Chinese sociology was denounced and abolished as “bourgeois science” for more than a quarter of a century (1952-1979). This article examines the politics of rebuilding Chinese sociology. Examining lectures, reports, and essays associated with the first three officially approved research projects (1981-1986), I clarify why the quantitative paradigm was embraced by sociologists at the expense of qualitative inquiry. With the introduction of survey questionnaire methods from the West and the making of sociological knowledge “useful” within China, sociology rebuilt its disciplinary identity and legitimacy. Based upon my analysis, I lay out three thematic issues essential to a critical, decentered approach in qualitative research.
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