2023 Vol.43

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International Rivalry and Ancient Constitution: Hume on the Glorious Revolution and the Making of Modern Constitution in England ZHANG Shuai Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (1): 1-26.   Abstract （2036）   HTML （307）    PDF（pc） （2801KB）（617）       Knowledge map    Save Charles Tilly’s theory of capitalized coercion based on the historical experience of Western Europe has now been widely accepted by historical sociologists. However，his difficulties in dealing with the English polity require us to gain a deeper understanding of England’s efforts to transform ancient constitution in order to establish a modern government that could accommodate the popular demands of liberty as well as respond to the international competitions.Hume’s analysis of the Glorious Revolution offers us valuable insights. Faced with international challenges，the King attempted to strengthen the state power through a series of unconventional religious and military policies that had threatened the political tradition. It provoked widespread suspicions that the monarch intended to replace English liberty with French absolutism，which eventually led to the outbreak of revolution. The Glorious Revolution transformed ancient constitution by restricting prerogative and giving priority to popular principles that safeguarded the political ideal of liberty. The Revolution also resolved the major differences between the king and the parliament，and brought in a powerful commercial state capable of dealing with international rivalries. Thus， England avoided succumbing to the fate of French absolutism. Hume’s analysis of the Glorious Revolution reveals that the modern state，built by transforming the traditional order，must both protect individual and civil liberty， and meet international challenges. Understanding both the strength and liberty of a modern state is central to understanding the Glorious Revolution and the modern English polity，and the secret of modern states in general. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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“Revenge for the Common Injuries” or the Dimension of Socialization of Indignation:Spinoza's Political Treatise and the Affective Foundation of a Free Community SONG Yifan Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (1): 27-54.   Abstract （1959）   HTML （303）    PDF（pc） （2918KB）（510）       Knowledge map    Save Spinoza's political social theory can be regarded as an "anomaly" in the entire enlightenment tradition. Although his theory shows a strong affinity with the social contract theory represented by Thomas Hobbes,its substantive connotation goes far beyond the discourse of natural law. This means moving away from viewing political society as a "imperio in imperium",rejecting the normative and moral interpretations of nature. Spinoza regards human affects as the real social forces and the interplay of these individual forces as the very foundation of every state. Among them,imagination plays a vital role in the process of socialization,mobilization and activation of collective affects. Thus,the "indignation" of given society, or the "right of war" of the multitude, is introduced into the discussion of the origin of society in a very tense way. Unlike the antagonistic political action discourse advocated by Antonio Negri and others,Spinoza emphasizes the spatio-temporal character of indignation and put it under the framework of an affective dynamics. In the spatial dimension,the affective imitation and imaginary identification aroused by indignation can contribute to the socialization. In the temporal dimension, indignation itself is a highly unstable,short-lived and situation-determined affect. For Spinoza the process of socialization by "imaging an enemy" is always problematic and inevitably introduces hatred and exclusion into the foundation of community. Therefore,the long-time maintenance of affects,especially those truly integrated into collective memory and institutional culture,requires a dynamic transformation of affects over time,namely from "desire" to "longing" and "hate" to "love". This dynamic moment is also called "fluctuation" in Spinoza's term. For him a good community is never merely dominated by reason,but also requires as much as possible a transformation of the "fear" model of solidarity into the unity of "hope". Fear can eliminate war and create obedience,but can never effectively improve the power of minds and appease indignation at the bottom of society. Even though hope in itself is not a normative idea,it is more likely to be in harmony with rational forms of governing,to have a higher trust in society and a more active imagination,and eventually to gain experience of empowerment. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Succession of Chong and the Principle of Zunzun: The Ethicalization of Political Power in Traditional China from the Perspective of Clan Lineage and Monarch Lineage WU Liucai Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (1): 55-83.   Abstract （1942）   HTML （46）    PDF（pc） （2765KB）（539）       Knowledge map    Save The traditional Chinese domination type is characterized by a human relationship-based rather than matter-of-fact based approach. This is because of the internal structure and ethical logic of traditional domination. Power comes from "zun"(尊 respect), and the essence of domination is a type of "zunzun"(尊尊). According to the meaning of "zunzun"(尊尊), there are clan power within the patriarchal system and monarchal power outside the patriarchal system. The process of power succession is the process of establishing the lineage of "zunzun"(尊尊), which is specifically divided into two parts:the monarch lineage and the clan lineage. Monarchy and patriarchy are different in terms of the specific institutional level as the former refers to political power and the latter patriarchal power, but they share the same set of ethical order based on father-son ethics. Specifically, the implementation of power succession depends on the system of succession of chong (重) with the latter being the key link for the purpose of establishing the lineage order of "zunzun"(尊尊). "Succession of chong(重)" has two meanings:one is to inherit and continue the spirit of the deceased ancestors, and the other is the wife's-first-son succession rule in the patriarchal and feudal system. These two meanings reveal the ethical connotation of power. In this process, the primogeniture system is the core of power succession and its legitimacy comes from the principle of "zunzun"(尊尊), reflecting the ultimate manifestation of the political destiny of Heaven's Mandate and men's ethical virtues since the Zhou dynasty. Therefore, the common law of the wife's-first-son succession embodies the ethical and moral characteristics of traditional power. In addition, the succession variation of "weirenhou"(为人后,being-the-descendant) complements and maintains the ethical foundation of the traditional power succession. The succession of the clan lineage adheres to the principle of generational order, while the succession of the monarch lineage embodies the principle of ethical analogy. In general, the traditional politics is rooted in the father-son ethics. Traditional China presents the characteristics of ethicalization of political power and is a "family-polity community" entity. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Meaning of Zu in Chinese Traditional Patriarchal Clan System:A Study of the Formation of the Nine-Generation Clan System QIN Pengfei Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (1): 84-108.   Abstract （1901）   HTML （28）    PDF（pc） （2468KB）（743）       Knowledge map    Save This article is an intellectual history study on the traditional family system. It is based on the relevant texts in Rituals (Yi Li) and Book of Rites (Li Ji) with a focus on a kinship system known as the Nine-Generation clan system (Jiuzu Zhi). As an ideal family structure of Confucianism, the Nine-Generation system is an essential part of the traditional patriarchal clan system in Chinese society. This study examines the fundamental basis and its construction principle and process of the Nine- Generation system from the perspective of Confucianism. The Nine-Gen eration system starts at the centre of oneself and ends with a gradually extrapolated circle of kinship. The circle defines the scope of kinship that one has. In the Book of Rites:Funeral Dresses, it is said: "In counting the kindred (in mourning rituals), from the three closest generations it expands to the next closest five generations, and then from the five to the next nine. The mourning dressing codes and the period of mourning are gradually diminished as the generations ascend or descend outwards to the collateral branches, and eventually end beyond this point." This scripture is the key to understand the Nine-Generation and it reveals the core construction principle of the system, which is called "Diminishing Attachment of Kinship". Starting from oneself, one has affection for one's father, this affection is extended to one's immediate ancestors, and then to further distance ancestors. The same with the descent order from one's sons to grandsons and so on. In the process, the further out the circle, the more diminished affection for each other. Therefore, "Diminishing Attachment of Kinship" becomes the most important construction principle and it eventually forms the Nine-Generation kinship group linking great- great-grandfathers to great-great-grandsons. The study points out the significance of the Nine-Generation in Confucianism, arguing that it is the institutionalized interpretation of the "father-son" cardinal relationship and the essential ethic principal of "filial piety" in Confucian humanism. In addition, the study also examines the relationship between the Nine-Generation system and the traditional patriarchal clan system, asserting that the former is the prerequisite for understanding the latter. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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People-Centred Scientific Practice: The Soviet Psycho- Prophylactic Method of Painless Childbirth in 1950s China WANG Ying Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (1): 109-137.   Abstract （1980）   HTML （408）    PDF（pc） （3006KB）（456）       Knowledge map    Save This study regards the adoption and promotion of the Soviet Psycho- prophylactic Method of painless childbirth in China in the 1950s as a scientific practice. It analyzes how the method is accepted, justified and adapted as part of our understanding of the Chinese-style modernisation. The acceptance, resistance and adaptation of the Soviet psychoprophylactic method in China are seen as a result of the intertwined local knowledge and transnational knowledge transmission, a continuity of the scientific tradition of Yan'an period, as well as a response to the needs of specific historical situation. In the context of New China, science and politics were nothing more than a relationship of mutual support and benefit. Under the framework of socialist medical discourse of the 1950s, medical practitioners transfigured the political promotion of painless childbirth into scientific narrative and practice. Soviet knowledge and technology were interpreted locally as midwifery actions, perineal protection, and even Pavlov's scientific theory and rhetoric were borrowed to help develop the medicine of the Chinese nation. The movement was simultaneously a process of remoulding the mindset of Chinese professionals and intellectuals after 1949. The promotion of people-centred Soviet psychoprophylactic method of painless childbirth in China was accompanied by complex narratives of science, class, gender and nation, riddled with tensions between de-technicalization and re-technicalization, and between civilized childbirth and management of labor pain. