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Xiaonong Yishi (simplified Chinese: 小农意识; traditional Chinese: 小農意識; pinyin: Xiǎonóng yìshí; lit. 'petty peasant mentality') is a term used to describe parochialism originating from rural China, and which is related to the insular, traditional, and agrarian aspects of Chinese culture.

Origins

The majority of people in Chinese history lived in a feudal society (Fengjian), which means that most people were peasants who owned a small amount of land.^[1] Long under centralized power, Chinese society is very much focused on tradition, order and authority, and on the family-based groups.^[2] Fei Xiaotong describes in From the Soil that "Villagers restrict the scope of daily activities; they do not travel far; they seldom make contact with the outside world; they live solitary lives; they maintain their own isolated social circle."^[3] In this context, the term has been loosely defined by Chinese social scientists as a multidimensional concept that refers to a cultural psyche that is closed-minded, conservative and restrained, and fearful of competition.^[4]

There are many accounts of this isolation of farmers from since the 20th century. A "mental hurdle" described by Mao Zedong, It has been documented by literary works such as Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth and Lu Xun's Medicine and The True Story of Ah Q.^[5] A sense of collectivism has also been noted, however, it is confined to the family or a particular group and there is a lack of concern for the situation outside the family.^[6] Fei Xiaotong explains the situation in terms of the "differential mode of association", which is antithetical to the "organizational mode of association" in the West.^[7]

Analysis

Yuan Yingchuan, Yan Hairong and Zhang Yong argue that the mentality has an element of "absolute egalitarianism", citing peasant revolts and "equality before the emperor".^[8] However, Feng and others challenge their claim, arguing that it is more a form of rural authoritarianism than egalitarianism.^[9] Feng also uses the term to explain behaviours in Chinese and American cultural differences that cannot be explained by Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory.^[10]

Although Chinese society has changed considerably since the 1911 revolution and the communist revolution, even if in decline, the mentality is still considered to be rooted in Chinese society.^[11] Huang and Ng observe that the mentality may be affecting migrant workers and labor relations in China.^[12]

References

Citations

^ Feng, Liu & Jiang 2019, p. 708.
^ Feng, Liu & Jiang 2019, pp. 708–709; Yuan 2002, p. 51.
^ Feng, Liu & Jiang 2019, p. 708; Fei 1992, p. 41.
^ Feng, Liu & Jiang 2019, p. 707; Yuan 2002, p. 45.
^ Feng, Liu & Jiang 2019, p. 707.
^ Feng, Liu & Jiang 2019, pp. 708–709; Fei 1992, p. 142.
^ Feng, Liu & Jiang 2019, p. 707; Zhang 2015, p. 142; Fei 1992, p. 62.
^ Yan 2008, p. 254; Yuan 2002, p. 52; Zhang 2015.
^ Feng, Liu & Jiang 2019, p. 706.
^ Feng, Liu & Jiang 2019, pp. 710–712.
^ Zhang 2015, p. 144; Feng, Liu & Jiang 2019, p. 707.
^ Huang & Ng 2021, pp. 1443–1444.

Sources

Feng, Jing Betty; Liu, Leigh Anne; Jiang, Chunyan (December 2019). "Parochialism and Implications for Chinese Firms' Globalization". Management and Organization Review. 15 (4): 705–736. doi:10.1017/mor.2019.12. hdl:1951/70896. ISSN 1740-8776. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
Fei, Xiaotong (1992). From the soil, the foundations of Chinese society: a translation of Fei Xiaotong's Xiangtu Zhongguo. Translated by Hamilton, Gary G.; Wang, Zheng. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-07796-6.
Yan, Hairong (8 December 2008). "New Masters, New Servants: Migration, Development, and Women Workers in China". New Masters, New Servants. Duke University Press. doi:10.1515/9780822388654. ISBN 978-0-8223-8865-4. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
Yuan, Yingchuan (December 2002). "析中国传统村落社会小农意识的生成土壤" [Analysis on formed soil of small-peasants consciousness in Chinese traditional rural society] (PDF). Journal of Xinyang Teachers College(Philosophy and Social Science Edition) (in Simplified Chinese). 22 (6): 50–53. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
Zhang, Yong (2015). "中国农民传统心理探析" [Analysis of Chinese Farmers' Traditional Psychology]. Journal of Guangxi Normal University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition) (in Simplified Chinese). 51 (2): 140–145. doi:10.16088/j.issn.1001-6597.2015.02.022. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
Huang, Yu; Ng, Kenneth Tsz Fung (17 November 2021). "Overcoming 'small peasant mentality': semi-proletarian struggles and working-class formation in China". Globalizations. 18 (8): 1436–1452. doi:10.1080/14747731.2021.1884330. ISSN 1474-7731. Retrieved 12 November 2023.