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Cited by 645China's Socioeconomic Reforms and GovernanceSocial and Cultural StudiesChinese history and philosophy

The Chinese path to individualization

Yan, Yunxiang·2010·The British Journal of Sociology
DOI 10.1111/j.1468-4446.2010.01323.x
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Abstract

This article explores the rise of the individual and the consequential individualization of society which should be viewed as a reflexive part of China's state‐sponsored quest for modernity. It traces the origin of the individualization process to the Maoist era, arguing that some collectivist programmes of social engineering and the socialist path of modernization under Maoism ironically resulted in a partial individualization of Chinese society. Examining profound social changes during the three decades of the post‐Mao reforms, the article reveals a number of similarities with the individualization process in Western Europe but also demonstrates some important differences. In the last section, the theoretical implications of the Chinese case in light of Ulrich Beck's theory of individualization and second modernity are discussed.

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Crossref · 10.1111/j.1468-4446.2010.01323.x

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  • Individualization in China is characterized by profound social transformations such as increasing legalization of individual desires, intensification of individual competition, a surge of movements promoting individual rights, and a shift in the balance between the individual, social groups, and state institutions.

    “Individualization in China, like in many other countries, is characterized by profound social transformations such as the increasing legalization of the desires of the individual; the intensification of individual competition; a surge of movements promoting individual rights; and a general shift in the balance between the individual, social groups, and modern institutions of the state.”

    From Learning Individualism: Hesse, Confucius, and Pep-Rallies in a Chinese Rural High School (2013) · cites this paper as Yan 2010, 507

  • Individualization is a global trend and is not confined to Western European societies.

    “Sang-Jin Han, Young-Hee Shim, and most poignantly Yunxiang Yan, have argued that individualization is a global trend and therefore is not confined to Western European societies with long established democracies, welfare states, and a notion of the individual as being autonomous.”

    From Learning Individualism: Hesse, Confucius, and Pep-Rallies in a Chinese Rural High School (2013) · cites this paper as Yan 2010

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Authors
Yan, Y.
Affiliations
University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Corresponding author
Yan, Yunxiang
ORCID
Yan, Yunxiang
Venue
The British Journal of Sociology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2010-09
Volume
61
Issue
3
Pages
489-512
ISSN
  • 0007-1315 (ISSN-L)
  • 1468-4446
DOI
10.1111/j.1468-4446.2010.01323.x
OpenAlex
W1789051580
Cited by
639
References
52
Citations by year
2026: 61 · 2025: 66 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 64 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 19
FWCI
101.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 13 d)
Locations
  • British Journal of Sociology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Cultural Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Chinese history and philosophy
Keywords
individualization, Chinese society, modernization, Maoism, collectivism, social engineering, post-Mao reforms, Ulrich Beck, second modernity, Western Europe comparison, individual and state
MeSH terms
China, Employment, Humans, Individuality, Politics, Self Concept, Social Change, Social Environment, Socialism, Personal Autonomy, History, 20th Century

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