Abstract: A great deal of emphasis has been placed on the social structure aspect of Fei Xiaotong’s social theory by the Chinese academia while little attention is paid to the emotional dimension of his theory. This paper focuses on Fei’s exploration of China’s modernization and the emphasis on emotion in his early social theory. In Fei’s view, China’s modernization should incorporate western modern technology into traditional Chinese social organizations to promote an effective transition of a society from tradition to modernity. He also pointed out that this transition is not only related to the basis of traditional social organizations but also inseparable from its emotional aspect. This paper firstly examines Fei’s discussion on the relationship between “love for hometown” and “feelings of kinship”， and on“local industry” and“local village-town community”. The study demonstrates that “love for hometown,” a social emotion old yet simultaneously new, is reinterpreted by Fei as the emotional foundation of modern Chinese society. Influenced by Durkheim and Malinowski, as well as the neo-Confucian“family- focused” thoughts of the time, Fei believes that China’s modernization should first bring “feelings of kinship” back to the family， and secondly give full play to the role of “local village-town community” and “love for hometown” outside the family. On the one hand， he argues that China’s moderation should be based on “local village-town communities，” where there is an emotional basis of “love for hometown” so as to avoid social anomie. On the other hand， he points out that “love for hometown” with regional and local moral sentiments can play an positive role in the formation of love for the nation， thus exploring the internal relationship between local communities and the modern state of China. This paper concludes that“love for hometown” is the key for us to understand the emotional dimension of Fei’s early social theory. It represents and constructs the root of the local society and the transformation of modern China as a whole， as well as the interpersonal connections between the local and the state. It hence has important significance for our current consideration on the modernization of China.

Key words: Fei Xiaotong, love for hometown, moral emotion, local village-town community, rural reconstruction