Abstract JiangSu Province is famous for its culture, history and economy in China, even in of the world. Southern JiangSu Province is a very typical example. Opening rural area in Southern JiangSu Province is playing an important role due to its rich culture, long history and advanced economy. It is necessary and useful for China to study the rural social living space[1] in Southern JiangSu Province nowadays. In this paper, the author divides the social living space in the rural Southern Jiangsu Province into five types. They are market and trade living space, production and working living space, culture and education living space, family and marriage living space, society and communication living space. The above mentioned social living space defined firstly is based on natural space, secondly is also made of the farmers' various activities. At the same time, the paper analyzes their characteristics and then tries to find out the mechanism which causes the formation of social living space in rural Southern Jiangsu Province. Based on analysis of these the paper gets such a conclusion "the changing view point of the farmers is the most impo rtant factor in the rural social living space in Southern JiangSu Province".This result supplies the development of rural economic in the Middle Jiangsu and North Jiangsu Province, even the whole country with rich experience.
2003, Vol. 18 
