China in Rural Areas is a collection of rural investigations by Mr. Fei Xiaotong, published in 1948. In the preface to the reissue of Native China, he said: "This booklet is different in nature from the investigation reports I wrote, such as jiang village economy and Luchun Farmland. It is not a description of a specific society, but some concepts extracted from a specific society. The local China mentioned here is not a concrete sketch of China society, but a unique system contained in China's concrete traditional grass-roots society, which dominates all aspects of social life. It is not excluded that other systems also affect China society, and those influences can also play a role in the grassroots society in China. " This shows that Native China studies the rural areas of China from a cultural perspective.

The author analyzes the characteristics of rural areas in China from the aspects of region, consanguinity, family and religion. In Difference Mode, Fei Xiaotong mainly discusses the differences between rural society in China and western social structure. He used two metaphors to illustrate the difference between them. Western society is like a bundle of firewood. Every group has clear boundaries. Everyone in the group is an equal individual and has clear rights and obligations to fulfill. Fei Lao called this model "group model". China's rural society is like a ripple of a stone thrown on the water, and private feelings become the hinge to maintain the social structure. Fei Lao called this model "differential order pattern". The differential order pattern is flexible, the boundary between insiders and outsiders is not clear, and the rights and obligations conferred by individuals are also fluctuating. The differential pattern connects society and individuals, while the social pattern has a concept of "group" that everyone agrees and obeys.