RAS-1978 — Page 148

RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 All AI Reviewed

C. MARTIN WILBUR

criminal, is in their hands since they are responsible in no small measure to those above them for the behavior of all the members of the sib. It is their duty constantly to keep the mores of the clan foremost in the minds of every individual. When breaches of conduct involving the mores of the clan occur the offender will be speedily called to account and social pressure will be brought to bear to compel him to make amends. While force may be used, a more powerful means of pressure, and one more in line with familist procedure generally, is that involved in "face". The psychology of "face" is extremely interesting. It is one of the strongest agents in Chinese life for preserving the accepted standards of behavior. Every individual from the most important to the meanest is constantly alert to the necessity of protecting his name from ridicule. Few are willing to "lose face" with the members of the kin group by flouting one of the clan mores. If the misdemeanant can be subjected to enough public ridicule he is quite likely to be brought to terms, and this sort of pressure is more effective as a deterrent than the threat of corporal punishment.

In case of a quarrel between two members of the sib the leaders act both as judge and jury to settle the matter. If possible the affair is kept in the hands of the clan, for to go into the courts is an expensive and dangerous matter for all concerned. The chief object of the "trial" is to find, if possible, a middle ground on which the parties to the quarrel may meet. The feeling for compromise is very deeply a part of the social consciousness of the Chinese. In case the dispute can be peacefully settled the affair may be culminated by a feast for the whole clan.

Crimes against individuals or against society are likely to be considered the concern of the whole clan and therefore especially of the leaders. During the course of clan experience certain definite forms of penalty or punishment have been worked out by the leaders to fit the more common misdemeanors. The people understand and accept these penalties as part of the mores of the clan. Custom is in many ways superior to law as a check against crime, for law is both abstract and remote from the consciousness of rural folk, while its intricacies make it vague. Custom, on the other hand, is concrete, close and simple, and has the advantage of being constantly reinforced by the people themselves.

Edit History

2026-05-12 22:42:27 · NVIDIA / meta/llama-4-maverick-17b-128e-instruct

Live

View comparison

AI Proofread

C. MARTIN WILBUR criminal, is in their hands since they are responsible in no small measure to those above them for the behavior of all the members of the sib. It is their duty constantly to keep the mores of the clan foremost in the minds of every individual. When breaches of conduct involving the mores of the clan occur the offender will be speedily called to account and social pressure will be brought to bear to compel him to make amends. While force may be used, a more powerful means of pressure, and one more in line with familist procedure generally, is that involved in "face". The psychology of "face" is extremely interesting. It is one of the strongest agents in Chinese life for preserving the accepted standards of behavior. Every individual from the most important to the meanest is constantly alert to the necessity of protecting his name from ridicule. Few are willing to "lose face" with the members of the kin group by flouting one of the clan mores. If the misdemeanant can be subjected to enough public ridicule he is quite likely to be brought to terms, and this sort of pressure is more effective as a deterrent than the threat of corporal punishment. In case of a quarrel between two members of the sib the leaders act both as judge and jury to settle the matter. If possible the affair is kept in the hands of the clan, for to go into the courts is an expensive and dangerous matter for all concerned. The chief object of the "trial" is to find, if possible, a middle ground on which the parties to the quarrel may meet. The feeling for compromise is very deeply a part of the social consciousness of the Chinese. In case the dispute can be peacefully settled the affair may be culminated by a feast for the whole clan. Crimes against individuals or against society are likely to be considered the concern of the whole clan and therefore especially of the leaders. During the course of clan experience certain definite forms of penalty or punishment have been worked out by the leaders to fit the more common misdemeanors. The people understand and accept these penalties as part of the mores of the clan. Custom is in many ways superior to law as a check against crime, for law is both abstract and remote from the consciousness of rural folk, while its intricacies make it vague. Custom, on the other hand, is concrete, close and simple, and has the advantage of being constantly reinforced by the people themselves.

