“Home” as Method: An Attempt at a Chinese Social Theory

(Abstract)

Xiao Ying

Modernization is a process of “running away from home”, and accordingly the modern social sciences also show a tendency to stay away from “home” and embrace individualism. But in fact, jia (home) has never left Western scholarship and practice. In China, both in traditional Confucian civilization and in the process of remolding civilization since the nineteenth century, jia has never deviated (separated) from its overall position in the social and cultural-psychological structure, although it has changed from time to time. Jia is thus a key entry point for the promotion of cultural awareness and the Sinicization of sociology. To construct Chinese social theory from the perspective of jia, we should not only take jia as an entity, but also as a method. On the one hand, doing so reveals the multiple aspects of the “family metaphor”, i.e., the natural emotions, control and household management extended by and derived from kinship ties, and defines their entanglements and consequences on an ethical level. On the other hand, it can explore the overall character, changes and specific forms of practice of Chinese civilization through empirical and historical research on jia, by means of a comparison between China and foreign countries, the combination of theory and practice, and the interpenetration of ancient and modern learning.