Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2015 More than three decades of economic growth have led to significant social change in the Peoples Republic of China. This timely book examines the emerging structures of class and social stratification: how they are interpreted and managed by the Chinese Communist Party, and how they are understood and lived by people themselves. David Goodman details the emergence of a dominant class based on political power and wealth that has emerged from the institutions of the Party-state; a well-established middle class that is closely associated with the Party-state and a not-so-well-established entrepreneurial middle class; and several different subordinate classes in both the rural and urban areas. In doing so, he considers several critical issues: the extent to which the social basis of the Chinese political system has changed and the likely consequences; the impact of change on the old working class that was the socio-political mainstay of state socialism before the 1980s; the extent to which the migrant workers on whom much of the economic power of the PRC since the early 1980s has been based are becoming a new working class; and the consequences of Chinas growing middle class, especially for politics. The result is an invaluable guide for students and non-specialists interested in the contours of ongoing social change in China.

China's rapid economic growth, modernization and globalization have led to astounding social changes. Contemporary China provides a fascinating portrayal of society and social change in the contemporary People's Republic of China. This book introduces readers to key sociological perspectives, themes and debates about Chinese society. It explores topics such as family life, citizenship, gender, ethnicity, labour, religion, education, class and rural/urban inequalities. It considers China's imperial past, the social and institutional legacies of the Maoist era, and the momentous forces shaping it in the present. It also emphasises diversity and multiplicity, encouraging readers to consider new perspectives and rethink Western stereotypes about China and its people. Real-life case studies illustrate the key features of social relations and change in China. Definitions of key terms, discussion questions and lists of further reading help consolidate learning. Including full-colour maps and photographs, this book offers remarkable insight into Chinese society and social change.

In Driving toward Modernity, Jun Zhang ethnographically explores the entanglement between the rise of the automotive regime and emergence of the middle class in South China. Focusing on the Pearl River Delta, one of the nation's wealthiest regions, Zhang shows how private cars have shaped everyday middle-class sociality, solidarity, and subjectivity, and how the automotive regime has helped make the new middle classes of the PRC. By carefully analyzing how physical and social mobility intertwines, Driving toward Modernity paints a nuanced picture of modern Chinese life, comprising the continuity and rupture as well as the structure and agency of China's great transformation.

This 1984 book deals with those social transformations which occurred in Chinese society since the revolution in 1949. During the 1950s the Chinese Communist Party introduced a rigid system of class labels (e.g. landlord, rich peasant, middle peasant, landless labourer) based on pre-revolutionary notions of exploitation and property ownership. The class label system was a source of much social discontent during the 1960s and mid-1970s; the official use of labels ceased by the time of this book's publication, but the effects of the system are still felt by millions of Chinese. The book will be of interest to a wide range of readers, not just those who specialise in Chinese social history. Contributors include two anthropologists, one historian, three political scientists, and three sociologists.

Since the late 1970s, China's move towards neoliberalism has made it not only one of the world's fastest growing economies, but also one of the most polarised states. This economic, social and political transformation has led to the emergence of a new Chinese middle class, and understanding the development and the role of this new social group is crucial to understanding contemporary Chinese society. Investigating the new politics of the middle class in China, this book addresses three major questions. First, how does the Chinese state deal with problems of national sovereignty and political representation to create the middle class both as a legitimate category of the people and as an ideal norm of citizenship? Second, how does the recognition of the middle class norm take place in the practice of everyday life? Finally, what kind of risks does the politics of the middle class generate not only for middle class subjects but also for the disenfranchised? In answering these questions, this book examines a set of practices, bodies of knowledge, measures, and institutions that aim to manage, govern, control, and orient the behaviours, gestures, and thoughts of Chinese citizens. This investigation contributes not only to the understanding of the Chinese middle class society but also to the scholarly debate over the relationship between governmental apparatuses, subjectification, and life-building. Drawing on ethnographic information, historical archives, and the media, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars working in the fields of Chinese studies, Chinese politics, ethnic studies and urban studies, as well as those interested in culture, society, class and welfare.

A new understanding of rural-urban migration and inequality in contemporary China Many of the millions of workers streaming in from rural China to jobs at urban factories soon find themselves in new kinds of poverty and oppression. Yet, their individual experiences are far more nuanced than popular narratives might suggest. Rural Origins, City Lives probes long-held assumptions about migrant workers in China. Drawing on fieldwork in Nanjing, Roberta Zavoretti argues that many rural-born urban-dwellers are—contrary to state policy and media portrayals—diverse in their employment, lifestyle, and aspirations. Working and living in the cities, such workers change China’s urban landscape, becoming part of an increasingly diversified and stratified society. Zavoretti finds that—more than thirty years after the Open Door Reform—class formation, not residence status, is key to understanding inequality in contemporary China.

This book is the third study done by the Research Group on Social Structure Change in Contemporary China, a group affiliated with the Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The group has focused on the process of development and change in contemporary Chinese social structure and come to the following conclusions.Contemporary China is transitioning from a traditional agricultural and rural society to a modern industrialized and urban society; from a highly centralized planned economy to a robust socialist market economic system. The entire society is undertaking an unprecedented evolution. During the three decades of reform and opening up, China has made brilliant achievements, never seen before in history. Now, China is in a critical period of reform and opening up, with very complex, far-reaching and closely intertwined social problems, which are also unprecedented.After deep and detailed analysis the Research Group believes that these problems cannot be resolved only by economic methods. In order to get to the roots of these social problems, China must develop new social policies, strengthen the social structure and carry out social system reform. The core purpose of the book is to recommend theories and methods on social structure to society and readers, and to investigate the development and change in China's social structure. We believe that social structure theory, a brand-new point of view to analyze the current situation, is capable of deciphering the social contradictions in China's development to some extent, as opposed to mere economic theory, which is inadequate to fully address the structural problems in China.

In Middle Class Shanghai, Cheng Li, who grew up in Shanghai during the oppressive years of Mao's Cultural Revolution, argues that American policymakers must not lose sight of the expansive dynamism and diversity in present-day China. The caricature of China as a monolithic Communist apparatus set on exporting its ideology and development model is simplistic and misguided. Drawing on empirical research in the realms of higher education, avant-garde art, architecture, and law, Li's unique study highlights the strong, constructive impact of bilateral exchanges. Combining eclectic human stories with striking new data analysis, Li's book addresses the possibility that the development of China's class structure and cosmopolitan culture--exemplified and led by Shanghai--could provide a force for reshaping U.S.-China engagement. Both countries should build upon the deep cultural and educational exchanges that have bound them together for decades. Li concludes that U.S. .

This informative and up-to-date text takes a multidisciplinary approach in examining contemporary China. It provides students with a comprehensive analysis of a number of the social, political and economic problems that China faces as it enters the twenty-first century. The chapters cover key issues including: critical developments in Chinese politics uneven economic development privatization in China environmental problems demography and food production ethnic minorities cross-strait relations socio-cultural issues. Critical Issues in Contemporary China reflects the many recent reforms in China and will equip the undergraduate with the analytical skills they need to study the critical issues surrounding China from contending perspectives.

This book attempts to provide an overview of social and political changes in Chinese society since the global financial crisis. Rapid economic development has restructured the setup of society and empowered or weakened certain social players. The chapters in this book provide an updated account of a wide range of social changes, including the rise of the middle class and private entrepreneurs, the declining social status of the working class, as well as the resurgence of non-governmental organisations and the growing political mobilisation on the internet. The authors also examine the implications of those changes for state-society relations, governance, democratic prospects, and potentially for the stability of the current political regime.