Regional difference in China's rural areas and the formulation of the middle-range theory

Middle-range theory, advanced by Robert K. Merton, is an approach to sociological theorizing aimed at integrating theory and empirical research. This integration is urgently needed, as the existing theories on China’s rural areas fail to interpret the nature and laws of the rural experience. This chapter is an attempt at the sociological theorizing of “regional difference in China’s rural areas” based on years of fieldwork in these areas.