In discussing social and cultural differences in China, most scholars have emphasized either the ethnic/regional dimension or have concentrated on differences between the so-called literati (the tiny elite of scholar-bureaucrats) and the masses (a term that is meant to cover the remainder of China's population, from the richest merchant to the poorest laborer). The contrast between the literati and the masses is often expressed in terms of orthodox versus heterodox culture, with the scholar-bureaucrats exemplifying the orthodox form. The present study, however, deals with social and cultural differences between classes. Although these differences exist within a small, closely knit community, they are by no means obscure or insignificant. Like land tenure and political organization, the system of education, inheritance, marriage, and affinity are very much part of the conditions under which Ha Tsuen's landlord-merchants maintained their preeminence for nearly three centuries.

The attitudes, institutions, and social patterns discussed in this chapter and the next are, I believe, broadly representative of Ha Tsuen during much of the twentieth century and perhaps earlier. These findings are based on my observations in the village (1977–8) and on interviews with middle-aged and elderly residents who told me of their own experiences in the period before the Japanese occupation. (Recent changes are discussed in Chapter 8.) While cultural and social differences among the Teng form the basis of this chapter and the next, it is important that we have some understanding of how the Teng themselves perceive this problem.