The Chinese term “Tongzhi” (Comrade) has undergone a millennium evolution, transitioning from an ethical description of “sharing the same ideals and goals” in the pre-Qin period, to a symbol of revolutionary political mobilization in modern times, to a universal term used by the Chinese people in the People’s Republic of China, and ultimately to its contemporary semantic differentiation. This paper adopts a dual perspective of sociolinguistics and historical sociology, utilizing Bourdieu’s theory of linguistic capital, Giddens’ theory of structuration, and social change theory to systematically examine the semantic expansion, field of use transfer, and emotional color changes of the term “Tongzhi” in different historical stages. It reveals the mechanisms of power relations reconstruction, social structure transformation, and collective identity construction reflected behind the address term. The study finds that the semantic evolution of “Tongzhi” is not simply a linguistic phenomenon, but an accurate reflection of social form changes, political system reforms, and cultural psychological transformations. The initiative to revive the use of the term “Tongzhi” in 2025 reflects the deep-seated demands of contemporary society for equal interpersonal relationships and a purified political ecology.
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Zhang, T. (2026) A Semiotic Transition of “Tongzhi” in Chinese Society – A Study of Social Change from a Linguistic Perspective. Journal of Social Development and History, 2(1), 71-81. https://doi.org/10.71052/jsdh/NBKH6214