Search

This article examines the general trend of social change in China. The process of social change in China can be roughly described as the effects of the impact of an industrial culture upon an agrarian one. In the first place, China is essentially an agricultural country, and the law of diminishing returns effectively limits the extent of land utilisation. The fact that China has allowed its population to grow to such an inordinate size must also be looked at from the point of view of labour demands in an agricultural system where only simple tools and human energy are employed. There is thus a vicious circle in the agrarian situation. Since economic opportunities for enrichment are restricted, the ambitious are compelled to leave their villages and seek their fortunes in the service of the government, by risking their lives in the army or by engaging in even more dangerous adventures like illegal traffic. But this lack of a scientific background is only one aspect of the development of a scientific spirit in China. Modern technology demands the factory system of organisation. It is therefore clear that the process of social change in China should not be a mere transplantation of western culture, but should imply a reorganisation of social structure in conformity with the inherited spirit of harmony and integration.