Chinese Journal of Sociology

Hierarchical Network Governance：A Type of Alliance Mechanism for Social Organizations

YE Shihua, ZHU Jiangang

2024, 44(5): 1-29.

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This study is a case study that examines a nationwide and decade-long network of joint social organizations of disaster relief，focusing on the specific operational mechanisms of collaboration among heterogeneous social entities within society. The approach differs from the perspective of “understanding society in the light of the state”，as well as organizational cooperation studies under the general theory of organization. The study identifies three major players in the network： philanthropic foundations，provincial coordinating bodies acting as intermediaries， and grassroots volunteer organizations. These three components form a hierarchical network governance structure that effectively facilitates organizational collaboration. The characteristics of this hierarchical network governance mechanism lie in the following：the first-tier network unite the foundations and provincial coordinating bodies through a consensus on modern philanthropy；the second-tier network relies on the coordinating role of provincial bodies，which take on more responsibilities as agents，simplifying the requirements of modern philanthropic practices，easing the tension between modern philanthropic concepts and local volunteer culture，and thereby realizing the compatibility of the two and fostering the transformation of grassroots volunteer forces into modern philanthropic entities. Provincial coordinating bodies play a crucial role in sustaining the vitality of local networks by actively expanding resources and responding to the resource needs of grassroots organizations at the county level，which in turn enhance the functionality and efficiency of the overall network. The study concludes that the hierarchical network governance represents a unique form of horizontal connection among social organizations within the Chinese context，which can effectively unite diverse social forces，achieve social integration and is of great practical significance for social organisations to participate in governance. The finding challenges the assumption that social horizontal connections produce relatively independent society.

Project System Transformation in the Context of County-Level Integration of Agricultural Fundings：The Case of County A in Southwest China

ZHANG Qichen, LUO Xiaochen

2024, 44(5): 30-60.

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Taking County A in Southwest China as an example，this study discusses the transformation of the project system and its impacts in the context of the county- level consolidation of agriculture-related funds. The study reveals that，as the central government delegates fund management and project approval to county-level governments，the project system has transitioned from a primarily“departmental operation” to a “county-level operation” model，and has shown a heightened capacity for project mobilization and social integration. On the one hand，the county-level operation model has fostered broader intra-governmental cooperation. To meet higher-level government assessments for project fund management，operational departments（tiao） actively engage in coordination and leverage each other’s funds to fulfil their supporting roles. Local township governments（kuai） also employ various informal competitive strategies in project relations，partnering with higher level operational departments（tiao） to bid on projects. On the other hand， the county-level operation model mitigates conflicts stemming from project-related competition，and thereby promotes social cohesion. In the case of County A，project selection took into full consideration the collective developmental aspirations of the local community and the interests of various project bidders，thus achieved an effective balance between operational efficiency and utility. In conclusion，under the county-level operation model，the logic of project management has shifted from a focus on comprehensive control over grassroots society to an emphasis on the use of projects to mobilise local communities on a broad scale. Consequently，local society has been continuously restructured through government projects，and meanwhile the degree of social solidarity has also been increased as a result.

Chinese Education Return from 2003 to 2021：Stratification,Trend,and Social Structural Change

JU Guodong, CHEN Yunsong

2024, 44(5): 61-95.

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Although education return has always been a hot topic in Chinese sociology， most of the existing studies focus on exploring causal relationships and heterogeneous effects in individual life courses， and efforts to track the long-term trend at the macro-level remain scarce. Using pooled samples comprising 12 waves of data from the CGSS surveys between 2003 and 2021， we analyse the trends in earnings at different education levels in China over the last two decades and examine whether the economic returns to higher education have experienced a significant decline.
Using high school graduates as the reference group， the study first measures the differences in economic returns of different education levels relative to the high school-educated population and presents the trend of change over the last two decades. Next， we employ the factor decomposition framework to assess the impact of long-term changes in five dimensions of social structural factors， such as market environment on the economic returns of different education levels. The results show that， with the exception of the postgraduate group， the overall economic returns for all education levels have remained in a relatively stable range over the last two decades. By controlling for social structural factors at the 2021 level for each wave， we find that long-term changes in social structure have increased the income advantage of the higher educated people relative to high-school population on the one hand， but have narrowed the income gap between groups in other educational levels on the other hand. By analysing the birth cohorts of the samples， we also find that the economic returns to higher education are significantly higher for the 1950s and 1960s birth cohorts than for those born after 1970， but the economic returns to higher education remain relatively stable between the 1970s and 1990s birth cohorts. With the expansion of higher education， changes in structural factors such as the increase of high-level jobs have contributed to the relative stability or slight increase of economic returns to higher education in China.

