Product Description
Drawing on more than a quarter century of field and documentary research in rural North China, this book explores the contested relationship between village and state from the 1960s to the start of the twenty-first century. The authors provide a vivid portrait of how resilient villagers struggle to survive and prosper in the face of state power in two epochs of revolution and reform. Highlighting the importance of intra-rural resistance and rural-urban conflicts to Chinese politics and society in the Great Leap and Cultural Revolution, the authors go on to depict the dynamic changes that have transformed village China in the post-Mao era. This book continues the dramatic story in the authors’ prizewinning Chinese Village, Socialist State. Plumbing previously untapped sources, including interviews, archival materials, village records and unpublished memoirs, diaries and letters, the authors capture the struggles, pains and achievements of villagers across three generations of social upheaval.
Revolution, Resistance, and Reform in Village China
This top-notch book provides excellent information on how a vast nation, led by a powerful leader, continually shot itself in the foot by pursuing countless campaigns that put political dream-visions ahead of human reality.
The authors show how people in one vilage reacted to the ever-changing directions of the fueding politicians in the capital. From a political science perspective, this is a great reminder that theory can’t be separated from human behavior. From a human perspective, it’s an often day-by-day description of heartbreaking tragedy, made worse by the knowledge that Wugong was one of the model villages with a relatively unified leadersihp, so things were much worse most other places.
(A caveat: Edward Freidman is a former undergraduate professor of mine at the University of Wisconsin. Naturally, that could influence me for or against his work. In truth, his high standards as a professor are well-reflected in this excellent book.)
Rating: 5 / 5