Baseline (Original)

132 C. MARTIN WILBUR criminal, is in their hands since they are responsible in no small measure to those above them for the behavior of all the members of the sib. It is their duty constantly to keep the mores of the clan foremost in the minds of every individual. When breaches of con- duct involving the mores of the clan occur the offender will be speedily called to account and social pressure will be brought to bear to compel him to make amends. While force may be used, a more powerful means of pressure, and one more in line with familist procedure generally, is that involved in "face". The psy- chology of "face" is extremely interesting. It is one of the strong- est agents in Chinese life for preserving the accepted standards of behavior. Every individual from the most important to the meanest is constantly alert to the necessity of protecting his name from ridicule. Few are willing to "lose face" with the members of the kin group by flouting one of the clan mores. If the misdemeanant can be subjected to enough public ridicule he is quite likely to be brought to terms, and this sort of pressure is more effective as a deterant than the threat of corporal punishment. In case of a quarrel between two members of the sib the leaders act both as judge and jury to settle the matter. If possible the affair is kept in the hands of the clan, for to go into the courts is an ex- pensive and dangerous matter for all concerned. The chief object of the "trial" is to find, if possible, a middle ground on which the parties to the quarrel may meet. The feeling for compromise is very deeply a part of the social consciousness of the Chinese. In case the dispute can be peacefully settled the affair may be culmina- ted by a feast for the whole clan. Crimes against individuals or against society are likely to be considered the concern of the whole clan and therefore especially of the leaders. During the course of clan experience certain definite forms of penalty or punishment have been worked out by the leaders to fit the more common misdemeanors. The people under- stand and accept these penalties as part of the mores of the clan. Custom is in many ways superior to law as a check against crime, for law is both abstract and remote from the consciousness of rural folk, while its intricacies make it vague. Custom, on the other hand, is concrete, close and simple, and has the advantage of being con- stantly reinforced by the people themselves.

2026-05-12 22:42:27 · Baseline

View content

132

C. MARTIN WILBUR

criminal, is in their hands since they are responsible in no small measure to those above them for the behavior of all the members of the sib. It is their duty constantly to keep the mores of the clan foremost in the minds of every individual. When breaches of con- duct involving the mores of the clan occur the offender will be speedily called to account and social pressure will be brought to bear to compel him to make amends. While force may be used, a more powerful means of pressure, and one more in line with familist procedure generally, is that involved in "face". The psy- chology of "face" is extremely interesting. It is one of the strong- est agents in Chinese life for preserving the accepted standards of behavior. Every individual from the most important to the meanest is constantly alert to the necessity of protecting his name from ridicule. Few are willing to "lose face" with the members of the kin group by flouting one of the clan mores. If the misdemeanant can be subjected to enough public ridicule he is quite likely to be brought to terms, and this sort of pressure is more effective as a deterant than the threat of corporal punishment.

In case of a quarrel between two members of the sib the leaders act both as judge and jury to settle the matter. If possible the affair is kept in the hands of the clan, for to go into the courts is an ex- pensive and dangerous matter for all concerned. The chief object of the "trial" is to find, if possible, a middle ground on which the parties to the quarrel may meet. The feeling for compromise is very deeply a part of the social consciousness of the Chinese. In case the dispute can be peacefully settled the affair may be culmina- ted by a feast for the whole clan.

Crimes against individuals or against society are likely to be considered the concern of the whole clan and therefore especially of the leaders. During the course of clan experience certain definite forms of penalty or punishment have been worked out by the leaders to fit the more common misdemeanors. The people under- stand and accept these penalties as part of the mores of the clan. Custom is in many ways superior to law as a check against crime, for law is both abstract and remote from the consciousness of rural folk, while its intricacies make it vague. Custom, on the other hand, is concrete, close and simple, and has the advantage of being con- stantly reinforced by the people themselves.

RAS-1978 — Page 148

Edit History

Comments

Private Research Note