From Xiushen to Gongmin: The Transformation of Moral Education in Elementary School in the Late Qing Dynasty and Early Republic of China

JIANG Han

2024, 44(5): 96-124.

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The reformation of moral education curriculum reflects the cultural shifts in modern China. Focusing on the curriculum reforms of the early 1920s， this article examines the evolution of moral ideals in the light of the changes in the social situation of the Chinese intelligentsia. With the establishment of the modern school system， moral education was institutionalized in the form of self-cultivation （Xiushen） curriculum. Educators denounced traditional moral education centered on Confucius classics and hoped to apply Western pedagogical theories to the teaching of Xiushen. They advocated the replacement of abstruse classics with easy-to-understand textbooks as well as the adoption of pedagogical methods aligned with children’s psychological development. In the early 1920s， however， under the influence of the New Culture Movement， educators began to question the moral authority of teachers， and thus the rationality of the Xiushen curriculum. Drawing on the prevailing Deweyism at the time， educators argued that moral education should be grounded in the study of and active participation in “society”. This realization led to the abolishment of Xiushen and the establishment of Civics （Gongmin） training curriculum. Furthermore， the reformation of moral education curriculum was also linked to the transformation of the intelligentsia. In traditional China， the moral principles in the Confucian classics not only served as moral norms but also the basis of legitimacy of social domination. Literati who mastered Confucian discourses could move upwards to be ruling officials through the imperial examination system， and whereby enjoy political and economic privileges. Thus， the critique of classical education marked the intellectual class’ departure from its traditional social identity as scholar-officials， and the discussion around“society” represented an attempt to interpret moral education based on their new social situation. No longer dependent on imperial power， the intelligentsia began to value the political potential of the common people. Analyzing the transformation of moral education curriculum helps to further understand the sociological implications of the moral revolution during the late Qing and early Republican periods.

Induction, Immersion, and the Life-cycle of Corruption: How Social Interactions Affect Temporal Factors in Corruption Behavior

LI Hui, TU Wenyan

2024, 44(5): 125-159.

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This study seeks to examine how social interactions influence temporal factors in the lifecycle of corruption. Based on the temporal perspective， this study decomposes the life cycle of corruption cases into three stages：formation， persistence and reproduction. It proposes three corresponding temporal concepts of corruption: the speed of descent into corruption by power holders， the latent period of corruption， and the frequency of corrupt behaviors. Three major findings were yielded from the statistical analysis of the dataset of around 24000 corruption indictments. First， continuous social interactions around public power produce a two-way inducement effect between bribe-takers and bribe-givers， which significantly shortens the time interval between a corrupt official's tenure of office and the first offence committed. Second， by blending corrupt transactions in normal social exchanges， social interactions significantly prolong the latent period of corruption， that is， the time interval between the first crime and indictment. Third， social interactions can lead to the routinization of bribery transactions based on functional autonomy， and therefore accelerate the frequency of corruption， that is， the time intervals between recurring offences. This study argues that the major difference between bribery and embezzlement lies in whether there is a complex social interaction revolving around public power. Therefore， compared to embezzlement， bribery mingled in social interactions exhibits a much quicker path to crime， a longer latent period， and a higher frequency. This paper proposes three variables for measuring the life cycle of corruption from a temporal perspective， with a view to providing new perspectives on corruption measurement. It brings about an important shift in the understanding of corruption from an individual event to a process analysis， and deepens the understanding of the formation mechanisms of corrupt behavior and its governance.

Modern Transformation of a Traditional Civilization: Maine on Law and Society in India

LI Hongji

2024, 44(5): 160-183.

