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CHAPTER II
THE FIELD

Delimitation of Field -- Geographical Foundation -- Economic
Background -- Village Site -- The People -- Reasons for
Choosing the Field


1. DILIMITATION OF FIELD

To carry out intensive study of the life of the people,
it is necessary to confine oneself to the investigation of
a small social unit. This is due to practical considera-
tions. The people under investigation must be within
easy reach of the investigator in order that the latter
can observe personally and intimately. The unit of
study, on the other hand, should not be too small. It
should provide a fair cross-section of the social life
of the people.

This general problem has been discussed by Professor
A. Radcliffe-Brown, Dr. Wu Wen-tsao, and Dr.
Raymond Firth. 1 It is agreed that in the first stage
of such a study, a village would be the most appropriate
unit. "To start with a single village as a centre,"
says Dr. Firth, "investigate the relationships of the
persons composing it, in terms of kinship, the distri-
bution of authority, economic organization, religious

____________________
1 Professor A. Radcliffe-Brown gave a lecture in Yenching University,
Peiping, in 1935 on the problem of intensive study of Chinese villages.
Following this lecture, Dr. Wu Wen-tsao has published a series of articles
on the problem in Social Research Weekly, Yih Shih Pao, Tientsin. Recently
Dr. Raymond Firth has discussed the problem in his article, "Stability in
North China Village Life," The Sociological World, Vol. X, in Chinese.

-7-

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Publication Information: Book Title: Peasant Life in China: A Field Study of Country Life in the Yangtze Valley. Contributors: Hsiao-Tung Fei - author. Publisher: Oxford Univ. Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1946. Page Number: 7.
    
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