抄録
Recently, in Chinese society, the middle class has grown and the social strata are diversifying as the Chinese economy grows. Research on social networks has attracted interest and attention has been paid to the diversification of Chinese society. In particular, attention has been paid to the switching from traditional networks to personal networks. Traditional networks were considered an important base and a main support for other networks in Chinese society. Currently, the importance of traditional networks is decreasing due to network diversification. On the other hand, it is believed that it has become very important to have friendships consisting of weak personal ties. Moreover, in Chinese society, demands for a higher standard of living are growing and network configurations have been evolving with their ranges expanding. Networks are, more and more, being formed by weak ties; with a focus on friendship. A common interest in music, sports, art and other hobbies is needed to form some networks. In fact, much data collected in CGSS surveys is in connection with social networks. In this paper, conclusions from the analysis of personal networks in Chinese society are based on the data collected during the 2003, 2005 and 2006 CGSS surveys. This analysis focuses on friendship and cultural network as the importance of leisure life has been increasing with economic growth. No doubt, hobby networks will also be an important issue in the future. We show that there is a clear possibility of change from traditional networks to hobby networks in mainland China.
