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The word 社群 ( she qun, community, in the sense of the German Gemeinschaft) was certainly not a traditionally Confucian topic. The general ethical understanding of ancient China rested on 三纲五常 ( san gang wu chang; the three disciplines and the five Confucian human relationships). Non-dominant religions, associations and academies were closer to the concept of community. In the late 19th century, modern Western sociological principles were first introduced to China, but intellectuals undoubtedly understood them differently because of traditional values and in reaction to the necessity to fortify the Chinese state. It took until the industrialization era, which started in the late 1970s, for the modern concept of community and society with which it was compared to become well-known in China.JEL Classification: B13, B31