160
C. MARTIN WILBUR
cracy will be possible. The most encouraging aspect of China's situation is that the people are already schooled in a limited form of self-government, a form that has managed exceedingly well to handle the problems of administration, finance, law and morality within its limited sphere. With this system as a foundation the moulding of nation-wide democracy is not outside the realm of possibility.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The main attempt in this essay has been to give a descriptive picture of village government as it was in China at the end of the Manchu dynasty when the institution was in a stabilized form. But since all social institutions in China are rooted in the family system, and since village government is based upon clan government, these two institutions have been considered first.
The distinctive feature of familism in China is its cohesiveness. The energy of all the members of the family is united for the common good; while the family will back an individual to the limit. There is, moreover, a unity of the family through time, since it endures for generation after generation; just as it has a single identity in space, the family remaining a unit no matter how far scattered the individual members may be. This family cohesiveness has been of value in a self-contained society, but at present the inherent evils in the situation are making the family the subject of a disruptive attack by the Western or modern educated leaders.
The theory of mutual responsibility, an outcome of the unity of the family, makes the group as a whole and each individual directly responsible for the activities of every member. In customary practice mutual responsibility is not limited to the family alone, but extends in some degree to groups of neighbors or to whole villages. For this reason any breaches of custom which may bring other individuals into difficulties are vigorously censured by the whole group, and especially by the leaders.
In the organization of the family the position of Chia-chang, usually held by the father, is important to this study because the Chia-chang is the prototype of the village elder. The Chia-chang is general manager of the family in administrative and economic matters; is the disciplinarian in his immediate family, and arbitrator
160
C. MARTIN WILBUR
cracy will be possible. The most encouraging aspect of China's situation is that the people are already schooled in a limited form of self-government, a form that has managed exceedingly well to handle the problems of administration, finance, law and morality within its limited sphere. With this system as a foundation the moulding of nation-wide democracy is not outside the realm of possibility.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The main attempt in this essay has been to give a descriptive picture of village government as it was in China at the end of the Manchu dynasty when the institution was in a stabilized form. But since all social institutions in China are rooted in the family system, and since village government is based upon clan government, these two institutions have been considered first.
The distinctive feature of familism in China is its cohesiveness. The energy of all the members of the family is united for the com- mon good; while the family will back an individual to the limit. There is, moreover, a unity of the family through time, since it endures for generation after generation; just as it has a single iden- tity in space, the family remaining a unit no matter how far scattered the individual members may be. This family cohesiveness has been of value in a self-contained society, but at present the inherent evils in the situation are making the family the subject of a disruptive attack by the Western or modern educated leaders.
The theory of mutual responsibility, an outcome of the unity of the family, makes the group as a whole and each individual directly responsible for the activities of every member. In customary prac- tice mutual responsibility is not limited to the family alone, but extends in some degree to groups of neighbors or to whole villages. For this reason any breaches of custom which may bring other individuals into difficulties are vigorously censured by the whole group, and especially by the leaders.
In the organization of the family the position of Chia-chang, usually held by the father, is important to this study because the Chia-chang is the prototype of the village elder. The Chia-chang is general manager of the family in administrative and economic matters; is the disciplinarian in his immediate family, and arbitrator
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