Rural China

"Rural China" was organized by Fei Xiaotong based on his lectures on "Rural Sociology" at Southwest Associated University and Yunnan University. This book is very different from the social survey reports we are used to. It is not a description of a particular society, but a collection of concepts extracted from a particular society. Although this is a concept and an overview, from his discussion Fei starts from the concrete details of rural life and is validated in concrete things rather than simple generalizations. It is well said that although this book is an introduction to sociology, it is supported by profound theoretical literacy. The language is easy to understand, coupled with the local customs, there is no difficult to understand the theoretical terminology, but after reading it has a clear and suddenly enlightened feeling. It is hard to find a book as detailed, insightful and easy to understand as "Rural China" that describes and analyzes China's rural society at the bottom of the scale. Though written decades ago (published in 1947), Rural China describes a phenomenon that still resonates in Chinese society today. Fei Xiaotong in this book describes at different levels the rural society living at the bottom of society, believing in all. Chinese people will have a tacit understanding after reading this book and then smile. Although Fei insists that this book is only suitable for describing rural society at the bottom of society, aren't urban people developed by rural people? If the generation before them was not a farmer, the generation before them must have had a rural connection. In today's urban life, we can still see the local flavor hidden in the city people, such as "acquaintance society", "order between the young and the old" and so on. China is still a country with strong local flavor. The strength and prosperity of the city depends on the contributions and even the sacrifices of the peasants, though these sacrifices may not be voluntary. In such an era of attention to "agriculture, rural areas and farmers", reading the book "Rural China" can indeed bring us profound thinking.