Town and Country in China

The transformation in Chinese social theory in the twentieth century placed the rural-urban divide at the centre of individual identity. In 1500, such distinctions were insignificant and it was the emergence of political reforms in the early 1920s and 1930s which separated cities and towns as agents of social change and encouraged a perception of rural backwardness. This interdisciplinary collection traces the development and distinctions between urban and rural life and the effect on the Chinese sense of identity from the sixteenth century to the present day. It provides a daunting example of the influence that political ideology may exert on an individual's sense of place.

DARIA BERG Lecturer in Chinese Literature, University of DurhamHENRIETTA HARRISON Lecturer in History, University of LeedsELISABETH KÖLL Assistant Professor, Department of History, Case Western Reserve UniversityHANCHAO LU Associate Professor, School of History, Technology and Society, Georgia Institute of TechnologyMA MIN Professor of History, Central China Normal UniversityHELEN F. SIU Professor in Anthropology, Yale UniversityZHAO SHIYU Professor of History, Beijing Normal UniversityCATHERINE VANCE YEH Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg