Page 215 - 《社会》2021年第1期

社会·2021·1

Abstract： Max Weber and Richard Tawney both analyzed the British social structure
and its modernization from the perspective of “gentry”. They made analogies between
China and Britain on this basis. Fei Xiaotong was influenced by their thinking. In the
process of transition from the Middle Ages to the modern time，the gentry，as a rising
power，had gradually become an important part of the British social structure and a
crucial modernization force. The concept of gentry changed constantly in history，
eventually encompassing people from both traditional to modern，and rural to urban.
The traditional British gentry was prominent landowners who obtained the post of Justice
of Peace by virtue of wealth and prestige. British gentry was the core contributor of the
transition from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft，not only connecting Gemeinschaft with
modern politics but also village communities with modern markets. By contrast，the
Chinese gentry were administrators and supervisors of the imperial political body，and
they，at the same time，assumed the leadership of autonomous local groups and acted as
an auxiliary force for self鄄governing local communities. When modernization brought
changes to the old political system in China and the rise of a new type of gentry，it was
difficult for the new and the old gentry to integrate. Conflicts were guaranteed over
progress.
Fei expanded his gentry research by comparing gentry groups between the British
and the Chinese. This paper explores Fei’s work to find out its Western theoretical
background and the prototype of its Chinese experience. Theoretically，Fei’s work
represented a continuity of Tawney and Weber’s social comparison，but empirically，it
was based on the Chinese traditional administrative system in rural Yunnan. We attempt
to explain the ways that Fei sublated Tawney and Weber，and the tension rising from
applying the gentry theory to the Chinese experience.
Keywords：Fei Xiaotong ， gentry ， community ， modernization ， history of ideas

一、引言

1
欧洲从中世纪向现代转变的过程中，“绅士”（gentry） !不仅是新崛
1. 士绅、乡绅、缙绅等皆为中国历史中表述身份群体的词汇，这些词因对应具有重叠身
份的群体而具有相似性。 本文试图论述社会科学中的“gentry”，将其翻译为“绅士”，统一
运用于各理论家提出的理想型概念。

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