Household and Clan: The Identification and Logic of the Basic State Governance Unit——Based on the Analysis of the Materials from the “In-Depth Fieldwork in China”
Huang Zhenhua Chang Fei
Institute for Advanced Study in Political Science, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079
Abstract:The identification of basic governance unit is an important content of state theoretical research. Historically, both household and clan have constituted important unit of China's state governance, but which one is more fundamental? There are controversies in the academic circles surrounding this issue, and two theoretical orientations have been formed: the clan unit theory and the household unit theory. Different from the existing orientation of investigating household unit or clan unit alone, the identification of basic state governance unit is more important in clarifying the relationship between household and clan. The core is the judgment and comparison of the autonomy and independence of the two types of governance unit.According to the materials from the “In-Depth Fieldwork in China”, on the one hand, the household unit has strong autonomous governance characteristics, and thus has higher autonomy and independence. On the other hand, the clan unit is not only limited in function, but also shows obvious externality. From a comparative perspective, household constitute the basic governance unit of China's state governance and regulate the state and direction of China's state governance. At present, our country is in the process of advancing the modernization of the state governance system and governance capabilities. We should attach great importance to household as a basic governance unit, and achieve good governance and development of villages by improving household governance functions.
黄振华 常 飞. 家户与宗族:国家基础性治理单元的辨识及其逻辑——基于“深度中国调查”材料的分析[J]. 华中师范大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2021, 60(4): 50-58.
Huang Zhenhua Chang Fei. Household and Clan: The Identification and Logic of the Basic State Governance Unit——Based on the Analysis of the Materials from the “In-Depth Fieldwork in China”. journal1, 2021, 60(4): 50-58.