Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2022, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 214-242.

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Modern Transition of Traditional Township Covenants ("Xiang Yue"):A Study of Yang Kaidao's Thoughts of "Xiang Yue" and Autonomy

DI Jinhua, HOU Dongyi   

  1. School of Sociology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology & China Research Center of Rural Governance
  • Published:2022-10-25
  • Supported by:
    This research is sponsored by the National Social Science Fund Program of China (18ASH005),Huazhong University of Science and Technology Double First-Class Funds for Humanities and Social Sciences (3011404028),and Huazhong University of Science and Technology Double First-Class Funds for Humanities and Social Sciences (project name:Urban and Rural Grassroots Governance Research Team)

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Abstract: During the Republic of China,some Chinese sociologists began to shift to the"internal"perspective of history/tradition and internal structure after a period of studying Chinese society from the"external "perspective as its disciplinary approach.This" inward-turned "change makes it necessary for contemporary sociologists to reinterpret their research texts in conjunction with the social history in which these sociologists live.This paper takes Yang Kaidao's study of" Xiang Yue "(乡约) as the starting point to explore how he transformed traditional Chinese" Xiang Yue "culture into modern governance resources in response to the democratic demands of China in a period of modern transition.It divides the concept of" Xiang Yue"into two parts of "Xiang" (township) and "Yue" (covenants). "Xiang" can be understood as a governance unit,and "Yue" as governance rules.The evolutionary process of "Xiang" and "Yue" in Chinese history was examined as well as the practice of local autonomy during the time of the Republic of China since Yang hoped his research would provide guidance to such autonomy.It also analyzes Yang's thinking on the basic units and norms of local autonomy,and its ideological and social basis.Yang Kaidao advocated the spirit of democratic autonomy in the traditional "Xiang Yue",but he did not blindly exclude the role of official rule,instead he argued for its power to be used as an institutional guarantee.Even though the spirit of enlightenment contained in the traditional "Xiang Yue" can be seen as somewhat interconnected with the imported spirit of democratic autonomy,it is quite difficult to bridge the two in actuality because of the discrepancies between the"group views "of China and the West.Governance units should also be coordinated with historical traditions,local folk customs and governance tasks.In addition to institutional norms,the guiding role of political leaders is also indispensable in grass-roots governance.Through the analysis of Yang Kaidao's" Xiang Yue,"this paper has explored a research path that integrates interpretation of academic history with the analysis of social history as a way to understand how an academic concept comes into existence.

Key words: Xiang Yue, local self-government, Yang Kaidao, moral governance