The Analysis of Chinese Rural Society: Fei Xiaotong Revisited

Barbalet, Jack

doi:10.1177/0097700419894921

Cited by 20 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…It is of particular interest, though, that Fei (1992, p. 88) explicitly rejects any role for ganqing in "stabilizing social relationships," preferring instead "understanding (liaojie)" of status mutuality and therefore distinction as essential in traditional kin relations. The linguistic shift reported here indicates how much Fei's analysis derives from possibly antiquated Confucian notions (see Barbalet 2020) and at the same time how in China today emotions tend to displace ethics in characterizing relationships.…”

Section: Family Guanximentioning

confidence: 72%

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Tripartite guanxi: resolving kin and non-kin discontinuities in Chinese connections

Barbalet

2020

Theor Soc

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A consensus holds that guanxi, understood as dyadic connections consolidated affectively and mobilized to achieve the purposes of members, exists in three forms (family guanxi, friendship guanxi, and acquaintance guanxi) distinguished by the strength of felt obligation between participants. It is also held that through practices of fictive kinship friendship guanxi may merge with family guanxi. This article challenges these propositions and the assumptions underlying them. Obligations of kinship and guanxi obligations are fundamentally dissimilar and the term "family guanxi" is redundant. Pseudo-family ties do not provide access to kin relations and their resources but instead affirm the distinction between family-and friendship-ties. Finally, because guanxi is cultivated by its participants, friendship guanxi and acquaintance guanxi are not distinct forms but rather are different possible stages of guanxi formation. The article goes on to consider the sources of these confusions, namely, common-language terms employed in sociological analysis, certain assumptions concerning Chinese culture, and finally methodological commitments that privilege latent structures of strong ties. The strength of guanxi ties, on the other hand, volitionally cultivated and indifferent to structural determination, fluctuates through agentic practices.

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Section: Family Guanximentioning

confidence: 72%

“…These ideas underpin the conception of guanxi expressed in leading sections of the sociological literature (e.g., Bian 2019, pp. 213-218;King 1991; for an alternative appreciation of Fei's contribution, see Barbalet 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tripartite guanxi: resolving kin and non-kin discontinuities in Chinese connections

Barbalet

2020

Theor Soc

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“…The results indicate that trust in family had the greatest impact on the emotional health of the elderly, followed by trust in friends, and then, trust in neighbours. This result can be considered as 'the differential mode of association' [28] in the emotional health of the elderly. This is a pattern of difference in the relationship between social trust and emotional health, in which family members provide the greatest emotional support to the elderly in China.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Social trust and emotional health in older adults in China: The mediating and moderating role of subjective well-being and subjective social status

Chen¹,

Zhu

2020

Preprint

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Background China is becoming an aging society. The emotional health of the elderly is gaining importance. Social trust is an important factor affecting emotional health, but existing studies have rarely considered the various effects of different types of social trust on elderly emotional health. Few studies have analysed the role of subjective well-being and subjective social status in the relationship between social trust and elderly emotional health. Methods Using the data of the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey 2016 (CLDS 2016) and regression models, this study selected 3767 respondents aged 60 years and above to analyse the impact of social trust on their emotional health. Social trust was divided into three categories: trust in family members, trust in friends, and trust in neighbours. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to assess emotional health, and the respondents’ self-assessment scores were adjusted. Results Trust in family members was significantly and positively associated with emotional health (coefficient = 2.854, P < 0.01) and subjective well-being (coefficient = 0.189, P < 0.01). Trust in friends was significantly and positively associated with emotional health and subjective well-being (coefficient = 1.703, P < 0.01; coefficient = 0.171, P < 0.01, respectively). Trust in neighbours was significantly and positively associated with emotional health and subjective well-being (coefficient = 1.461, P < 0.01; coefficient = 0.186, P < 0.01; respectively). Subjective well-being effectively reduced the impact of social trust in family, friends, and neighbours on the emotional health of the elderly by 0.378, 0.341, and 0.370, respectively. Trust in family members, friends, and neighbours, significantly and positively affected respondents’ subjective social status (coefficient = 0.115, P < 0.05; coefficient = 0.095, P < 0.05; coefficient = 0.121, P < 0.01, respectively). Subjective social status effectively reduced the impact of social trust in family, friends, and neighbours on the emotional health of the elderly by 0.092, 0.076, and 0.096, respectively. The positive relationship between trust in family members and emotional health was weakened by subjective well-being, and that between trust in neighbours and emotional health was weakened by subjective social status. Conclusions Family relationships play an important role in maintaining the emotional health of the elderly. In response to population ageing, more social policies must be introduced to care for the elderly and help them lead a happy and satisfactory life.

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“…The results indicate that trust in family had the greatest impact on the emotional health of the elderly, followed by trust in friends, and then, trust in neighbours. This result can be considered as a 'differential pattern' (chaxu geju) [41] in the emotional health of the elderly in rural China. This is a pattern of difference in the relationship between social trust and emotional health, in which family members provide the greatest emotional support to the elderly in rural China.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Social trust and emotional health in rural older adults in China: The mediating and moderating role of subjective well-being and subjective social status

Chen¹,

Zhu

2020

Preprint

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BackgroundChina is becoming an aging society. The emotional health of the elderly is gaining importance. Social trust is an important factor affecting emotional health, but existing studies have rarely considered the various effects of different types of social trust on rural elderly emotional health. Few studies have analysed the role of subjective well-being and subjective social status in the relationship between social trust and elderly emotional health.MethodsUsing the data of the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey 2016 (CLDS 2016) and regression models, this study selected 2084 rural respondents aged 60 years and above to analyse the impact of social trust on their emotional health. Social trust was divided into three categories: trust in family members, trust in friends, and trust in neighbours. This study also examined the mediating and moderating effects of subjective well-being and subjective social status on the relationship between social trust and emotional health.ResultsTrust in family members was significantly and positively associated with emotional health (coefficient=0.194, P<0.01) and subjective well-being (coefficient=0.177, P<0.01). Trust in friends was significantly and positively associated with emotional health and subjective well-being (coefficient=0.097, P<0.01; coefficient=0.174, P<0.01, respectively). Trust in neighbours was significantly and positively associated with emotional health and subjective well-being (coefficient=0.088, P<0.01; coefficient=0.177, P<0.01; respectively). Subjective well-being effectively reduced the impact of social trust in family, friends, and neighbours on the emotional health of the elderly by 0.023, 0.022, and 0.023, respectively. Trust in friends and neighbours significantly and positively affected respondents’ subjective social status (coefficient=0.120, P<0.05; coefficient=0.090, P<0.10; respectively). Subjective social status effectively reduced the impact of social trust in friends and neighbours on the emotional health of the elderly both by 0.004. The positive relationship between trust in family members and emotional health is weakened by subjective well-being.ConclusionsSocial trust, especially family relationships, play an important role in maintaining the emotional health of the rural elderly. In response to population ageing, more social policies must be introduced to care for the rural elderly and help them lead a happy and satisfactory life.

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The Analysis of Chinese Rural Society: Fei Xiaotong Revisited

Cited by 20 publications

References 46 publications

Tripartite guanxi: resolving kin and non-kin discontinuities in Chinese connections

Tripartite guanxi: resolving kin and non-kin discontinuities in Chinese connections

Social trust and emotional health in older adults in China: The mediating and moderating role of subjective well-being and subjective social status

Social trust and emotional health in rural older adults in China: The mediating and moderating role of subjective well-being and subjective social status

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