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India is the focal point of Maine’s theory of social evolution and also the Eastern civilization on which classical Western social thinkers focused their attention. This paper attempts to present the three stages of Maine’s understanding of India in order to answer the question of how his theory of social evolution responds to the questions of civilizational differentiation and transformational adaptation. In his early studies, Maine noted that traditional civilizations were transforming “from status to contract，” and that stagnant India， constrained by religion， failed to achieve this transformation. During his tenure in India， Maine observed that the policy of transplanting English law had led to the rapid disintegration of Indian customary law， and he proposed a codification strategy that emphasized the compilation of traditional Indian law as a means of mitigating the bitter conflict between English and Indian law. Meanwhile， Maine pointed out the significance of Indian village communities for the nineteenth-century Indian social order. Upon his return to England， Maine came to a conclusion that the nineteenth century India was still under religious influence and could hardly nurture the seeds of modern transformation. However， British-Indian rule had a dual impact on India， both contributing to its modern transformation and seriously disrupting the order of traditional Indian society. He further recognized the differences between the civilizational traditions of the East and the West， while the British colonialists had ignored these complexities. At the same time， he used the“metaphor of conflicting clocks” to reveal the adaptive problem of the modern transformation. Maine placed Indians’ adaptation to reform at the center of social progress and legal change. In addition， he expected to educate Indians to embrace reforms and thus achieve civilizational development in India. Maine’s observation of India has enriched his evolutionary thought of “from status to contract” and has provided a unique perspective on the evolution and transformation of civilizations in the East and the West.

The Paradox of Participatory Technical Practice：A Sociological Analysis of Technology Based on Rural Light-Steel Housing Construction Projects

LI Geng

2024, 44(5): 184-207.

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Previous research，when explaining the reasons for the failure of participatory projects or the introduction of technology to rural areas， often approached the issue from the perspective of power relations or cultural paradigms， with less attention paid to the common project carrier： technology. Using a participatory construction project of light-steel rural housing as an example， this paper points out that the materiality of light-steel construction technology and its social construction process have constrained the social effects of technology promotion and villager participation. The research finds that，on the one hand，light- steel technology provides the possibility for ordinary villagers to participate in construction by simplifying operations and lowering thresholds； on the other hand， its inherent logic of industrialization，specialization， and standardization weakens the flexibility of the technology，making it difficult to align with the locality and flexibility of vernacular construction，and instead exacerbating villagers’ dependence on technology providers. Furthermore，issues such as the technological system embedded in social power relations，the tension between the material characteristics of technology and local cultural identity，and the conflict between technological rationality and vernacular construction rationality have all undermined villagers’ sense of achievement and identification with participatory construction. The rationality logic of technology makes it difficult for open technological solutions that embody social ideals to take root，thus shaping the following paradox：on the surface，villagers have acquired new skills through deep participation，but it is difficult to achieve the project’s expected goals in terms of collective consciousness and community empowerment， resulting in a situation of “one-dimensional participation”. The technology-centered perspective helps us reflect on the imagination and reality of the technological path advocating “empowerment” and “participation”，re-examine the connotation and conditions of“participatory”，and more comprehensively consider the complex role of technology in social projects.

The Impact of Occupational Risks on Subjective Class Identification in the AI Age

ZHANG Shun, LV Fengguang

2024, 44(5): 208-240.

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Accompanying the rapid economic development and reforms in income distribution， Chinese residents have enjoyed a continuous growth in earnings， and the middle-income group has expanded. However， subjective class identification continues to be characterized by a downward bias， with the phenomenon of downward identification among the middle-income group being particularly pronounced. The gap between objective and subjective status remains a mystery. In parallel with the expansion of the middle-income group, the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology in recent years has triggered a change in productivity that has propelled us into the AI age. As AI progresses， the work tasks of many occupations are at risk of being replaced by the technology， which in turn has impacted the social mindset of the population. This paper adopts a risk perspective to reveal the mechanisms through which occupational risks， in the context of AI， affect subjective class identification. Our research finds that occupational risks have a significant downshift effect on class identification. Further analysis indicates that unemployment and income risk are two dual transmission mechanisms through which occupational risks influence subjective class identification. In addition， personal assets moderate the effect of occupational risks on the downward class identification. Workers with more recourses are less impacted by occupational risks on their class identification. The analysis of the middle- income group shows that， compared to low-income and high -income groups， the group faces higher occupational risks， resulting in a greater degree of downshift bias in class identification. This study explains the downward bias in subjective class identification from a risk perspective， offering a significant contribution to the traditional resource-based theories of class identification. Furthermore， our research addresses the question of the “power of era” that causes the lower subjective class identification of middle-income groups， providing important insights into understanding the trends in social stratification in the AI age.

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