It has been more than a week since the deadly earthquake struck Sichuan Province. Among the debris, the enormous suffering and the heavy loss of lives, there rises the hope of an emerging civil society.
Strong government and a weak society was a prominent feature in Chinese history. China was an agricultural society, and every household in the rural area, as an individual economic unit, formed the fundation of the society. The connections among these economic units were loose and almost nonexistent. On top of this base, there was a hierarchical bureaucracy directly controlled by the throne. The bureaucratic system, to perform the tasks of taxing, drafting as well as to sustain its own survival, must exert tight and efficient control of the base population. Coupled with the scarce connections among the economic units at the base, a strong government and a weak society became an inevitable phenomenon throughout Chinese history.