Chinese society and its political system are predicated on traditions of governing that are deeply alien to most readers from liberal, Western powers. Chinese governance reflects both a long, indigenous tradition of statecraft and the Leninist legacies of the People's Republic's ruling Communist Party. As China becomes ever more powerful?economically, diplomatically, militarily, and culturally?it becomes increasingly important to understand its governing dynamics. But to what extent can social-science theories of political rule, hierarchy and power, class formation, economic development, urbanization, and demographic and family transition, which were developed in Western contexts, explain China's societal and political dynamics? What sorts of theoretical language have emerged from the study of Chinese society and politics, and how might these theories enable social scientists to view social and political dynamics in other parts of the world in a new light?

Contemporary Chinese Society and Politics, a new four-volume Major Work from Routledge, explores and answers these and other urgent questions by collecting the best foundational and cutting-edge scholarship on Mao-era and contemporary Chinese society and politics. The collection adopts a dual approach. On the one hand, to address the increasing fascination about China among Western scholars and students from a number of disciplines, it collects the best work that empirically describes Chinese society and its politics. On the other hand, to examine the theoretical implications of the study of Chinese society for Western social science, it also brings together the best work to have used empirical examinations of the People's Republic to interrogate theories developed in Western contexts or to develop new theoretical positions. The editors have in particular paid especial attention to cases where debates have arisen about the proper ways of describing and theorizing Chinese governance and social dynamics.

The first volume in the collection (?The Maoist Era?) brings together the best work to have been published on Chinese society and politics in the Maoist period (1949?76). Volume II (?Politics and Social Institutions?), meanwhile, collects the key research dealing with both the theoretical implications and the empirical complexities of the post-Mao evolution at the highest level of the political leadership.

The distinctions between urban and rural are especially significant in the People's Republic, not least because of China's system of residential registration which denies rural residents any right to live permanently in a city, and the final two volumes are organized with these fundamental distinctions in mind. Volume III (?Urban China?) gathers the best work on topics including: urban spaces (e.g. the creation and dismantlement of the socialist city, the creation of virtual cities, and the making of Olympics Beijing); the newly prosperous constituencies (including China's ?new rich? and the development of a huge and increasingly self-identifying middle class); China's working class; internal migration; and urban social change. Volume IV (?Rural China in the Reform Era?) includes work brought together under themes such as rural politics; family farming; changes in rural society in a period of economic reform; and China's ethnic minorities.

Contemporary Chinese Society and Politics is fully indexed and has a comprehensive introduction, newly written by the editors, leading academics in the field, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context. It is an essential work of reference and is destined to be valued by scholars and students as a vital one-stop research and pedagogic resource.

In 1974, a small group of young intellectuals, the Li Yizhe group, circulated their dissident manifesto, 'On Socialist Democracy and the Legal System,' a probing critique of the leftist authoritarianism of Mao Zedong. This title examines the writings of these dissidents as a means to better understand the views of non-Party Marxists in their struggle to defy the government and construct their own vision of a socialist China. Originally published in 1985, this title remains relevant in relation to contemporary Chinese politics and will be of interest to students of Asian Studies and Politics.

In 1974, a small group of young intellectuals, the Li Yizhe group, circulated their dissident manifesto, 'On Socialist Democracy and the Legal System,' a probing critique of the leftist authoritarianism of Mao Zedong. This title examines the writings of these dissidents as a means to better understand the views of non-Party Marxists in their struggle to defy the government and construct their own vision of a socialist China. Originally published in 1985, this title remains relevant in relation to contemporary Chinese politics and will be of interest to students of Asian Studies and Politics.

What role do Chinese popular associations play in the expansion of civil society and democratization? Under Mao few associations were permitted to exist, while today over 200,000 associations are officially recognized. Are they important foundations of civil society, or vehicles for state corporatism and control? In this book leading China specialists examine an interesting range of associations, from business associations to trade unions, to urban homeowners associations, women's groups against domestic violence, and rural NGOs that develop anti-poverty programs. The contributors find different important trends underway in different parts of China's economy and society. Their findings are nuanced, insightful - and often not what might be expected.

What role do Chinese popular associations play in the expansion of civil society and democratization? Under Mao few associations were permitted to exist, while today over 200,000 associations are officially recognized. Are they important foundations of civil society, or vehicles for state corporatism and control? In this book leading China specialists examine an interesting range of associations, from business associations to trade unions, to urban homeowners associations, women's groups against domestic violence, and rural NGOs that develop anti-poverty programs. The contributors find different important trends underway in different parts of China's economy and society. Their findings are nuanced, insightful - and often not what might be expected.

This book describes and analyzes how politics among the Chinese leadership has operated and evolved from the period of Mao's court up to the present day. Part I explores politics under Mao and Deng. For this section the five leading western analysts of elite Chinese politics -- Lowell Dittmer, Lucian Pye, Frederick Teiwes, Andrew Nathan, and Tsou Tang -- have contributed major papers that measure the empirical evidence against political science theory, recent Chinese history, and Chinese political culture. Part II explores and analyzes the ongoing changes in Chinese politics during Jiang's tenure, and includes analyzes by almost all the leading English-language scholars in the field.

This book describes and analyzes how politics among the Chinese leadership has operated and evolved from the period of Mao's court up to the present day. Part I explores politics under Mao and Deng. For this section the five leading western analysts of elite Chinese politics -- Lowell Dittmer, Lucian Pye, Frederick Teiwes, Andrew Nathan, and Tsou Tang -- have contributed major papers that measure the empirical evidence against political science theory, recent Chinese history, and Chinese political culture. Part II explores and analyzes the ongoing changes in Chinese politics during Jiang's tenure, and includes analyzes by almost all the leading English-language scholars in the field.

