Chinese Village, Socialist State [Paperback]

Edward Friedman (Author), Professor Paul G. Pickowicz (Author), Mark Selden (Author), Kay Ann Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 1993

This portrait of social change in the North China plain depicts how the world of the Chinese peasant evolved during an era of war and how it in turn shaped the revolutionary process. The book is based on evidence gathered from archives and interviews with villagers and rural officials.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (January 27, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300054289
• ISBN-13: 978-0300054286
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and informative, October 8, 2000

By 

TIM ZACHERNUK (Huoshan, Anhui China) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chinese Village, Socialist State (Paperback)

It has been two years since I read this book, but I see it hasn't had a review yet, and I think it deserves one, so I add my two bits.

A very detailed analysis of the developments in rural Chinese society over a period of massive upheaval. Provides tremendous insight into the social mechanisms at play, and the interplay of contemporary political movements with the traditional power structures in rural China. For anyone interested in or involved in rural development in China, a drama which is still going on in the 21st century, a must read. Also recommended for anyone interested in the interactions between policy-directed, centrally planned development and the way society responds to it.

Would like to see a similar follow up on the years between the cultural revolution and the present.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars chinese village, socialist state, April 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Chinese Village, Socialist State (Hardcover)

This volume makes important contributions to our understanding of the Chinese revolution. . . . The entrenchment of networks of loyalty among local leaders and higher level officials of the emerging party-state is a central element of the authors' analysis. As the state extended its control over both the urban and rural economies, it increasingly monopolized the allocation of scarce resources. . . . Given the authors' trenchant critique of the Communist party's economically irrational commitment to rapid, large-scale collectivization, it is unfortunate that they have not addressed the implications of their work for the decollectivizing rural reforms of the post-Mao era, when many aspects of the peasant household economy have been restored. Perhaps there is a sequel in the making