Full Description
This book aims to provide the readers a better understanding of rural China through the particular perspective of the rural underworld. It proposes new concepts to describe social changes of rural China by comparing the contemporary rural society with the acquaintance society—the classic model for depicting the traditional Chinese society. The author's down-to-earth fieldwork has revealed that, with a permeating gang influence, the society of rural China has actually changed in nature. Such change in social nature is summarized as "the estrangement of acquaintances" or "moral ambiguity". As a result of the rural gangster's unlawful acts of lining their pockets with national resources, rural China is going through "rural governance involution." In short, this book develops new models and concepts to establish a comprehensive scientific conceptual system for explaining social reality. With hard-to-come-by information and a prudent and multi-faceted analysis on a neglected topic, this book gradually reveals to the readers the true picture of rural China.
Contents
Research Topic and Approach.- Acquaintance Society and Reciprocity-based Behavior Pattern (Xiangtu Luoji).- The Rise of Gangs and Acquaintance Society.- The Renaissance of Gangs and Acquaintance Society.- Public Security System: Change and Predicament.- Rural Gangs and Public Order.- Rural Gangs and Interpersonal Relationship.- Rural Gangs and Village Governance.- Changing Behavior Pattern and the Greying Trend.- Gangs and Grassroots Governance: A Supplementary Chapter.
