China underwent a dramatic social transformation in the last decade of the 20th century. This ethnographic study of one community focuses on the logic of everyday practice in post-reform rural China. Enriched with many vivid anecdotes describing life in the village of Zhaojiahe in north-western China. This book analyses the changes and continuities marking the recent history of this region and highlights the broader implications for the way we understand Chinese modernity. The author's narrative provides a wonderfully evocative exploration of many domains of everyday life such as kinship and marriage traditions, food systems, ceremonial celebrations, social relations and village politics. He brings to life many of the personalities and customs of Zhaojiahe as he presents the villagers' strategies to modernise in an environment of scarce resources and a discredited cultural heritage. This accessibly written ethnography should be an essential contribution to the anthropology of China.
- ISBN10 0520923472
- ISBN13 9780520923478
- Publish Date 8 August 2000
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint University of California Press
- Format eBook
- Pages 261
- Language English