Social thought of the Chinese dynasties

Author: Wan Jianghong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: This book traces the evolution of social thought in China throughout history, dividing it into four parts: social thought in the pre-Qin period, social thought from the Qin and Han to the Tang and Song dynasties, social thought from the Song, Yuan, Ming to the pre-Qing period, and social thought in the late Qing period. Each part further details the major social thoughts of each era, arranged chronologically by chapter. Brief overviews of each part and chapter are provided at the beginning, which helps readers gain a comprehensive understanding and grasp of Chinese social thought. — Zheng Haosheng
At its core, thought ultimately originates from existence, from reality. Thought is not merely the result of intellectual speculation in a thinker's mind. Social thought, whether in China or elsewhere, is no exception. Social thought refers to the reflection of people's views on actual social relationships, social life, and social issues, as well as the concepts and theories formed through their understanding or imagination of social structural models and operational mechanisms. Here, "social relationships" refer to the relationships between people in society, including production relations and class structures, which are ultimately shaped by the development of productive forces. In turn, these relationships give positive or negative feedback on the development of productive forces.
"Social life" refers to the shared life of people in society. It encompasses the conditions and reasons for social life in a specific society, as well as the factors that sustain this shared life. The content should include: social norms, socialization, social values, different people's attitudes toward life, lifestyles, social change, and social control.
"Social problems" refer to the issues arising from the relationships and interactions of people living in a specific society, as well as the obstacles to social progress. Social problems also manifest differently across various societies and periods, as different classes and strata gain varying levels of understanding and awareness of the social problems of their time, proposing solutions and measures based on their class interests.
"Social models" refer to the structural systems of societies that already exist, have existed, or are envisioned. Representatives of different classes and strata use these models to interpret social phenomena, propose solutions to social problems, formulate governance plans, and outline the "blueprints" for an ideal society.
"Social operation" can be seen as one dynamic manifestation of social structural models or as a comprehensive reflection of the aforementioned social relationships, social life, social problems, and the state of social structures. Our predecessors in Chinese thought often described the state of social operation in terms of periods of order and chaos, governance and turmoil. I have previously pointed out that "our predecessors in thought either discussed the trajectory of social change—order and chaos—or explored the conditions and mechanisms for achieving a well-governed society, as well as the means and methods to attain it, or expressed their views on ideal models of governance, or studied the roots of social turmoil, its governance and control, or explained the suffering and harm caused by chaos to the people, and so on." Thus, Cheng Yi summarized it by saying, "When studying history, one must observe the causes of order and chaos, as well as the virtues of virtuous and self-disciplined individuals in handling matters."
The history of social thought in China, as a discipline, primarily studies the social thought concepts and theories formed by Chinese people in their productive and daily lives, as well as the historical processes, characteristics, and patterns of their emergence and development. This is one of the most distinctive research areas in Chinese sociology. Wan Jianghong's book follows the thread of social thought in China throughout history, dividing it into four parts: social thought in the pre-Qin period, social thought from the Qin and Han to the Tang and Song dynasties, social thought from the Song, Yuan, Ming to the pre-Qing period, and social thought in the late Qing period. Each part details the major social thoughts of each era in chronological order by chapter. Brief overviews of each part and chapter are provided at the beginning, which helps readers gain a comprehensive understanding and grasp of Chinese social thought.
In the 1980s, Professor Chen Dinghong wrote the first comprehensive history of Chinese social thought since its reconstruction in Chinese sociology. Since then, many excellent works in this field have gradually been published. Wan Jianghong's book is both well-documented and systematically complete, yet concise and clear, making it a commendable work. It reflects the growth of a young scholar, which is truly heartening. Of course, given the vast and rich nature of Chinese social thought, the research and development in this field by the sociology community are still far from sufficient. Especially, a comprehensive history of Chinese social thought with its own guiding ideology, clearly distinguished from the history of Chinese philosophical thought and the history of Chinese political thought, still awaits our collective efforts to further develop.
I hope more people, especially young scholars, will engage in this work, and I also hope that young scholars like Wan Jianghong will continue to produce more and better works.