Abstract:

We need to take a microscopic and symbolic angle in order to understand the transition in the social structure in China. With an increase in the mobility between country and city，the many symbolic marks carried by the peasant migrant group have pushed the countrycity demarcation into the city boundary，thus forming a direct，noticeable countrycity dualistic structure. This kind of social structure is not only physical and overt but also cultural and covert，which can be summarized with the concept of “symbolic and dualistic structure”. This concept can be considered as a social symbolic system to signify the identities of different groups and the dualistic or polarized tendency in its operation. It manifests the duality and inequality in the identity，status，reputation，etc. between different groups. During the course of social change before and after the Reform，the political function of distinguishing classes as expressed in this symbolic dualistic structure has gradually entered everyday life and has thus become a micropower mechanism for shaping different social groups’ identity，status，and reputation. The logic of the “problem country” and the “dream city” embedded in this mechanism has function a means and strategy for the nation to construct an image of modernity so as to close the gap between “objective modernity” and “expressive modernity”.

Key words: peasant migrant group, social transition, body, space, symbolic and dualistic structure, modernity