Social Enquiries in the People's Republic of China

After a period of vigorous growth in the 1930S and 1940s, sociology as an academic discipline in China ceased to exist soon after the establishment of the People's Republic. During a brief period of free expression in 1957, some of the former sociologists sought a place for sociology within the framework of socialism. Their attempt failed as they tried to link the revival of sociology with the political vision of creating an effective opposition party of intellectuals. Though professional and institutional sociology does not exist, other forms of social inquiry are carried out in contemporary China. The first area of research involves some former sociologists and anthropologists in the study of national minorities and emigrant Chinese communities. The second area includes social and historical studies of four institutions—the family, the factory, the village, and the communes-which have been conducted as part of a popular campaign to instil revolutionary consciousness among the masses. The third area consists of the survey research carried out mainly by party cadres to formulate, implement, and evaluate policies. These forms of social inquiry are mainly shaped by the political pre-occupations in contemporary Chinese society, namely, the `contradictions' of `rightist conservatism and leftist adventurism', `democracy and centralism', and `redness and expertness'. The demise of professional sociology also testifies to the shaky institutional roots that the group of western-trained intellectuals had in modem China.