Structural orientations of Chinese sociology in the study of social differentiation

In this article, the authors attempt to present the current structural orientations of Chinese sociology in the study of social differentiation. Reform policies have always taken into account China’s key problem - the social division between urban and rural populations. The bifurcated urban-rural structure is the root cause of most of the deep contradictions that have been gradually overcome over the past 45 years. All specialists in the study of social differentiation in the PRC point out the need for a structural approach, which best shows the changes in the ratio of different strata, as well as the tremendous reshaping of the PRC’s social structure. Chinese social science thought has gradually developed and strengthened in terms of large-scale sociological research conducted by the Institute of Sociology of China. Entire research schools emerged under the leadership of prominent scholars: the school of sociologist Lu Xueyi and the school of Li Peilin, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Both schools have greatly enriched sociological theory with their research and established a number of very important problems in urban-rural social differentiation.