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Change of Interaction Rules in the Mobile Internet Era： Take the Choice of Voice-Text Messages in WeChat as an Example ZHENG Dandan, DONG Kehan Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (1): 138-172.   Abstract （2487）   HTML （350）    PDF（pc） （3898KB）（922）       Knowledge map    Save The interaction theorists represented by Goffman have put forward a series of important theories about the micro-interaction order of daily life. However, with the advent of the mobile internet era, the rule and order of face-to-face interaction may have changed. Taking the choice of voice and text messages in WeChat as an example, this paper examines the characteristics of the time-space separation, and the impact of macro cultural background in the internet era on individual social interactions, expanding and enriching the relevant content of Interaction Ritual theory from the two aspects of cultural and technological changes. Through semi-structured interviews, it is found that the categorical impression management technology used by people in WeChat can be regarded as an online construction of offline differential associations in relationship. The spatio-temporal separation and reorganization mechanism of the Internet influence online interactions by affecting the interaction context. Specifically, this kind of interaction has caused the following changes. First, sending voice messages at will has become the privilege of the superior over the subordinate, and under the easier operation of reflective monitoring, the two-way avoidance ritual has become the one-way obligation of the subordinate, strengthening the interaction order. Second, there is a trend of de-common-situation in discrete WeChat interactions, embodied in the decrease of situation pressure and the necessity of situation accumulation. Therefore, reflective monitoring is easier to operate than before, resulting in simple general rules of interaction based on relative status. Third, the uncertainty of the interaction situation after the time-space separation and the solidification of interaction results cause the subordinate feel insecure and anxious about using voice messages. In addition, the discrepancy between the interaction discussed in this study and Goffman's theory may also be related to the uniqueness of Chinese culture. Due to technological progress and changes in social structure, the making of WeChat interaction rules is still in progress and it demands long-term observation and careful analysis. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Home, Factory and the Birth of Modern Individuals in China:An Analysis of the Life-World of the Characters in Fei Xiaotong's Cocoon LING Peng, MENG Qi Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (1): 173-202.   Abstract （2123）   HTML （56）    PDF（pc） （3465KB）（496）       Knowledge map    Save Cocoon is an English novel written by Fei Xiaotong after his work of great importance in theory and documentation-Peasant Life in China. Previous studies of the novel have mainly focused on its social economy and family structure, and have rarely explored the significance of the major characters' emotional and mental changes in the story. By introducing the concept and perspective of "life-world", this paper carefully analyses the emotional and mental changes of the characters in the novel, and finds that Fei Xiaotong presents the birth process of his ideal modern Chinese individual through the image of Baozhu, that is, in the overlap and tension of home(i.e. cocoon) and factory, the modern individual can truly emerge. What follows is a new life-world structure based on modern individuals. In this structure, home is not only the place where the individual is raised, but also the source of motivation and the place of security for the individual. After breaking off from the cocoon(home), the modern individual is most likely to return to re-build the important place of "home" in the new life world. In contrast, the image of Wang Wanqiu in the novel shows another possible entanglement state of the individual. For Wang Wanqiu, there is no real home as a place of nurturing and a source of motivation, so her self-individual is unable to build a system that re-accommodates the home and the external world. Instead, she longs more for a fantasy home, resulting in a series of actions and consequences. The contrast between Baozhu and Wang Wanqiu in Cocoon truly reveals Fei Xiaotong's understanding of the complex possibility of Chinese people and Chinese society changing from tradition to modernity. The novel opens up an important sociological research avenue on the relationship between individuals and families in China. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Social Compliance or Contagion: Mental Health Research from the Perspective of Class Peer Network ZHANG Qian Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (1): 203-240.   Abstract （2261）   HTML （110）    PDF（pc） （3396KB）（783）       Knowledge map    Save Based on the background of China's administrative school class system and the existing literature on peer networks and mental health, this paper proposes a theoretical presupposition on the influence of class peer networks on students' mental health and its conditional mechanism. A multi-layer linear model is applied to test this theoretical presupposition. Using the China Educational Panel Survey (CEPS) data in the years of 2014 and 2015, this study obtained the following solid and consistent findings:First, under the Chinese administrative class system, the overall mental health level of the class (social compliance effect) and the happy peer proportion (happy peer effect) can have a significant positive impact on students' mental health, and the proportion of depressed peers is significantly correlated with students' negative mental health (depressed peer effect). Secondly, students are more likely to be influenced by peers with similar mental health concepts and behaviors, and groups with poor, medium and good mental health are predominantly affected by depression peer effect, social compliance effect and happy peer effect respectively. Finally, class peer networks have a differentiated impact on the mental health of students with different group integration and parent-child communication. With the improvement of group integration and parent-child communication, the depressed peer effect gradually weakens, while the social compliance effect and happy peer effect gradually increase. In conclusion, this study tested the social compliance effect, depressive peer effect and happy peer effect under the administrative class system, and further explored the conditional mechanism of the three effects on different individual students, the relationship between individual and class, and parent-child relationship. The finding of peer effect in this paper can provide future references for the improvement of the mental health of adolescents through human intervention and adjustment. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Shanlin and Society QU Jingdong Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (2): 1-17.   Abstract （1714）   HTML （270）    PDF（pc） （1854KB）（620）       Knowledge map    Save Society exists both in the human world and outside the human world. The existence of a civilization cannot be limited to the maintenance and development of realistic social elements but must have a transcendental spiritual world， which can be cultivated into concrete history and people, and constructed into a continuing life. Chinese civilization has always developed with the dual system of Zhengtong （official orthodoxy） and Daotong （Confucian orthodoxy）， and the shanlin （maintains and forests） culture system is the ontological structure bearing the Daotong. Compared with the normal society of cities and towns, shanlin and jianghu （rivers and lakes） constitute an abnormal ideal world. This world, which seems to have nothing to do with everyday society， infuses a kind of eternal spirit and holiness into the human mind and becomes a place where Daotong depends. Examining the evolution of Chinese civilization, it can be found that the shanlin culture system was formed in the Wei， Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties. Buddhism and Taoism had cultivated the inner spirit of Confucian scholar-officials and had creatively combined the view of seclusion in Confucianism with the view of nature in Laozi and Zhuangzi’s philosophy. Chinese civilization had thus entered a stage where poetry， calligraphy and painting were used as the carrier to inherit, preserve and cultivate. The literati transformed the principles of Daotong into concrete self-cultivation， into a fully presented worldview and cosmology， and applied them to all aspects of society. As another world center, shanlin did not exist in isolation from the society， but instead it always maintained multiple and multi-form interactions with the human world, the dynastic politics and the landscape. The discussion on shanlin and society is intended to reflect on the cosmology between people and their surroundings in modern society， showing another possible direction in the sense of our civilization. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Self-Cultivation，Sanctification and Revolution：Understanding the Radicalization of May 4th Moralist CHEN Yannan Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (2): 18-53.   Abstract （1425）   HTML （38）    PDF（pc） （4374KB）（479）       Knowledge map    Save The interweaving and competition between “national salvation” and “enlightenment”，“politics” and “culture” after the May Fourth Movement are an important clue for us to understand modern Chinese history. The student societies established by Chinese modern intellectuals during the May 4th Movement provided both the communication mechanism for the spread of the New Culture Movement，and the organizational foundation for the Chinese Communist party，which helped Communism take root in China. The “Liqun（benefiting the society）Bookstore”，initiated by Yun Daiying，was such an organization that played “the linkage”between local society and modern cultural and political ideas. Understanding the organizational principles，structures，ethics，and identities and beliefs of its key members is of great significance to our understanding of the localization of social changes. Existing studies mostly present Yun Daiying as a moralist intellectual influenced by Confucian ethics. However，following this line of thought，it is difficult for us to understand why Yun Daiying turned from a moderate moralist activist into a radical revolutionary. This paper argues that Yun Daiying’s radicalization comes from the combined effect of both Wang Yang-min’s philosophy and Christian socialism，which enables him to develop a moral cognition common with communists，and an inherent affinity with Bolshevism. The dilemma of his moral commitment impels him to go for mass political activities to implement his unfinished moral ideals in a new way. Yun Daiying’s early experience shows us the moral confusion faced by intellectuals with Confucian background when facing the modern political order in the transitional era and their expectations to bridge the tension between “morality” and “politics”. This helps us to understand the moral preferences of the Chinese communist revolution，and the modern transformation of Confucian China. