An Analysis of the Process of Generating “Public from Below” Based on Chinese People:

A Case Study of a Rural Village in Shandong Province

Abstract

It has been said of Chinese society that it is “society under the rule of man” in which even laws and morality emerge from within human relationships. On the contrary, we can observe any other norms, such as “reason or rule” if we go deep into the Chinese life-world. Therefore, this paper attempts, through research on a rural village in Shandong Province, where I was born and lived for 18 years, to consider the mechanisms used by Chinese people to determine the standards of correctness of acts and conform to them.

From this field survey, we found that ti qing (to embody one's sympathy) functions to turn people's mind to qing (sympathy) and to generate “public from below.” The character for ti (embody) means to put yourself in another's place and to act as if you were that person. The character for qing (sympathy) means to let your heart go out to the weak who are caught in a dilemma. Through ti qing in its verb form, Chinese people have been able to discover “public from below.” When we focus on ti qing, a stereoscopic image of Chinese society emerges, and we will be able to understand the Chinese view of humans and society. This is the framework under which the Chinese people demonstrate their qing for each other.