Cultural Subjectivity and Its Dilemma: A sociological analysis of Fei Hsiao-t'ung's culture perspectives

如何在现代化进程中保持民族文化的自觉和主体性是费孝通思想的一贯主题。费孝通的“文化主体性”,在20世纪40年代表征为中国文化在面对西方工业化浪潮时的艰难抉择,形成了费孝通式的充满矛盾情感的自由主义文化观；到20世纪80年代,表征为从本土文化出发对中国现代化模式的反思和重建；20世纪90年代则呈现为在直面全球化浪潮时主动放弃本土生活传统,在参与和学习世界游戏规则和技术的过程中创建新的主体性；到21世纪则表征为以儒家文化为主导,克服西方文化的工具理性弊病,推动一个“美美与共,天下大同”的人类世界的建设。在不同的历史阶段,费孝通的文化情怀始终处于各种矛盾的交织之中,这与其说是费孝通个人思想中的张力,毋宁说是处在民族认同与现代性诉求结合处的知识分子的共有困境。

How to maintain the cultural consciousness and subjectivity in the modernization process is the consistent theme of Fei Hsiao-t'ung's thoughts. Fei's idea of “cultural subjectivity” has different forms in different historical periods. In the 1940s，it was characterized by Fei-style contradictory cultural liberalism of tough choice when facing Western industrialization wave. In the 1980s，it was characterized by the reflection and reconstruction of China's modernization based on native culture. In the 1990s，it was characterized by taking the initiative to abandon the local living traditions in the wave of globalization，to create new subjectivity in participating and learning the worldwide game rules and technologies. In the 21st century，it is characterized by overcoming the shortcomings of instrumental rationality in Western culture and creating a new human world of“enjoying the beauty of others，building the wonderland together” under the guideline of Confucian culture. In all historical periods，Fei's cultural feeling had always been interwoven among different kinds of contradictions. This is rather a common situation of Chinese intellectuals when facing the dilemma of national identity and global modernization than the tension of Fei's individual thoughts. 

李友梅

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