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The “Takeover” of Northeast China in the Industrial Heritage and Geopolitics （1945-1948）： A Comparative Analysis of the Organizational Systems of the KMT and the CPC XIE Hongyu Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (2): 54-95.   Abstract （1385）   HTML （25）    PDF（pc） （4762KB）（372）       Knowledge map    Save The post-war takeover of colonies is a contemporary issue of new nation building brought about by the two world wars in the 20th century. After the Japanese occupation, Northeast China became the focus of competition between the KMT and the CPC because of its industrial importance. This article provides a comparative study of these two parties’s takeover plans for the post-war Northeast China. By examining the specific strategies and processes of the two parties’ responses to the regional industrial heritage， it reveals different organizational difficulties and their respective strategies to overcome them. The study finds that the KMT and the CPC were unable to implement their takeover plans at the beginning. The involvement of the United States and the Soviet Union in the Northeast China affairs， as well as the urban-rural structural divide dictated by the railway network left by the Japanese occupation， interfered with as well as restricted the action of the KMT and the CPC. Specifically， at the time mobilization was the basic organizational logics of the CPC while in contrast demobilization was the basic organizational logics of the KMT. The conflict between tiao and kuai and the tension between “unification” and “division” were the structural difficulties the two parties were facing respectively. Under the geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union， the KMT was confined to metropolis and railway lines and the technocrats responsible for takeover had very limited room for action. What’s more， the competition between military operations and resumption of work and production caused the self-destruction of KMT’s takeover. However， although the CPC was forced to retreat to the countryside， it was able to carry on its experience in the Soviet bases and promote the organizational innovation of military， political and economic cadres in the process of unifying finance and returning to the cities， resulting in its organizational self-strengthening. This article points out that the difference in the takeover plans of the Northeast China reflects the differences in the overall strategies of the two parties， as well as the two parties’ respective use of organizational principles in dealing with geopolitics and the regional legacy. The takeover of the Northeast China， in terms of organizational regime， was precisely the turning point of China’s national construction in the middle of the 20th century， and the organizational creation inspired by it provided the CPC with an organizational transformation mechanism from wartime to normalization. Therefore， the CPC was able to smoothly transit to the construction of the Northeast region immediately after its military victory. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Transformation of Management System and Property Rights of County-level Public Assets（Gongchan） During the Republic of China CHEN Yueyuan, LONG Denggao Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (2): 96-122.   Abstract （1299）   HTML （18）    PDF（pc） （2972KB）（300）       Knowledge map    Save The transformation of public assets（Gongchan） in modern China was closely related to the evolution of local public utilities and national governance mechanism, and bears the historical changes of the concept of “public” （Gong）. From the perspective of property rights, this paper examines the historical change of Gongchan management system at the county-level of Zhejiang Province during the Republic of China. Gongchan in Ming and Qing Dynasty was the property owned by grassroots level non-governmental organizations that took care much of the needed public services. After the founding of the Republic of China, the county-level Gongchan was brought under the unified management of local self-government, and its property rights， different from government or private property， were confirmed and regulated by national laws. However， its implementation was affected by the changes in national politics and personal disputes. There was also a conflict between the traditional way of Gongchan operation and management and the new mission of promoting modern public services. The above-mentioned factors caused many problems in the management of Gongchan by local self-government organizations， resulting in deepening the conflicts between local self-government organizations and the government and the people. The Nanjing National Government allowed local self-government organizations continue the management of Gongchan， and related problems were further magnified. Under the wartime pressure in the mid-1930s， the Nanjing government implemented certain administrative system reform at the county-level in order to extract more revenue， and gradually incorporated Gongchan into government management. In the process， the meaning of Gongchan expanded to include both government property and traditional Gongchan. The concept of “public”， once embedded in the traditional public property system and representing the common interests of specific groups， was eventually replaced by the meaning of referring to the state， the imperial court， and society as a whole. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Symbiosis and Cosmopolitanism：American Society from the Perspective of Park’s Human Ecology SUN Chang Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (2): 123-149.   Abstract （1458）   HTML （24）    PDF（pc） （2777KB）（395）       Knowledge map    Save The United States is a multi-ethnic immigrant country， and the study of ethnic relations is the subject of Park’s “Human Ecology”. According to his sequence of “race relations cycle”， Park sees that the Old World is stagnant in the “preliminary stage” of competition and conflict， and thus pins his hope on the “climax stage” of accommodation and assimilation in American society. The transformation of these two stages is accompanied by the natural process of “succession” of social forms. However， the ultimate ideal of assimilation is always out of reach， and the hybrid state of symbiosis is an established social fact. The paradox is that Park does not find this unbearable. Because of his unique background， Park sympathies with minorities and that leads to a “cosmopolitan” sociological imagination. Regrettably， the ecological order， organized solely around the economy of nature， lacks the familiar ground that can make social life tolerable for immigrants. Immigrants， who come to the New World from all corners of the world to seek their destiny， are from different ethnic origins and bear different cultural imprints. Even if they find a place in urban life， they can hardly feel at home. Immigrants have long left behind a traditional family-centered and outward-expanding order in an effort to adapt to a symbiotic world of economic interdependence and emotional isolation. If the migrants in Chinese cities do not become “strangers” suffering from “wanderlust”，it may be because they still have a “home” in their hearts. Because they always have such a concern deep in their hearts it allows them to be moving around in strange places without wandering. This is completely different from the cosmopolitan American society. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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From Subjects to Burghers：The Research on Max Weber’s Typology of City，the Dynamic Revolution of City and Non-Legitimate Domination PAN Ziyang Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (2): 150-183.   Abstract （1456）   HTML （36）    PDF（pc） （3290KB）（427）       Knowledge map    Save Weber’s concept of “legitimate domination” can be divided into two elements： “authoritarian power of command” and “belief in legitimacy”. From the perspective of modern political order, the modern state with bureaucracy at its core places too much emphasis on top-down hierarchical and coercive order （“authoritarian power of command”）， but has no bottom-up conceptional recognition （“belief in legitimacy”）. This further threatens the stability of political order and leads to a “crisis of legitimacy”. The solution lies on how to reintegrate “belief in legitimacy”， however， at the same time， it needs to be based on real political considerations to avoid the destruction of “everyday routine needs” caused by excessive integration. The “charismatic dominance” favored by Weber and its two evolution methods have different levels of limitations in solving the above-mentioned “crisis of legitimacy”. This article examines Weber’s “non-legitimate domination” through a typological comparison of the “uniqueness” of medieval western cities as well as an analysis of burghers’ identity characteristics， life-work styles， political demands， and participation in the legal process. It is found that “non-legitimate domination” provides a bottom-up path unique to the Western civilization that preserves “everyday routine needs”， and ultimately “through legal means of safeguarding economic rights and interests， it applies the selective neglect of ‘authority’ to achieve the stability of the order”. This provides a new possibility for the integration of “belief in legitimacy” and the solution of “crisis of legitimacy”. In addition， this paper provides a tentative interpretation of the concept of “non-legitimate domination” through a review of Weber’s study of the “city”： the expression of a “non-domination” of order within an order that has a tendency to dominate. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Educational Knowledge and the Distinction Between the Sacred and the Profane: From Durkheim to Bernstein HU Xuelong Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (2): 184-209.   Abstract （1417）   HTML （25）    PDF（pc） （2545KB）（390）       Knowledge map    Save The proposition of “knowledge is a product of social construction” is the foothold of Durkheim’s understanding of human knowledge on the whole， and it is also the standpoint from which Bernstein conceives knowledge relations within education fields. This paper attempts to re-examine this important but yet constantly misunderstood proposition offered by Durkheim. It starts from the point of Durkheim’s “sacred and profane” dichotomy， then delves into the problematics behind his sociology of knowledge， and finally examines the way in which Bernstein’s sociology of educational knowledge goes beyond “sacred and the profane” dichotomy. The paper points out that Durkheim’s creative connection of knowledge and society is based on the recognition of the duality between individual and collective experiences. Its significance lies in the fact that Durkheim’s socio-historical interpretation of knowledge does not undermine knowledge itself. Bernstein’s insights of the relationships between school and everyday knowledge should be seen as a faithful continuity to Durkheim’s sociology of knowledge. On the one hand, Bernstein expands Durkheim’s division of knowledge between “scientific classifications” and “technical classifications”. He argues that the everyday-knowledge-based teachings occurred in daily encounters are in sharp contrast to the school teachings based on scientific knowledge. On the other hand， Bernstein acknowledges that official pedagogy cannot ignore everyday knowledge. However， the strict boundary between school and everyday knowledge constitutes the necessary social condition for the acquisition of educational knowledge and identities. More importantly，the sacred/profane distinction is the prerequisite for educational emancipation， in that the abstract form of school knowledge enables students to go beyond the myths of everyday life， to envisage new ideas and create new orders. Considerations touched upon above the essential necessities of educational knowledge， as opposed to its realizations in contingent contexts， are central in determining the educational ideals that can offer help and guidance for desirable action. