Second, it proposes and demonstrates a set of empirical strategies for operationalizing textual data drawn from diary and correspondence. We hope this study will stimulate further research on the social worlds of scholar- officials in Chinese history and their implications for understanding governance in contemporary China.

Key words: social world, differential mode of association, scholar-official, Zeng Guofan, micro-sociology