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Rediscovering Fei Xiaotong: Blending Indigenous Chinese Thought and Western Social Science

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Abstract

The assimilation of the theoretical and methodological constructions of Western sociology into the investigation of primarily reform oriented social research problems of twentieth century China, is the background to the work done by most of the pioneering Chinese sociologists such as Fei Xiaotong. The aim of this paper is to analyse the movement of ideas and research methods in the global circulation of knowledge and the formulation of distinct traditions of academic enquiry, in this case, Chinese sociology. This article uses the chronology of Fei’s life to present the interactions between American (Robert Parks and the Chicago School), British (Malinowski and social anthropology of 1930s), Russian (Shirokogoroff) and Chinese (Wu Wenzao and Yenching school) sociological traditions and their influences in Fei’s works, primarily his most famous work, From the Soil. Fei’s indigenous concept of Chaxugeju, presents a clear distinction between Chinese and Western societies. In this article, we apply Chaxugeju in some of the fairly common social research questions on family structure, gender and state- society relations to bring out the nuanced distinctions in the American and Chinese theoretical traditions. We also look into the problems in Fei’s theorising in the use of community studies, in tackling the colonialism aspect and with respect to the cultural context in Chinese sociology and its similarities in its challenges with Chicago school.

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  1. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi, India

    Ana Sinha & Pooja Lakhanpal

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Sinha, A., Lakhanpal, P. Rediscovering Fei Xiaotong: Blending Indigenous Chinese Thought and Western Social Science. Am Soc 53, 374–394 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-021-09526-9

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