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Family Background and Education: Gender and Period Differences of Status Exchange in Marriage WANG Jie, LI Yaojun Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (2): 210-233.   Abstract （2618）   HTML （168）    PDF（pc） （2037KB）（987）       Knowledge map    Save The research on gender and period differences in status exchange between family background and education in marriage not only reveals the changes in social and gender inequalities from the perspective of marriage matching，but also allows us to evaluate the impact of heterogeneous marriage changes on society. Existing research has neglected gender and period differences in status exchange. This paper uses the 2018 Chinese Family Panel Study and applies log-linear models to analyze the gender and period differences in marriage across social origin and education boundaries from 1978 to 2018. The results show that persons with higher education but humble family backgrounds tend to marry those with lower education but more privileged backgrounds. This supports the status exchange theory. In addition，data from 1978 to 1991 show that it was more common that women exchange their relative educational advantage for men’s relative birth advantage. In all，the exchange tendency has intensified over time，and this increase is more reflected in the exchange of men’s educational advantage for women’s class advantage. However，the intensity of women exchanging their relative educational advantages for men’s relative birth advantages shows a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. At the same time，the gender differences in the degree of status exchange faded over time. With the decrease in the number of children overall and the increase of one-child families，China’s marriage culture has gradually shifted from patrilineal marriages to “dual lineage” marriages，which may be an important reason for the gradual convergence of the influences of male and female family backgrounds in the marriage market. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Rights and Power: The Law Problem in Foucault's Discourse on Governmentality XIAO Ying Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (3): 1-53.   Abstract （1525）   HTML （500）    PDF（pc） （5360KB）（822）       Knowledge map    Save The relationship between rights and power is one of the fundamental issues in Western political thought. An "orthodox consensus" has been reached in Western political theories that state sovereignty and individual rights stipulated by laws or regulations are the legitimate source not only of power practice but also of its goal and boundary. However, in a series of lectures in the College de France, Michel Foucault took governmentality as his main theme and made an in-depth analysis of the relationship between knowledge and power from different perspectives. He showed the intricate historical relationship between rights and power, governance and law, and subverted this "orthodox consensus." By combing through the history of European social governance since the Middle Ages, he demonstrated on the one hand that state sovereignty and individual sovereign rights were formed in specific power mechanisms, and, on the other hand, he emphasized that the formation and change of governance techniques—from police to disciplinary power and then to bio-power—was a process of colonizing rights and laws in different ways. And, because of the collusion of knowledge and power, these colonial mechanisms were all the more concealed by the mask of knowledge. In the face of such an awkward situation, Foucault neither opposed governance, rather opposed excessive governance, nor advocated the return of orthodox individual rights and state sovereignty, but emphasized the construction of "new rights". These "new rights" are "critiques", that is, to reveal how power and knowledge conspire and how reason has become the governing mechanism of man in a specific historical context. In the depth of Foucault's soul flickers the light of positive "nostalgia, " and at its source are the Stoic "self-governance" before and after the AD and the German neo-liberalism governance after the World War Ⅱ. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Homeless Orphan and Science as a Vocation: Ethos of Science in Max Weber's Thoughts SUN Feiyu Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (3): 54-83.   Abstract （1131）   HTML （54）    PDF（pc） （3034KB）（447）       Knowledge map    Save Starting from the famous opinion of Leo Strauss on Weber, and based on works in the tradition of general Phenomenological Sociology, this paper tries to analyze Max Weber's thoughts on Science and Homelessness. Through an analysis of Weber's texts, this paper finds that, contrary to Strauss's assertion, in his sober analysis of the protestant in terms of the historical analysis of rationalization, Weber describes Calvinist Puritans as an image of homeless orphan. The meaningful structure within this image is similar to "schizophrenia", but it is understood by Weber as a relationship of innere Verwandtschaft. This image and its corresponding structure are further clarified in Weber's later comparative study on civilization between China and European civilization. Similarly, this homeless orphan image of protestant and the corresponding structure are also in his works on the methodology of social science, and become the required ethos of science, especially for sociology as he understood it. This "understanding" resonates with modern society, modern university system and the production of modern knowledge. It has its origin in its own civilization. Finally, this paper argues that Weber's understanding of science and vocation, reflected in his lecture on Science as a Vocation, has this image of homeless orphan and structure of affinity as its essential inner substance.From the comparative perspective of home and homeless, this paper argues that, in Weber's thoughts, there is an intrinsic affinity between the image of homeless orphan and science as a vocation. Studies on this affinity offer an important clue for us to understand Weber's thoughts and to reflect the subjectivity building of China's social science. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Rhetorical Duality in Western Democracy: Taking Weber and Arendt as Examples SHEN Yao Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (3): 84-110.   Abstract （977）   HTML （34）    PDF（pc） （2787KB）（387）       Knowledge map    Save In discussing the rhetoric of democratic politics, both Weber and Arendt support their respective diagnoses of modern problems in comparison to ancient Western political thought. They each represent two typical positions in the face of rhetoric, and at the same time propose answers to the democratic dilemma in the West based on the context of their respective times. Weber's contribution lies in his identification of the relationship between political rhetoric and the comprehensive crisis of modern society, namely, political apathy and the absence of popular participation under a democratic bureaucracy. The two sides of rhetoric are revealed in Weber's discussion. On the one hand, rhetoric can operate in a top-down manner through leaders' incitement to the masses, and on the other hand rhetoric can also operate from the bottom up, serving as the basis for public discussion and dialogue. However, Weber's treatment of rhetoric as a means fails to connect it with legitimacy. Arendt, on the other hand, argues that modern capitalist society has obscured mankind exists as words and action since ancient Greece. Based on her reflection on Nazi politics, Arendt selected public opinion as her addition to the other side of rhetoric, that is, the formation of consensus. Arendt pays more attention to rhetoric as a bottom-up form of political organization, as well as to the revelation of the concrete subject by speech and its relation to the power of legitimacy. Both Weber's and Arendt's positions in the face of rhetoric have their own contemporary contexts and limitations, but both have made outstanding contributions to the subject. The last section of this paper aims to exhibit, using Habermas, a comprehensive stance that upholds Arendt's fundamental rhetorical standpoint, while also considering Weber's overarching analysis of contemporary society. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Collective System and Household Production: A Re-Examination of Production Practice in the Period of Agricultural Collectivization YAN Yanhua Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (3): 111-134.   Abstract （1068）   HTML （49）    PDF（pc） （2342KB）（410）       Knowledge map    Save This paper re-examines the production practices and their industrial consequences during the period of agricultural collectivization through the case study of a tea-producing village in Anxi. It is found that the social transformation during the collectivization period, on the one hand, led to the widespread "de-skilling" of traditional tea merchant families, that is, through the state's agribusiness transformation and redistribution of skills, the collective system broke the monopoly of production skills inherited within the core family and the family specialization. On the other hand, it brought about the "re-skilling" for the majority of community members, that is, through the "paternalistic" production arrangements of the production team leader, tea production skills were disseminated to a wider range of households. The positive impact of the collectivization system on the local tea industry was the result of the interaction between the logic of state governance and local traditions. As a part of the formal state power structure, the production team leaders in the collectivization period were able to use the power endowed by the state to transform the traditional way of family work, so that the corresponding production arrangements were in line with the interests of the collective to the greatest extent, and it ultimately enabled the smooth development of tea garden production. However, although the family production organization was formally abolished during the collectivization period, the logic of the family organization had continued to a certain extent in the actual production organization. The production team, especially the production team leaders' balancing role between the "public family" and the "small family" played the traditional role of family authority. The study points out that it is these important features of collectivization period-the "paternalistic" style leadership of the production team leaders and the household-based production and marketing arrangements spreading production and marketing skills to the majority of households in the community-that ultimately facilitated the development of the family industry and the local tea economy in the post-collectivization period. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Fluid Boundaries of Responsibility: The Business and Politics of Grassroots Government PAN Tong Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (3): 135-161.   