Sociological Analysis of “the Situation-and-Tendency”: The Construction of Concept and Its Theoretical Meaning

We construct a modern social scientific descriptive and interpretive concept of "shi" ("势", "the situation- and-tendency") through the research of Chinese traditional thoughts and the dialogue with the methodology of Western social theory. It has a cultural affinity in interpreting Chinese social-historical phenomena through its identity originating from Chinese traditional thoughts and culture. At the same time, it provides us a unique Chinese theoretical perspective to overcome the modern Western dualism of subject and object and the dualism of time and space. It has a deep concern of the broad sense and narrow sense relationships of power with a de-moral standpoint, and includes the uncertainty in its conceptual logic, so these theoretical characteristics provide the modern social scientific researches a constructive conceptual instrument to study its important issues.