Abstract: Remarkably， the collectivist village in China has retained its character far beyond the era of Mao. This study investigates why this has occured by reference both to the social dynamics of “reputations” and to mechanisms internal to the collective economy still viable among villagers. Reputation was found to relate strongly to economic success： early village poverty and a striving for success yielded a variety of “returns”： material wealth was achieved， but also spiritual health， a positive sense of identity， and high social capital. These pluralistic achievements in turn led to a strong sense of social honor—which then strengthened village solidarity and a sense of community. In this manner a socially advanced community developed out of the earlier coercively administered community，indeed in a manner parallel to the “investment return” model.

Key words: collective symbol, investment return, reputation, social honor