Abstract （1187）   HTML （55）    PDF（pc） （2894KB）（505）       Knowledge map    Save This article takes an "abnormal petition" incident as a case study to explore the changes in the responsibility boundary of grassroots governments and the emergence of relevant action strategies. The research finds that grassroots governments have a dual role orientation of "business department" and "political unit", and their respective behavioral logics are also different. The former suits for a rational bureaucracy, and its design of clear task boundaries causes the ambiguity of the responsibility boundaries of grassroots governments in practice, leaving institutional space for their risk avoidance strategies. The latter applies to the political integration, and its blurred task boundary design in fact forces grassroots governments to re-clarify their responsibility boundaries and enforce their sense of responsibility. Affected by the logic of the two systems, the responsibility boundary of grassroots governments exhibits the characteristic of "fluidity", and governments' behaviors have also shifted from "risk avoidance" to "risk taking". Rational bureaucracy and political integration determine the dual role orientation of "business-politics" of grassroots governments, which in turn affects the fluidity of the responsibility boundary. Therefore, changes of events in the governance context become the trigger mechanism. In this case study, the incident was initially just a homestead dispute. However, according to the logic of rational bureaucracy, the local government avoided the responsibility to resolve the dispute by diverting the case to the Bureau of Justice and the Bureau of Health. When the petitioner's appeal to the Bureaus failed, her journey of petitioning began. Since the incident has now transformed from an administrative incident to a petition case, the responsibility boundary of the local government has changed, and the political integration system began to play a major role. As a result, the local government takes on the responsibility of dealing with petition cases using tactics of appeasement, strict pressure, and downward responsibility transfer. This article constructed the phrase of "fluid responsibility boundary" and used it as an analytical framework, emphasizing the dual roles of grassroots governments and situational change in shaping their behavior. The study contributes to the dialogues and development of research on grassroots government responsibility. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Limits of Care: An Ethnographic Study of Dementia Care in Nursing Homes WU Xinyue Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (3): 162-186.   Abstract （1366）   HTML （64）    PDF（pc） （2763KB）（636）       Knowledge map    Save This ethnographic study offers insights into the lifeworld and multiple experiences of individuals with dementia residing in nursing homes. Firstly, from the perspective of phenomenological sociology, the study delves into the "disruption of experiences" resulting from dementia, which fundamentally alters the existential situation of patients. This disruption manifests as a fracture of self-coherence and a dissociation of intersubjectivity. When entering a nursing home, patients are further detached from their previous social relationships and world of meaning. Secondly, the article explores how specific ensembles of knowledge and practice in nursing homes shape the dementia experience. Under the current care management system with ADL as its core classification framework, the operational significance of dementia as a category is to a large extent dismantled. However, the stigmatizing label "laonian chidai" (senile dementia) often appears in the daily symbolic interaction process, causing all kinds of discrimination and conflicts. The dilemma of cognitive impairment classification of nursing homes reveals the dialectic relationship between "normal" and "abnormal" in definition and operation. This in turn affects the personhood and living situation of people with dementia. Finally, this article focuses on the daily ethics of dementia care, selecting two typical care scenarios of demand response and physical restraint, to examine how caregivers respond to daily crises and adopt expedient practices. The study suggests that the special care relationship of dementia care provides us with a new perspective on personhood and intersubjectivity. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Cohort and Gender Disparities in Childbearing Motivation: Evidence from the China Family Panel Studies in 2020 SHENG He, LI Jianxin Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (3): 187-212.   Abstract （1654）   HTML （149）    PDF（pc） （2591KB）（874）       Knowledge map    Save The current low fertility rate in China has become a recognized fact, and the change in childbearing attitude is one of the key reasons. Childbearing motivation is an important component of childbearing attitude and is at the forefront of the sequence from childbearing attitude to behavior. This article examines cohort and gender differences in childbearing motivation by asking respondents why they should have children. Based on data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2020, this study uses cluster analysis to classify people's childbearing motivation into four categories: "low intention and negative", "individual-oriented", "dual-oriented emotional" and "family-oriented". The result shows that more than half of Chinese residents still have family-oriented motivation of childbearing while individual-oriented and dual-oriented emotional motivation account for 23% and 15% respectively. Only 9% of the residents have low intention and negative childbearing motivation. Moreover, there are significant inter-cohort differences in childbearing motivations. Earlier birth cohorts are more likely to have dual-oriented emotional, family-oriented motivations; while younger birth cohorts are more likely to have low intention and negative, individual-oriented motivations. Among the post-80s and post-90s groups, family-oriented motivations of childbearing gradually lose their dominance, while individual-oriented motivations increase significantly. In terms of gender differences, men's childbearing motivations are more traditional than women's, and the extent of inter-cohort change is smaller for men. The differences in childbearing motivation between men and women tend to widen among later generations. The study suggests changes in educational attainment as a possible explanation. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Changing Course of Chinese Sense of Social Fairness in the Transitional Period and Its Explanatory Factors XU Yanhui, KONG Yizhou Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (3): 213-242.   Abstract （1282）   HTML （79）    PDF（pc） （3056KB）（657）       Knowledge map    Save The perception of social fairness is an individual's overall perception or judgment of the state of social equity. Based on the repeated cross-sectional data of the China General Social Survey from 2010 to 2018, this study provides a holistic analysis of the shifting trends of social fairness perception and their explanatory factors during the two major transition periods of China, namely, the past transition period of reform and opening up and the current transition period of diversified development. With the help of mathematical models such as log-linear models and multilevel age-period-cohort models, the following three major findings are observed. First, in the current transition period, the total social mobility rate and the upward mobility ratio have been rising, and people's perceptions on social equity show a upward trend of volatility; while in the historical transition period, with the establishment and continuous improvement of markets, the perceptions of fairness experienced a rapid decline, and then a rapid improvement. Second, the three factors of social structure, social psychology and cultural norms are neither mutually exclusive nor competitive in the changing process of social equity perceptions, but are intertwined and function in different ways. Among them, social structural factors such as intergenerational mobility are foundational to the changes in the perception of social equity, while subjective class mobility perceptions are the direct source of people's perceptions and cultural norms constitute a stable potential factor. Third, this study examines the status of social equity from the perspective of social stratification and mobility, and takes the occurrence of intergenerational mobility, and its direction and distance as key indicators to measure the objective equity status. It is found that social equity status and the sense of fairness are linked, but the moral concept on which the perception of fairness is based has changed with the transformation of society in specific historical periods. This study extends the research on social equity perceptions to the macro-process and dynamic analysis of social structural transformation and people's mentality transformation. It overcomes the relatively crude measurement of intergenerational mobility distance as well as the treatment of social equity perceptions as a static factor in previous studies. In this regard, it offers an important direction for future research to investigate deeper into the tension between subjective and objective equity and explore a new model of social stratification. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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What is “Freedom”: The Chinese Implications of Taixu's Reformation of Buddhism HUI Yichen Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (4): 1-39.   Abstract （308）   HTML （54）    PDF（pc） （4133KB）（311）       Knowledge map    Save This paper focuses on the Buddhist reform and social thought of the famous modern monk Taixu in the 1920s-1940s, analyzing how Taixu reconstructed social reform plans by drawing on Buddhist teachings and responding to various social currents at that time. In addition, this study discusses the interdependent relationships between Buddhism, social ideas and social transformation. On the one hand, Taixu put forward the ultimate "freedom" of the mind as a value guide in the Historical View of Freedom in order to solve the authoritarian consequences brought about by the introduction of Western social progressivism. On the other hand, Taixu interpreted the "gradual" teaching that was not emphasized in the Mahayana Buddhist system previously as a way to guide human society from individual worldly perfection to the complete enlightenment of the "Bodhisattva path", making the construction of society a practice of the "Bodhisattva path". In addition, Taixu, who had experiences of studying abroad, recognized the drawbacks of Western postwar social group organizations and saw that the Chinese society based on "families" was becoming more "individualized". Therefore, how to restrain "selfishness" had become the basic principle in Taixu's envision of the modern China social organization. His plan was to integrate the "altruistic" perspective of the "Bodhisattva path" into civic morality, using the Buddhist concept of "dependent origination" to build a basic social relationship in which people were equal to each other. This study explores the creative adaptation and transformation of Buddhist civilization in the face of modern society. In his active engagement with the world, Taixu inadvertently started a dialogue with Weber's comparative sociology of religion, particularly regarding his discussions on Mahayana Buddhism's worldly mentality and life motivation. Finally, this study attempts to extract the social theoretical value of Taixu's concepts of "skillful means" and "ultimate reality", providing new perspectives for the study of the Sinicization of Buddhism. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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“Tongguoshen”: Another Perspective to Understand the Theory of “Embodiment” in Chinese Culture FENG Biying, XUAN Chaoqing Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (4): 40-71.   Abstract （301）   HTML （30）    PDF（pc） （3334KB）（293）       Knowledge map    Save “Embodiment” is an important research topic in body research in recent years. Although "embodiment" takes transcending the dualism of mind-body as its premise, it fails to eliminate the traces of dualism in its reasoning and thus creates an internal dilemma of the theory. From the cultural comparative point of view, the mind-body monism in Chinese culture and the mind-body dualism in Western culture are used as reference framework in this study. In view of this, this paper is a study of the history of Chinese social thought on "embodiment", focusing on the concept of "Tongguoshen" proposed by Dong Zhongshu in the book Chunqiu Fanlu(春秋繁露). The paper analyzes the mechanism of "embodiment" in the holism of body and mind, and discusses why the "body" is the foundation for the construction of Chinese society. "Tongguoshen" means that body-management and country-governing are interlinked. This has two important reference values:First, in terms of overcoming the theoretical dilemma of "embodiment", Chinese culture regards"body" as a sympathetic system of life experience, which can dispel the original physical and mental boundaries, and eventually eliminate the priority of mind over body. These two aspects are the key to solving the problem of dualism in embodiment theory. Second, the study touches an unexplored area of Chinese research on the biology-sociality integration view of native body that constitutes the basis for understanding Chinese society. With the understanding of "body", we can begin to make sense of "human being" with biological and social factors from the perspective of biological evolution and social existence, and further enrich our basic understanding of "society". In this sense, "body" deserves to be rediscovered as an important resource that expands the traditional boundaries of sociology. In addition, the study points out that the thought of "body-management" in Chinese culture tradition is of great significance to understanding contemporary Chinese society, and provides useful reference for specific issues such as social governance and social construction. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Eichmann, The Banality of Evil and Obedience Research: Jewish Trauma and Alternative Narrative of Social Psychology ZHOU Xiaohong Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (4): 72-96.   Abstract （367）   HTML （38）    PDF（pc） （2778KB）（398）       Knowledge map    Save In the history of social psychology, the influence of others or groups on individual behavior has always been an interesting and fruitful field. At the very beginning, Lewin attempted to use the concept of "group dynamics" to explore the interaction of various potential dynamics in groups, the influence of groups on individual behavior, and the psychological relationship among group members. Later, Sherif and Asch each applied experimental methods to confirm the extent to which individual judgment was influenced by other people's or group norms. Further, Nazi Germany's frenzied massacre of Jews in World War II, as well as the mechanical, cold and ruthless performance of executioners like Eichmann for "fulfilling their duties" not only triggered Arendt's discussion about "the banality of evil" but also led to the obedience behavior experiments in the field of social psychology by Milgram. If Arendt profoundly revealed the darkness of human nature hidden behind the daily routines, then Milgram proved that people under pressure indeed had a tendency to blindly follow. In fact, both Arendt's insights and Milgram's experiments are directly derived from the long term physical and spiritual trauma that the Jews suffered in World War II. It is the long time suffering of Jewish people that makes the issue of conformity and obedience a haunting nightmare for Jewish scholars, and also a lasting alternative narrative in the field of social psychology. If one considers that all kinds of network chaos caused by the development of communication in contemporary society, especially the fact that "cyber violence" may bring about "the banality of evil" once again, this discussion certainly holds very significant value. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Public Opinion Domination and Triple Social Vision: Durkheim's Reconstruction of Rousseau's Social Theory HUANG Jianbo, MEI Ruyang Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (4): 97-128.   Abstract （253）   HTML （24）    PDF（pc） （3414KB）（266）       Knowledge map    Save Public opinion is not only the key to Rousseau's interpretation of social conditions, but also an important reference in Durkheim's analysis of social facts. By focusing on Durkheim's discussion of public opinion domination, we are able to present his triple vision of social facts and reveal how Rousseau's social theory is reconstructed through a process of interpretative system revision. In Rousseau's view, the domination of public opinion is the root of social degradation, and it needs the guidance of legislators to become the keystone of political building. In the early path of social morphology, Durkheim analyzed the internal relationship and differences between public opinion and law, and examined the causal and functional relationship between "comparative law" and social types. While objecting to Rousseau's fundamental point of human nature and negative social landscape, he emphasized the role of society in enhancing human nature. To rid of the materialistic social determinism, Durkheim included individual consent conditions for the public opinion mechanism in the debate with Tarde, making society a "natural constraint" in line with individual nature. From the perspective of collective representation, Durkheim's social vison was completely free from the negative elements in Rousseau's view and it was transformed into a mechanism for maintaining and reconstructing "moral ideals". At the same time, the fundamental point of human nature was also shifted from Rousseau's natural nature to the duality of individuality and sociality. In so doing, while perfecting his own explanatory system, Durkheim had inverted Rousseau's hierarchical sequence of nature and society, and remade social facts from the shackles of human nature that "suppressed nature" to the cornerstone of civilisation that "enhanced nature". Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Formation of a Positive Theory of Power: A Discussion Centred around the Relationship between Foucault and Canguilhem YE Chenyang Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (4): 129-153.   Abstract （298）   HTML （25）    PDF（pc） （2310KB）（263）       Knowledge map    Save After the 1970s, Foucault gradually developed a new theory of power that differed from the previous one based on the "repressive hypothesis." This new theory emphasises the productive and positive character of power, strongly reflecting Foucault's distinctive perspective. However, it is evident that Canguilhem's influence on Foucault can be discerned through the key term "norm" in Foucault's writing from this period. It is widely acknowledged that Foucault recognized that modern societies not only rely on sovereign powers that rule through law but also hinge upon other forms of power that govern through norms. Despite nuances in their respective usages, Canguilhem's concept of "norm" as an immanent and positive form of life provided Foucault with the conceptual tool to characterize these modern forms of power governing through norms from a positive perspective. This characterization included both the disciplinary power over individuals and the biopower over populations, manifesting through active and positive selection and cultivation of specific values. While repressive effects were possible in this process, they were fundamentally of secondary importance. Furthermore, as Foucault constructed the normative foundations and value judgments in his own theory of power, there was a continued resonance with Canguilhem's theory of normativity. Just as Canguilhem's "norm of norms" for judging the strengths and weaknesses of normativity was the functional criterion of whether normativity could continue to produce norms, Foucault's normative judgment rested on the functional judgment of whether power relations could remain fluid. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Is Individualisation an Obstacle to Fertility? A Discussion on the Evolution and Underlying Logic of French Family Policy WU Zhen Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (4): 154-184.   Abstract （350）   HTML （44）    PDF（pc） （3309KB）（428）       Knowledge map    Save Individualisation is often considered as an important cause for fertility decline. The inverse correlation between the individualisation and the fertility rate was tentatively verified by the demographic evolution trajectory of many countries around the world, but it was questioned during the successful implementation of family policies in France which had led to a rebound in fertility. This process, revolving around the different attitude towards the individualisation of family, could be divided into two stages. The first stage occurred before the end of the 1960s. The core concept was to suppress individuality and revive family order. As a result, the instability of marriage and family gradually increased, and the birth rate did not rise but fell. The second stage began in the 1970s with a new shift of law and policies towards accommodating individual demands and respect ing individual choices. The government paid more attention to assist vulnerable individuals in the redistribution of economic and social resources. This had brought about a rebound in fertility since the 1990s. The experience in the latter stage reflects the understanding of the French academic and political circles on the dual connotations of individualisation. In the face of the positive aspects of individualisation, they advocated accepting and making good use of the initiatives exhibited by individuals, and thus introduced a series of regulations and measures to ensure his or her autonomy in marriage and childbirth. However, in the face of the negative aspects of individualization, attempts were made to level the gap between different individuals in terms of gender and intergenerational relationships in order to prevent and curb social injustice. As a result, an underlying logic of taking into account both individual freedom and social fairness has been gradually formed in the French family policies. The French government has used this as a criterion to consistently adjust and implement laws and policies, and ultimately eased the fertility decline issue set by individualisation. The purpose of this study is not only to present specific measures for encouraging birthrate, but also to explore appropriate policy intervention to reverse the impact of individualisation on fertility, so as to provide ideas and inspiration for countries that are still trying to find an effective solution to the problem. