Culture,Psychology and Society: A Discussion on Sun Benwen’s Cultural View

The establishment of the Chinese tradition of cultural sociology relies on the deep exploration of the history of cultural sociology in the period of Republic of China,in which Sun Benwen is one of the most important figures.As a pioneer and main founder of Chinese cultural sociology,Sun Benwen systematically introduced the mainstream cultural sociological theories of the United States at that time and sinolized them to a certain extent.He systematically explored the definition,characteristics,and classification of culture,and then discussed the relationship between culture and psychology,culture and society.In terms of the relationship between culture and psychology,he emphasized the mutual influence of the two on the one hand,and on the other hand,he was more inclined to cultural determinism.In terms of the relationship between culture and society,he launched a more systematic discussion from four aspects: social control,social change,social problems,and social construction,with a cultural perspective throughout.Based on his theoretical position,he pointed out that the direction of cultural construction in modern China should adhere to the Chinese-centric position and opposed Chen Xujing’s all-out Westernization theory.Despite certain theoretical limitations,his cultural theory and cultural construction plan still have important reference significance for contemporary China.