A Research On Fei Hsiao-tung’s Family Sociology Thought

Fei Hsiao-tung is a well-known anthropologist, sociologist, ethnologist andsocial activist of China. His academic life course was closely related to the socialtransition in China and the development of Chinese social science, also made anoutstanding contribution. He organized and promoted the reconstructions of Chinesesocial science disciplines, leaving the valuable academic thoughts wealth for latergenerations. Scholars at home and abroad began to concern his thoughts as early asthe70s in the20th century, and a large number of results came out. The researchesinvolves multiple disciplines, such as ethnology, sociology, anthropology and so on,and under each category also has a lot of more in-depth and systematic studies.Though there are some research and evaluation, but overall speaking, the attentionabout Fei’s study in family sociology is clearly not enough. The researches on hissociology thought of family presently, which are too shallow, not profound; or toofragmented, not systematic. The inspiring value and contribution of his study infamily sociology worth mining further. We have to carry out an intensive andcomprehensive unearthing and integration.By seriously reading and interpretation of Fei’s writings, and also by learningfrom the research results of scholars at home and abroad, this article finds that there isactually a certain internal logical consistency in Fei’s study of family sociology,though it has several periods and different focus according to time venation and theresearch contents. He studied marriage and family system from structuralfunctionalism. Based on this, and also borrowing from the analysis framework offunctionalism in family sociology, this article systematically arranges and collatesFei’s study of family sociology from four parts which are essence, function, structureand relation of marriage and family. Meanwhile, this article also reveals the rich leveland connotations of Fei’s study of family sociology in every part, from three pointsthat is universality, diversity and transition. Based on the functionalism, Fei Hsiao-tung carried out a deep and detailedanalysis about the essence, function, structure and relation of marriage and family, andbuilt a set of relatively complete theory system of marriage and family in the universaltheme. In his theory system, marriage and family as the general carrier of fertilityregimes, provides institutional assurance for the continuity of human society; the needof social structural profoundly reflects in the institutionalized design and arrangementabout nature, function, structure and relation of marriage and family.In the diverse subject, Fei analyzed the various manifestations according to thebasic maternity and nurture principles which protect the continuity of human society.This analyses were presented by the comparison of aspects, such as function,properties, structure and the relationship between Chinese and western family. At thesame time, through field investigation and social comparison of Chinese and western,Fei keenly extracted the features of Chinese family, especially rural family, such as"social group of continuous cause","centred around the longitudinal parent-childrelationship" and "feedback mode", which was recognized by academia and widelycited.Under transition theme，Fei studied the changes of Chinese family, and alsoshowed the modernity changing of China through the family study. Fei presented thetransition theme from two aspects. On the one hand, Fei portrayed the transitionaltrajectory of family structure to show the changes in the process of modernization inChinese society, through nearly50years-long follow-up study and comparativeresearch. On the other hand, by comparing Chinese traditional family with westernmodern family, Fei pointed out the similar change trend between Chinese and westernfamily, like the offshoring of economic function, strengthening of emotional functionand simplification of family structure etc.. But also, he highlighted the characteristicof Chinese family different from the west, and he revealed the multiple transformationways in the process of modernization basing on the fact of China.The study in family sociology facilitated the formation of Fei’s methodology andconcrete studying methods. The common sense among academics that Fei Hsiao-tungwas a functionalist should be traced back to Fei’s practice in the study of family sociology. It was in the study of family sociology that Fei completed the borrowingand localization of functionalism, and developed the functionalism methodologysystem which was based on field research. In the meantime, we can even find thesource from his earlier study in family sociology, that Fei attached importance tohistorical evidence analysis and diffusionism again in his research of ethnology andcultural conception.In conclusion, this paper argues that, whether in the ideological, or in terms ofresearch methods, Fei’s study of family sociology has an internal logical consistencyand is systematic. His study is a connecting link of Chinese family sociology and laidthe cornerstone of Fei’s academic ideology, formed the foundation for hisunderstanding of Chinese social structure and culture. At the same time, it was alsoone aspect of Fei’s thinking about cultural subjectivity in the modernity changing ofChina. Furthermore, Fei’s thoughts and research methods in family sociology are ofgreat value of illumination and inspiration to today’s family studies. It can help usthink about how to grasping the changes of marriage and family in transformingperiod of China, developing the theory that suitable for china, and improving thestatus of family sociology in Chinese sociology circle etc..