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Construction of China Social Organization System From 1949 to 1956 CHEN Jiajun, MAO Dan Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (4): 185-213.   Abstract （397）   HTML （35）    PDF（pc） （2818KB）（332）       Knowledge map    Save Between 1949 and 1956, China built a social organization system that is neither the so-called "third sector" in Western countries nor a collection of civil associations. It is composed of three types of social organizations in broad sense:mass organizations led by the CCP, social organizations received re-accreditation, and non-registered resident mutual aid organizations. It is a specific type of adaptive political power construction that is driven by the joint-action of three forces:state-structured social organizations, social elite collaboration, and social members filling in the gap on marginal affairs. Among the three, the power and role of state-structured social organizations are the most evident and powerful, and they determine the space and strength of the latter two forces. Elite collaborative social organizations, except mass organizations, play a moderate role, while resident organizatoins handling periphery social issues are in the weakest position. In China, the social organization system created in this way is highly compatible with nation-building but weak in managing social affairs. In the following decades, the Chinese social organization system has witnessed noticeable changes. The three types of social organizations have all been expanded and the allocation of strength has also changed. However, there are always continuous or persistent characteristics that do not change, such as the CCP's leadership over the social organisation system, the rule of administrative regulations and the unity of all social elements for the nation-building. The above-discussed historical process shows that the future reform of China's social organization system will keep its focus on activating the social function of the three types of organisations while maintaining the tradition of a unified society under the state and regulation of social organizations. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Governance Risk and Staff Personnel Management: A Political Logic Analysis of the Formation of Officials and Local Staff Separation and Its Persistence WANG Quanwei Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (4): 214-239.   Abstract （336）   HTML （24）    PDF（pc） （2747KB）（324）       Knowledge map    Save The separation of officials and local staff(官吏分途)was an important phenomenon in the history of Chinese political system. Recently, some scholars have argued for the rationality of its existence from the logic of governance. This paper attempts to demonstrate that the division between officials and local staff is a troublesome institutional arrangement from the perspective of governance, and its formation and persistence are mainly the result of political logic. In ancient China, problems of bureaucratic cliques and aristocratization often led to the erosion of imperial governance power and endangerment of the ruling power. The management system handling petty bureaucratic functionaries at all levels was thus closely associated with governance risk prevention. First of all, this study argued that separating officials from local staff began with the bureaucratic aristocratization during the Eastern Han dynasty. The difference in social status between nobles and commoners affected the establishment of formal official ranking system, resulting in a total separation between officials and local staff in recruitment, ranking and moral prestige. Secondly, the continuity of this separation after the Tang dynasty was closely related to the rulers' desire to prevent governance risks. After Song dynasty, the problems associated with the separation between officials and local staff became well recognised. For each succeeding dynasty, reform proposals were attempted but more or less all wanted to go back to the open but politically highly risky selection system(pishu, 辟署制). The Imperial rulers would rather endure the ills of the system than change it. This paper reveals the bureaucratic personnel risks that have not been explored previously and its profound influence on the ancient Chinese bureaucracy. It is worth noting that similar political risks still exist in contemporary times, and they are now receiving increasing attention and rectification. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Constitution of Nomos-Harmonia Civilization: A Preliminary Exploration of a Social Theory of Nature-Culture WU Fei Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (5): 1-21.   Abstract （379）   HTML （62）    PDF（pc） （1899KB）（403）       Knowledge map    Save In this paper, the author argues that, in contrast to the city-state civilization of ancient Greece and the social civilization of the modern West, traditional China has formed a kind of nomos-harmonia civilization, and it is constituted through the theory of nature-culture(wenzhi lun). Zhi is nature and Wen is civilization. It sees culture as internal to nature, an expression of intrinsic essence of nature. Hence civilization origins from nature and cannot transcend, change or destroy nature. Whether it is nature-oriented or culture-oriented, it is fundamentally a kind of culture. How could such a theory constitute nomos-harmonia civilization? The author first discusses about ritual and ceremony, which are used to formulate human feelings. Then comes the nomos system referring to a variety of systems at the social and political level, and nevertheless its constituent principle is the same as ritual and ceremony. On this level of nomos, affection is nature, and order is culture. The collective life of human society is not artificial constitution, but has its foundation in nature. Some basic human relationships are natural, especially that of parents and offspring. Order is found in such a relationship, upon which human civilizations are established. Hence the state is not a necessary evil, or a social contract, or a violent machine, but a cultural transformation of a natural community. Like Western social theories, wenzhi lun (nature-culture theory) does not regard the state as the highest human institute, and hence it should be treated as a social theory. Also similar to the Greek political philosophy, wenzhi lun origins from and returns back to nature. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Centralized State yet Decentralized Governance: On Gu Yanwu's Mixed System Theory CAO Zhenghan Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (5): 22-55.   Abstract （230）   HTML （31）    PDF（pc） （3128KB）（276）       Knowledge map    Save In his book Discourse on Junxian, Gu Yanwu proposed a famous reform theory that introduced the principle of feudal autonomy within the framework of a centralized state, forming a hybrid system of "embedding the spirit of feudalism (fengjian) in the structure of prefectures and counties (junxian)". Contemporary scholars generally view this mixed system theory as a theory of the relationship between central and local governments or as a theory of local decentralization or "local autonomy", with the aim of achieving a balance between centralization and decentralization. However, there has been insufficient discussion on the meaning of centralization and decentralization in this mixed system theory, as well as the ways and conditions to achieve a balance between the two. This article argues that Gu Yanwu's mixed system theory is not only a theory of the relationship between central and local governments, nor is it just a theory of local decentralization, it is also a theory that deals with the relationship between "centralized state" and "governance", especially the contradiction between the two. The core idea of this theory can be summarized as "centralized state yet decentralized governance". The purpose of this article is to demonstrate this viewpoint and further explore the underlying meaning and source of the principle of "centralized state yet decentralized governance", as well as its implementation mechanisms and institutional conditions. This article points out that the principle of "centralized state yet decentralized governance" is reflected to some extent in the traditional governance system and practices in Chinese history, and is also implicitly presented in the reform thoughts in the 1980s in China. This means that the development of historical China and the modernization transformation of contemporary China are, to some extent, unfolding in the process of exploring and dealing with the contradiction between "centralized state" and "governance". Therefore, Gu Yanwu's mixed system theory and its underlying principle still have theoretical significance for China's exploration of the path to modernization. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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A New Interpretation of Lenin's What Is To Be Done?: From the Perspective of Comparative Historical Sociology YING Xing Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (5): 56-86.   Abstract （413）   HTML （45）    PDF（pc） （3304KB）（498）       Knowledge map    Save Based on the perspective of comparative historical sociology and organizational sociology, this paper provides a new interpretation of Lenin's classic work on party building theory What Is To Be Done? by comparing the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party with the Russian revolutionary populists, and the Second International social democrats with the Chinese Communist Party. The paper first outlines the intellectual and political background of What Is To Be Done?, and then analyzes the similarities and differences of the "indoctrination" mechanism in Europe, Russia, and China, especially emphasizing the difference between "propaganda", "agitation", and "appeal". The discussion continues with a focus on three core organizational issues discussed in chapter four of What Is To Be Done? Through comparison with Weber's analysis of professional politicians, the paper explains Lenin's understanding of the importance of the organisation of professional revolutionaries, especially distinguishing the two meanings of "making revolution a profession". Through comparison with the CCP's work in the white areas, the author highlights the significance of Lenin's proposal to combine a solid organizational core with differentiated organizational circles, illustrated in a diagram outlining the differentiated organizational chart of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party. Through comparison with the Russian revolutionary populists and the Second International, the paper shows the origin and evolution of Lenin's thoughts on the conspiratorial and centralized nature of party organizations, with a focus on the connection between Lenin and Peter Tkachev on this idea. The author also analyzes the relationship between local and central authorities discussed by Lenin in his book. The author finally proposes some directions for further comparative extension, and points out the significance of moving from technical analysis to root cause political analysis in organization research in Chinese sociology. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Wufu and Sandai: Gender and Family Name in the Light of Changes of Marriage Prohibition in China's Marriage Laws ZHAO Xiaoli Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (5): 87-111.   