The Rural Modern

Reconstructing the Self and State in Republican China

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Rural, History, Asian, China
Cover of the book The Rural Modern by Kate Merkel-Hess, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kate Merkel-Hess ISBN: 9780226383309
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: August 17, 2016
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Kate Merkel-Hess
ISBN: 9780226383309
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: August 17, 2016
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

Discussions of China’s early twentieth-century modernization efforts tend to focus almost exclusively on cities, and the changes, both cultural and industrial, seen there. As a result, the communist peasant revolution appears as a decisive historical break. Kate Merkel-Hess corrects that misconception by demonstrating how crucial the countryside was for reformers in China long before the success of the communist revolution.
 
In The Rural Modern, Merkel-Hess shows that Chinese reformers and intellectuals created an idea of modernity that was not simply about what was foreign and new, as in Shanghai and other cities, but instead captured the Chinese people’s desire for social and political change rooted in rural traditions and institutions. She traces efforts to remake village education, economics, and politics, analyzing how these efforts contributed to a new, inclusive vision of rural Chinese life. Merkel-Hess argues that as China sought to redefine itself, such rural reform efforts played a major role, and tensions that emerged between rural and urban ways deeply informed social relations, government policies, and subsequent efforts to create a modern nation during the communist period.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Discussions of China’s early twentieth-century modernization efforts tend to focus almost exclusively on cities, and the changes, both cultural and industrial, seen there. As a result, the communist peasant revolution appears as a decisive historical break. Kate Merkel-Hess corrects that misconception by demonstrating how crucial the countryside was for reformers in China long before the success of the communist revolution.
 
In The Rural Modern, Merkel-Hess shows that Chinese reformers and intellectuals created an idea of modernity that was not simply about what was foreign and new, as in Shanghai and other cities, but instead captured the Chinese people’s desire for social and political change rooted in rural traditions and institutions. She traces efforts to remake village education, economics, and politics, analyzing how these efforts contributed to a new, inclusive vision of rural Chinese life. Merkel-Hess argues that as China sought to redefine itself, such rural reform efforts played a major role, and tensions that emerged between rural and urban ways deeply informed social relations, government policies, and subsequent efforts to create a modern nation during the communist period.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book The Book of Seeds by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book The Willow Pattern by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book The Jack-Roller by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book Life Out of Sequence by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book A Long Saturday by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book Why Are You Here and Not Somewhere Else by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book Building the Prison State by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book The Culture of Ancient Egypt by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book The Other Arab-Israeli Conflict by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book Strained Relations by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book The Tolerant Populists, Second Edition by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book Walter Ralegh's "History of the World" and the Historical Culture of the Late Renaissance by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book In Search of a Lost Avant-Garde by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book International Bankruptcy by Kate Merkel-Hess
Cover of the book Like Andy Warhol by Kate Merkel-Hess
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy