This classic text by Fei Xiaotong, China's finest social scientist, was first published in 1947 and is Fei's chief theoretical statement about the distinctive characteristics of Chinese society. Written in Chinese from a Chinese point of view for a Chinese audience, From the Soil describes the contrasting organizational principles of Chinese and Western societies, thereby conveying the essential features of both. Fei shows how these unique features reflect and are reflected in the moral and ethical characters of people in these societies. This profound, challenging book is both succinct and accessible. In its first complete English-language edition, it is likely to have a wide impact on Western social theorists.
Gary G. Hamilton and Wang Zheng's translation captures Fei's jargonless, straightforward style of writing. Their introduction describes Fei's education and career as a sociologist, the fate of his writings on and off the Mainland, and the sociological significance of his analysis. The translators' epilogue highlights the social reforms for China that Fei drew from his analysis and advocated in a companion text written in the same period.
By:
Xiaotong Fei
Epilogue by:
Gary G. Hamilton,
Wang Zheng
Introduction by:
Gary G. Hamilton,
Wang Zheng
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 13mm
Weight: 272g
ISBN: 9780520077966
ISBN 10: 0520077962
Pages: 176
Publication Date: 28 August 1992
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
,
A / AS level
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
"Foreword Introduction: Fei Xiaotong and the Beginnings of a Chinese Sociology, by Gary G. Hamilton and Wang Zheng 1. Special Characteristics of Rural Society 2. Bringing Literacy to the Countryside 3· More Thoughts on Bringing Literacy to the Countryside 4· Chaxugeju: The Differential Mode of Association 5· The Morality of Personal Relationships 6. Patrilineages 7· ""Between Men and Women, There Are Only Differences"" 8. A Rule of Ritual 9· A Society without Litigation 10. An Inactive Government 11. Rule by Elders 12. Consanguinity and Regionalism 13. Separating Names from Reality 14. From Desire to Necessity Epilogue: Sociology and the Reconstruction of Rural China, by Gary G. Hamilton and WangZheng Glossary Index"
Gary G. Hamilton is Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington. Wang Zheng is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at the University of California, Davis.
