The Concept of Vernacular Society in Vernacular China

The concept of vernacular society in Vernacular China is as follows:

The concept of vernacular society in Vernacular China is a special form of society that is regional, traditional, historically inherited in terms of lifestyle, and relatively stable in terms of social structure.

Fei Xiaotong argues in "Vernacular China" that the grassroots of Chinese society is vernacular, where people can't get away from the soil because the land is the material basis on which they live; vernacular society is immobile, where people have settled down for generations, with a very high degree of stability; and the society of acquaintances, where neighbors get along with each other for a long time, forming a trust and tacit understanding between each other. Therefore, the concept of vernacular society can be understood from three aspects: not being able to leave the soil, immobility and acquaintance society.

Extended Information

Native China is a sociological work written by contemporary sociologist Fei Xiaotong, first published in 1948. Native China is a study of rural China written by Fei Xiaotong. The book consists of 14 essays covering various aspects of the humanistic environment, traditional social structure, distribution of power, moral system, law and ritual, and blood and geography of the rural society.

In Vernacular China, the author outlines and analyzes the main features of China's grassroots society in layman's and concise language, presenting a comprehensive picture of China's grassroots society.

The book focuses on the pattern of differential order, the difference between men and women, the family, blood and geography, and so on. The book is fluent and easy to understand. Vernacular China is one of the major masterpieces of the theoretical study of traditional culture and social structure in Chinese vernacular society recognized by the academic community***.