Abstract: The investigation into the social memory of Zhaoshan village in southeastern Hubei province reveals that local cultural system which was formed in community history could supply meaning system as well as self-identity and action unit—“fang tou”(clan faction)，and this unit completes its intergenerational transition in daily ritual.However，in late 1990s′，the village tradition gradually retreated after the market penetration，with its meaning system and action path replaced.What′s more，due to the community elites′ mobility，the main organizer and participant are lacking in local rituals.These factors make the memory of “fang tou” gradually forgotten.In the long run，the social disintegration of rural China is hard to avoid，and the continuous change of social structure means that local cultural pattern and the social memory of certain self-identity unit will be difficult to emerge and maintain.

Key words: fang tou”(clan faction), self-identity and action unit, social memory, rural culture, ritual