A. In chapters 4 and 5 of Xiangtu Zhongguo (From the Soil), Fei Xiaotong analyzes what he variously calls "The problem of selfishness in Chinese society" or "the absence of universalism in Chinese moral standards." This kind of cultural generalization is often condemned by anthropologists as essentialism or reification. But it seems Fei had a point, and Mao Zedong recognized this point as well, though he was suspicious of Fei as a bourgeois academic. In fact, we from one angle we can view the Chinese revolution as an attempt to eliminate or minimize the "problem of selfishness" by institutional and ideological change. Did this attempt succeed in any way, either during the Maoist period or afterwards? Why or why not? Could it have succeeded? Use evidence from readings for the Rural Society section (and other sections of the course, if you wish) to support your answer to this question.

B. Adam Chau's article on "The Politics of Legitimation and the Revival of Religion" gives a whole series of institutional explanations for the revival of various forms of folk religion, especially temples and temple fairs, since state quit is repression of "superstition" in the Reform Era: legitimation of community leaders, local resistance to the state, development of a public sphere, etc. And we see very concrete evidence of this revival in Song and Seaman’s film "The Heavenly Court" as well. But none of these authors addresses the question of the content of the revived religious and ritual beliefs and practices. Why would people who are increasingly educated, savvy in modern political talk, exposed to all sorts of secular media, i.e. modern, believe in and practice shamanistic healing, asking gods for male babies, praying to dragons for rain, and the innumerable other things that if we weren’t anthropologists and so culturally relative, we would join the believers themselves in calling "superstition"?

C. In chapters 1, 4, and 5 of Xiangtu Zhongguo (From the Soil), Fei Xiaotong outlines a model of Chinese social structure based on individual-centered networks, calling it chaxu geju or, as Hamilton and Wang translate it "the differential mode of association." He contrasts this with the "group mode of association" in Western societies. He also attributes the development of this kind of social structure to Chinese civilization's being rooted in the soil or the earth or the land (Hamilton and Wang's choice of "soil" for the Chinese word tu seems rather arbitrary). Is there a connection between this mode of association and the village ecology you see in Harrell's chapter? If so, how does it work? And do the changes in the economic and physical environment of villages described in the two articles by Lora-Wainwright and elsewhere mean that this mode of association is breaking down, or is it adapting to changed economic and physical environments?

General guidelines for essays
All essays should be submitted by email to the instructor by 5:00 p.m. on the posted due date. Essays that are submitted late on the due date will be graded down one notch (e.g. A- to B+ or B to B-); essays that come in after the due date will be graded down two notches (e.g. A to B+ or B+ to B-). Essays will be returned by one week from the announced due date and time.

Essays should be between 1500 and 2000 words in length, not counting references. You may use any style (footnotes, endnotes, or embedded author and date) for references, as long as it is clear where you have gotten your information. Quotations should always be referenced, as should any information that is taken explicitly from a given source.

If you need help with writing, you should make an appointment to visit the Anthropology Writing Center or the JSIS Writing Center. Because of the large number of students and because of time limitations, I will not be able to read and comment on preliminary drafts.