The "square" The Rise And Decline

Since the founding of China, profound social change has taken place in rural area. Social structure, social relationship, people's life style and thinking ways also vary with the change of society. Meanwhile, as an important part of rural society, public space presents distinct character in the course of social institution's transition and marketization. In this paper, I select a square of Yanhu Town, Shandong Province and analyze its character, function and the interrelationship between state and society in every period in order to exhibit one path of the change of public space in rural China.In the paper, the process of public space change is divided into four parts: the first phase is public space under the continuation of state and society forces (1949-1958), the second one is highly administrative public space in the period of People's Commune (1958-1979), and the third one is public space in the course of marketization (1978-2000), and the fourth phase is rural public space in the present (since 2000).The main points are:In the early days of New China, the rural society functions normally as usual and the rural public space is in the condition of self-being. The state power has not control the rural society entirely, and the villagers can freely participate in the activities in public space, so the main functions of public space are leisure, entertainment, communication etc.In the period of People's Commune, the development of rural public space takes on"politicization"color, which means the public space is highly administrative. The interaction between state and society is unidirectional, and the state power plays a dominant pole. So the political function of public space is extremely highlighted.Since the Reform and Opening up, rural areas carry out political reform and the family implements household contract responsibility system is implemented gradually, and then comes the progress of marketization. The market force's intervention in rural society makes the public space"market-oriented". At the same time, public life decreases, and the rural public space begins to shrink. Its function comes to separate as well.After 2000, the transition of rural society accelerates and the interest differentiation becomes obvious in rural society. The functions of public space change at the same time. Interactions between state and society involved in interest begin to increase. Public space becomes the tool and the stage of a variety of interests for game, which has the characteristic of benefit-oriented turn. The virtual kinds of public space also appear now.