Study On The Changes Of The Neighborhood Relations In Longzhong Rural Areas Since The Reform And Opening Up

As neighborhood serves as an important field for the production and living of rural residents,the change in neighborhood relations provides a significant perspective on the social changes in rural China,which is therefore worthy of study.This paper,through a case study of Xi Village in Longzhong,not only conducts a detailed investigation in neighborhood relations of the village since the reform and opening up by employing the main methods of participatory observation and semi-structured interview,but also analyzes the social issues in the transformation process based on process-event method.The focus is to explore the dynamic changes of neighborhood relations in various aspects such as daily contact,mutual assistance and conflicts in the neighborhood,and try to identify the social factors and inspiration of the changes in rural neighborhood relations in Longzhong since the reform and opening up.According to the research,in the first stage of the change in neighborhood relations(1978-1991),the rural population in Longzhong represented by Xi Village underwentamicro-mobility.The neighborhood relations,subject to low productivity and traditional culture,featured mutual help and strong solidarity.In the second stage(1992-2002),a typical period of “leaving the land but not the countryside”,the model prevails that a male went out to work and the females staying at home composed the main body in cooperation and mutual assistance between neighbors.Meanwhile,as the elements of the market economy outside the rural areas crept in,people's utilitarian appeal became apparent.The third stage(from 2003 to the present)presents the characteristic that the large-scale flow of migrant workers has extremely shrunk the neighborhood relations.The decrease in optional objects for communication and the distance in time and space for neighbor interaction lead to the great reduction in their connection and alienate neighbors.In addition,the dependence among neighbors has been greatly diminished as a result of the strong involvement of government forces in public activities,the widespread application of agricultural mechanization,and the rise of the labor economy,which deconstruct the neighborhood relations to a considerable extent.Another reason for the distance of neighborhood lies in the different recognition of neighborhood boundaries,the rise of rationality,and the shift in the power of public opinion among the new generations of migrant workers.In short,in the era of reform and opening up,the most profound change has taken place in Longzhong rural neighborhood relations under the influence of many factors,leading to the transformation in the appearance of rural society in some way,and putting forward new requirements for social construction under the concept of rural revitalization.