Overlapping modernity and tradition: rethinking the danwei as a basic urban unit in modern China

Abstract

ABSTRACT The danwei was the basic unit of social organization and urban form in China during the period of the planned economy, and this role, which encompasses various dimensions such as administration, production, and welfare, is a unique feature of China's modernization process. This study attempts to explain how the danwei actively influenced the development of socialist China from both modern and traditional perspectives. From a modern perspective, the danwei relates to the modern concept of urban planning, and its efficient spatial organization brings a new way of life in the industrial age. From a traditional perspective, the enclosed nature, social control, and patriarchal management style of the danwei maintained the characteristics of ancient society rooted in traditional culture, making it accepted by the public and facilitating the process of industrialization in a short period. This article aims to show that the danwei, as a pragmatic method blending modernity with tradition, played an indispensable role in China's transition from an agricultural to a modern society and continues to influence social life and urban form in contemporary China.