Review: Fei Xiaotong. From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.

        In his classic work Chinese sociologist Fei Xiaotong explains the nature of Chinese rural society based on his own original field work. According to the author the key concept in understanding Chinese culture is chaxugeju, which means “differential mode of association.” He contrasts chaxugeju with what he calls the Western mode of “organizational mode of association.” The Chinese form of social organization is bases on concentric rings of association that spread out from the individual at the center. These rings of association flow out in an ever widening circle from family, to kinship group, to village, to province, to nation. Loyalty also flows out in the same direction at an ever diminishing rate. All Chinese are born into unchosen associations that are sanctified by the concept of ritual. 

            The author observes that chazugeju has many ramifications. Perhaps the most important of these is that it leads to a society animated by situational ethics. This is because all social relationships are based on hierarchies that are defined and sanctioned by traditional Confucian tenets. In other words, standards of behavior and interaction depend on who is doing what to whom. According to the author, there are apparently no absolute standards of conduct in Chinese rural life. Xiaotong cites the Book of Rites “ten relationships,” which are fundamental rules for proper human relationships. The relationships are defined by hierarchies of social standing and power, such are fathers over sons, and husbands over wives: “Everyone should stay in his place” (65). Therefore, an action can only be correctly judged on the basis of not what was done, but rather on who did it and why. 

            Chaxugeju means that at the village level both government and law have little use in daily life. The concept helps explain why a powerful empire had little actual control over or influence upon the daily lives of farmers and village artisans. Rural people had no need of laws or courts. Their tradition of proper ritual and hierarchies based on patrilineages defines both right action and provided means of dealing with those who broke the social code. State magistrates had no role in daily village life. In a way, the “rule of ritual” operated as a social superego: “it is as if there were ten eyes watching you and ten fingers pointing at you all the time” (99). Although the author denies that Chinese society is unchanging, he does state that its system is static in nature: “Generally speaking, consanguineous societies are stable and static” (120). In fact, he adds that stability is the purpose of the system. He quotes Confucius, “Nothing should be changed until three years after your father dies” (130). 

            This book was a deceptively easy read. However after sitting down and attempting to write a short review of it, it is clear that it is far from a simple description of Chinese village life. Xiaotong makes fascinating, and at times profound, observations on nearly every page. His chapters on sex roles in Chinese life and “separating names from reality” were particularly insightful.