Abstract: This paper is a tentative exploration to identify a theoretical foundation of Chinese society. In recent years, empirical research has been unable to go further indepth in tackling issues of social relations and social structure of contemporary Chinese society. The fundamental reason of this problem lies in the lack of theoretical understanding of Chinese social structure, the same bottleneck difficulty for constructing sociology with Chinese characteristics. This article starts with the traditional Chinese family theory and uses the "feedback mode" proposed by Fei Xiaotong as an entry point to discuss in depth the nature of the father-son relationship to reach a basic understanding of the differential order pattern(chaxu geju) and Chinese social relations. The paper suggests that the basis of Chinese traditional social structure is an "integration standard" (yiti) rather than an "individual standard". The idea of oneness(yiti) stems from the social consciousness of "one foundation"(yiben), that is, regarding parents, rathan Heaven or God, as one's foundation, a belief that is explicitly reflected in traditional Chinese sacrificial rituals."Oneness"(yiti) refers to "father and son as one" and "mother and child as one". This deep social consciousness is prominently expressed in Chinese classic texts. The paper offers a detailed analysis and interpretation of relevant Confucian classics. The Chinese social consciousness of oneness(yiti) and one foundation(yiben) constitutes a system of social ethics based on "filial piety"(xiao), upon which lies the whole social structure of family and country. Under such a social structure, "filial piety" is not just personal virtue, but "public morality" with a basic social function. Filial piety is the foundation of all virtues, and a true filial son is also a loyal vassal. All this constitutes the theoretical basis for us to understand many social phenomena today. The transformation of Chinese society depends on the transformation of the deep social consciousness and social structure.

Key words: differential mode of association, feedback mode in Chinese family, yiben, yiti