During the past quarter century Jonathan Unger has interviewed farmers and rural officials from various parts of China in order to track the extraordinary changes that have swept the countryside from the Maoist era through the Deng era to the present day. A leading specialist on rural China, Professor Unger presents a vivid picture of life in rural areas during the Maoist revolution, and then after the post-Mao disbandment of the collectives. This is a story of unexpected continuities amidst enormous change. Unger describes how rural administrations retain Mao-era characteristics - despite the major shifts that have occurred in the economic and social hierarchies of villages as collectivization and "class struggle" gave way to the slogan "to get rich is glorious." A chapter explores the private entrepreneurship that has blossomed in the prosperous parts of the countryside. Another focuses on the tensions and exploitation that have arisen as vast numbers of migrant laborers from poor districts have poured into richer ones. Another, based on five months of travel by jeep into impoverished villages in the interior, describes the dilemmas of under-development still faced by many tens of millions of farmers, and the ways in which government policies have inadvertently hurt their livelihoods.

During the past quarter century Jonathan Unger has interviewed farmers and rural officials from various parts of China in order to track the extraordinary changes that have swept the countryside from the Maoist era through the Deng era to the present day. A leading specialist on rural China, Professor Unger presents a vivid picture of life in rural areas during the Maoist revolution, and then after the post-Mao disbandment of the collectives. This is a story of unexpected continuities amidst enormous change. Unger describes how rural administrations retain Mao-era characteristics - despite the major shifts that have occurred in the economic and social hierarchies of villages as collectivization and "class struggle" gave way to the slogan "to get rich is glorious." A chapter explores the private entrepreneurship that has blossomed in the prosperous parts of the countryside. Another focuses on the tensions and exploitation that have arisen as vast numbers of migrant laborers from poor districts have poured into richer ones. Another, based on five months of travel by jeep into impoverished villages in the interior, describes the dilemmas of under-development still faced by many tens of millions of farmers, and the ways in which government policies have inadvertently hurt their livelihoods.

Provides conceptual insights that put the reader in a position to come to grips intellectually with the complex weave of Chinese nationalist sentiment today and in the future.

Nine specialists from four continents address the following questions: is China moving toward the type of developmental state and sophisticated economic powerhouse associated with the East Asian miracle? does China's Leninist political system and the heritage of a state-run-heavy-industrial sector present too great a burden for successful transformation? and what is the likelihood that China's party-state will ultimately collapse in a fashion similar to the Leninist governments of Europe? The findings and analyses should prove interesting to followers of China, East Asia as a whole, and the European postcommunist transition.

Provides conceptual insights that put the reader in a position to come to grips intellectually with the complex weave of Chinese nationalist sentiment today and in the future.

Nine specialists from four continents address the following questions: is China moving toward the type of developmental state and sophisticated economic powerhouse associated with the East Asian miracle? does China's Leninist political system and the heritage of a state-run-heavy-industrial sector present too great a burden for successful transformation? and what is the likelihood that China's party-state will ultimately collapse in a fashion similar to the Leninist governments of Europe? The findings and analyses should prove interesting to followers of China, East Asia as a whole, and the European postcommunist transition.

An historiographical examination of the political debates of the 1980s over despotism in Chinese history and over Party history. The extent of popular culture and its reinterpretation of history is also assessed, as governmental control of the media has decreased.

An historiographical examination of the political debates of the 1980s over despotism in Chinese history and over Party history. The extent of popular culture and its reinterpretation of history is also assessed, as governmental control of the media has decreased.

The first two editions of "Chen Village" presented an enthralling account of a Chinese village in the throes of Maoist revolution followed by dramatic changes in village life and local politics during the Deng Xiaoping period. Now, more than a decade and a half later, the authors have returned to "Chen Village", and in three new chapters they explore astonishing developments. The once-backwater village is today a center of China's export industry, where more than 50,000 workers labor in modern factories, ruled by the village government. This new edition of "Chen Village" illuminates, in microcosm, the recent history of rural China up to the present time.

During the early 1980s China embarked on what can be seen as one of the world s largest social experiments ever. Decollectivization meant much more than the reorganization of agricultural production into family based farming. It signalled significant changes to rural social relations, when privatization, marketization and increased geographical mobility started tearing apart the economic and social institutions that had structured collective village life under Mao. The focus of this book is on how rural society has been reorganized in the 21st century. The first chapters outline the basic organizational structure of rural China and can be used as an introduction to the topic in a classroom setting. They show how the state and its social scientists draw up plans to overcome the perceived lack of rural social organization, and discuss the often problem-ridden implementation of their ideas. The second section presents case studies of institutions that organize key aspects of rural life: Boarding schools where rural children learn to accept organizational hierarchies; lineage organizations carving out new roles for themselves; dragonhead enterprises expected to organize agricultural production and support rural development, and several others. The book is of theoretical interest because of its focus on the re-embedding, or reintegration, of individuals into new types of collectivities, which are less predetermined by tradition and habit and more a matter of, at least perceived, individual choice. Most chapters are based on extensive fieldwork and contain vivid examples from daily life, which will make the book attractive to anyone who wants to understand how Chinese villagers experience the extraordinary social changes they are going through.

In "Education Under Mao," an in-depth analysis of modern Chinese education, Jonathan Unger not only probes the policy issues and the nature of the debate between "Maoists" and modernizers but also shows, more concretely, how schools were organized, the changing attitudes and goals of students, and the tensions that permeated the schools. Unger focuses on Canton's schools through two tumultuous decades, and his rich factual presentation brings to life both the Chinese school system and its social milieu.