Transformation On Intergenerational Relationship Of Rural China:from1949

Family issues have always been the important object of sociological research as well as the significant cultural property with Chinese characteristics. In the wake of the profound transformation of China and social culture, great changes have taken place in rural areas, one important aspect of which is the change in family structure and intergenerational relationship.With the application of literature research, comparative analysis and fieldwork methods, and the introduction of multiple modernity theory, this research focuses on one village from the theoretical perspectives of "psychological-social equilibrium" and emotion sociology. Special attention has been given to daily life and the oppositions between tradition and modernity, macroscopic view and microscopic view as well as rationality and sensibility have been broken through in this research. The analysis lays stress on the transformation of family structure and intergenerational relationship since the founding of new China, which has particularly been divided into three phases, that is, from1949to1978, from1978to2007and from2007up to now.By means of mechanism analysis and drawing an outline of the transformation of rural family intergenerational relationship in different phases, this paper analyzes the impacts of political forces, market forces, new knowledge and local knowledge, etc. on the transformation of intergenerational relationship in detail, and comes to the following conclusions. Firstly, family has always been an essential unit in rural areas due to the great flexibility of intergenerational relationship in spite of its dramatic changes. Secondly, the transformation of Chinese rural family structure and pattern is not suitable for the evolutionary hypothesis of western theories. Thirdly, the impact of knowledge on intergenerational relationship is not simple linearity. Last but not the least, the development of rural economy and the improvement of social welfare have a "spillover effect" instead of a "crowding out effect" on intergenerational relationship.Rural intergenerational transformation, to a large extent, reflects the process of Chinese modernization. On account of that, this research discusses China’s modernization process and road at the same time. Without doubt, the research has some problems, for instance, comparatively rough explanation requiring more detailed studies, a bit incomplete materials calling for improvement, imperfect research structure needing to enhance the rigor and pertinency of certain chapters, and certain leading edge concerned with the research conclusion calling for further follow-up study.