Full Description
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.
Contents
Preface James L. Watson; 1. Introduction: class and class formation in Chinese society James L. Watson; 2. Chinese views of social classification Philip A. Kuhn; 3. Classes, old and new, in Mao Zedong's thought, 1949-1976 Stuart R. Schram; 4. The decline of virtuocracy in China Susan L. Shirk; 5. Destratification in China William L. Parish; 6. The class system in rural China: a case study Jonathan Unger; 7. Bourgeois radicalism in the 'New Class' of Shanghai, 1949-1969 Lynn T. White III; 8. Marriage choice and status groups in contemporary China Elisabeth Croll; 9. Sexual inequality under socialism: the Chinese case in perspective Martin King Whyte; Notes; Contributors; Index.