Abstract （440）   HTML （46）    PDF（pc） （2257KB）（273）       Knowledge map    Save Since the late Qing Dynasty, the scope of prohibited marriage in China's marriage law has undergone a change from wufu (five grades of mourning) to sandai(three generations). Since the Zhou Dynasty, traditional Chinese society had adhered to the Zhou etiquette of "no marriage between members of the same clan". Marriage between cousins(except paternal parallel cousins) had been left to the discretion of the family and not prohibited by law. In 1930, in accordance with the principle of equality between men and women, the kinship section of the Republic of China Civil Code changed the classification of traditional Chinese kinships of internal relatives and extermal relatives to Western-style blood relatives and in-laws, thus introduced a problem of whether or not clan members outside of the wufu circle and cousins within three generations could marry each other. This paper points out these contradictions and conflicts by examining the contradiction between the principle of freedom of marriage under the 1950 Marriage Law and the common practice of "no marriage between members of the same clan", and the conflict between eugenic policy and freedom of marriage in the 1980 Marriage Law. The root of these contradictions is the fact that Chinese kinship and Western kingship classifications are incompatible. Chinese kinship categorization is based on the social "clan surnames" system rather than the biological "sex" system, and the traditional social practice of no marriage within the same clan and marriage between cousins (except paternal parallel cousins) is due to the kinship system's emphasis on internal relations over external ones rather than on male over female preference. Nowadays, with the abolition of change of surnames for women after marriage, the traditionally external (e.g. maternal) relatives can now be regarded as internal relatives, the "no marriage within the same clan" can be applied to both clans. The eugenic reason for prohibiting marriage of collateral relatives within three generations and the etiquette reason for the no-marriage within the same clans can go hand in hand now because eugenics serves the continuation of the clan. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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“Pricing” Injuries: Practice of Commensuration in Medical Injury Disputes ZHANG Long Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (5): 112-138.   Abstract （275）   HTML （46）    PDF（pc） （2794KB）（314）       Knowledge map    Save Existing studies on medical injury compensation often focus on institutional arrangement or financial outcomes. They are lack of sufficient attention to the micro-social processes that determine compensations, especially the tension between the different kinds of losses and the quantitative outcomes of resolution. Based on the fieldwork in a dispute resolution department of a public city hospital in northern China, this study presents the comprehensive medical injury compensation "pricing" processes under different channels. The paper argues that the crucial parts in medical injury disputes inevitably involve commensuration, a social process by which different factors are being quantified onto the same scale. By introducing the concept of commensurative practice, this study depicts the formation of compensation amounts as an accumulative process of multiple micro-based commensurative practices. The study finds that the commensurative practices in medical injury disputes are usually unfolded in three dimensions:value (integration of values), cognitive (simplification of information) and technical (accuracy of measurement). There are two factors affecting specific ways of commensuration that can cause dimensional shifts. On one hand, the less institutionalized the interaction context, the more prominent the value dimension in the commensurative practice, while the more institutionalized interaction context most likely results in more cognitive and technical commensuraition. On the other hand, the more directly commensurative practices target the "incommensurable" or "not easily commensurable" attributes, the more prominent the dimension of value commensuration, while the attributes of what is considered "commensurable" or "easily commensurable" are more often accompanied by cognitive and technical commensuration. The main focus of this study is to present as well as compare commensurative practices of "incommensurables" under the channels of different institutionalisation. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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The Psychological Construction of “Stability”: A Historical Narrative of the Collective Identity and Mobility Trend of Middle-aged and Elderly Teachers in Rural Areas LI Caihong, ZHU Zhiyong Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (5): 139-166.   Abstract （319）   HTML （27）    PDF（pc） （3347KB）（318）       Knowledge map    Save This paper takes Wu Primary School, a former state-owned farm school in eastern Inner Mon golia, as a case study to explore the mobility trend of rural middle-aged and elderly teachers, its characteristics and causes during the time of rapid urbanization. The study attempts to gain a deep understanding of the life choices of this generation of teachers under multiple situations from the perspective of historical changes and regional development. The study found that after many years of hardship, middle-aged and elderly teachers on state-owned farms had derived a collective identity that included three elements:survival security identity, emotional identity and attachment, and professional efficacy and self-identity. This triadic identity was based on the cross-construction of institutional identity, legal identity, and professional identity, emerged in the historical process of market reform of farming, farming units, and education system of state-owned farms. Such a collective identity reflected the value tendency and emotional belonging of members in a close social community, with collective status as the carrier, integrating collective interest, consciousness and emotional connection. In the end, in a paradoxical way the triadic collective identity promoted the construction of a psychological mechanism with "stability" as the core for this group of middle-aged and elderly teachers, forming a collective preference of remaining in the countryside and characteristics of attachment, and therefore revealing another side of abnormality that has received little attention in the field of rural teacher mobility. With the ongoing urbanisation in China, this"stable" psychological mechanism has great significance in promoting and improving the professional development of rural teachers and the quality of rural education. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Long-Term Employment Trajectories of Chinese Women after Their First Childbirth: A Sequence Analysis YANG Yichun, YU Jia, XIE Yu Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (5): 167-203.   Abstract （577）   HTML （98）    PDF（pc） （3419KB）（631）       Knowledge map    Save Women's post-maternal employment status is an important factor contributing to gender inequality in labor market. Previous research mainly considered employment as a static and single event, lacking a dynamic life course perspective. Using the 2014 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data, this study applies sequence analysis for the first time to depict a period of twenty-one years of non-agricultural working women's employment trajectories before and after their first childbirth. We divide the sample born between 1940s to 1970s into different birth cohorts to cover three stages of labor market transformations in China:the early days of the PRC, the early stage of market reform and the mature stage of market reform. Results show six typical trajectories of women's post-maternal employment in China. They are:long-term regular employment (55.06%), early return to employment (8.69%), late return to employment (3.98%), self-employment or from employment to self-employment (19.78%), long-term unemployed (8.07%), and long-term informal employment (4.42%). Different employment trajectories reflect clearly the heterogeneity of female group characteristics. Our results also show that with the social changes, the complexity and diversity of Chinese women's employment trajectories have increased significantly, showing that more women frequently switch between multiple employment status. It can be seen from the trajectories of different cohorts that the proportion of women who are able to maintain full-time employment has significantly decreased, while the proportion of self-employed, part-time and non-employment trajectories have increased noticeably. In addition, human capital, institutional patronage, and shared childcare responsibility have significant positive effect on women's full-time employment. Nevertheless, with China's marketization, the protection provided by these factors have substantially weakened over cohorts. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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Post-Materialistic Values and Political Participation of Chinese Residents: Based on the Analysis of Generational Differences CHI Shangxin, SHI Yaodong, HUANG Jizhao Chinese Journal of Sociology    2023, 43 (5): 204-234.   Abstract （440）   HTML （55）    PDF（pc） （2922KB）（352）       Knowledge map    Save Previous studies have shown that post-materialistic values have an important impact on public political participation of the public in Western countries, but there is a lack of research on its role on public political participation in China. Based on Chinese data from the World Values Survey(WVS2018), this paper investigates the impact of post-materialistic values on Chinese residents' political participation from the perspective of generational differences. The selected measurement options of post-materialistic values are assigned different weights and aggregated according to the priority order of goals. Political participation is operationalized into three main types:intra-system, extra-institutional, and online political participation. The generational differences are divided into four generational cohorts:initial construction, reform and opening-up, marketization, and the new century. The study found that:firstly, the score of the current post-materialistic values of Chinese residents is generally not high, but there is a clear generational difference-significantly higher for those who grew up after the reform and opening up, as well as an increasing trend as the generations move forward. Secondly, the generational effect of political participation varies in different aspects. The generations growing up after the reform and opening-up show a generational increasing trend in the political participation outside the system and online, but it is opposite in grassroots elections. Thirdly, post-materialistic values have no significant impact on grassroots election participation but have a significant contributing effect on online political participation and extra-institutional participation which shows an increasing trend with each generation. These findings hold true after robustness testing. Therefore, the study confirms that the changes in public values brought about by social development can be used as cultural variables to explain the extra-institutional and online political participation of contemporary Chinese residents. It also suggests that more attention should be paid to the younger generation in the guidance of values and orderly political participation of citizens. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics | Comments（0）

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