On Dan:Social Organization in the Countryside of Han Dynasty

From Pre-Qin to Han dynasties there existed in the countryside a social organization called “dan”.The existence of this organization distinguishes the countryside social organization of the Pre-Qin and Han dynasties from that of later dynasties.Countryside in the Han dynasty retains more of the features of ancient society in which government and social organization are one and the same,and people in the countryside are more closely related both materially and spiritually.These social organizations,no matter they are run by the government,or run by the people but controlled by the government,or completely autonomous,show strong sense of social autonomy and self-reliance.At the same time they show the features of ancient society in that officials in the countryside had strong power,and government had close control of countryside society.