Team leader Wang is not the stuff of which heroes are made, nor does he imagine himself to be so. A seasoned farmer, strong, agile and quick-witted, he is willing to serve but reluctant to lead. The background of his family - addiction to opium, connections with secret societies, illiteracy, patriarchal authority, female suicide, hard times is not uncommon.What makes him remarkable is that he has become the leader of a socialist collective of 84 families. Established originally according to the guidelines of Mao Zedong, the commune must now transform itself according to the new leadership's vision of a new and modernised China. Though inspired by the prospect, team leader Wang is still tied to many of the ideas and practices of a feudal past.This book tells what happened in a Chinese village during and since Mao's long leadership. It breaks through official versions of history by allowing commune members to speak. It describes the enormous changes that have taken place since the Chinese revolution both externally, in the physical environment, and internally, in the hearts and minds of individuals. It examines how fluctuations in official policy affected village life. It also raises important political and philosophical questions: on what basis is the collective or social good to be defined? To what extent can socialist welfare goals be achieved while maintaining productivity in the work force?Based on interviews with scores of villagers right up to 1988, as well as on Chinese government documents, local records and newspapers, this study reveals the dynamics of China's revolutionary social, economic and cultural change through the microcosm of village life. Red Earth, a beautifully written book, will appeal to many general readers as well as specialists on China, Communism, development studies and anthropologists.
- ISBN10 1850431116
- ISBN13 9781850431114
- Publish Date 31 December 1988
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 4 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint I.B. Tauris
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 256
- Language English