Comparative Study on the Forms of Social Solidarity in Asia : The Historical Causes of Cultural Conflict

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The aim of this research project has been a comparative study on the history of social solidarity in Asia (Korea, China, Southeast Asia, and the Muslim world), with special reference to Japan.While Japanese society in Early Modern and Modern periods was characterized by a high degree of social solidarity within a village, this was not always the case in the other countries in Asia. Korea enjoyed much more social mobility, and there were forms of social solidarity which went beyond village borders. Lineage had a role to play, too. This tendency was more conspicuous in the case of China, where social unrest often developed into a rebellion. In the case of Southeast Asia, which did not witness the same type of peasant economy as that of East Asia, people had a different view on property, and hence developed a different form of mutual assistance. Finally, in the case of the Muslim world, the forms of social solidarity tended to be influenced more by religion (i.e. Islam), which, in its turn, turned out to be a uniquely urban system of values.Evidently, comparison between the "rural" type of solidarity and the "urban" type of solidarity is an interesting subject which needs farther investigation. This will require more research in the field of "culture", since, historically, different forms of rural-urban relationship have been often expressed in cultural terms.