This comprehensive and interdisciplinary Handbook illustrates the patterns of class transformation in China since 1949, situating them in their historical context. Presenting detailed case studies of social stratification and class formation in a wide range of settings, the expert international contributors provide invaluable insights into multiple aspects of China’s economy, polity and society. The Handbook on Class and Social Stratification in China explores critical contemporary topics which are rarely put in perspective or schematized, therefore placing it at the forefront of progressive scholarship. These include; • state power as a determinant of life chances • women’s social mobility in relation to marriage • the high school entrance exam as a class sorter • class stratification in relation to health • China’s rural migrant workers and labour politics. Eminently readable, this systematic exploration of class and stratification will appeal to scholars and researchers with an interest in class formation, status attainment, social inequality, mobility, development, social policy and politics in China and Asia.

This 1984 book deals with those social transformations which occurred in Chinese society since the revolution in 1949. During the 1950s the Chinese Communist Party introduced a rigid system of class labels (e.g. landlord, rich peasant, middle peasant, landless labourer) based on pre-revolutionary notions of exploitation and property ownership. The class label system was a source of much social discontent during the 1960s and mid-1970s; the official use of labels ceased by the time of this book's publication, but the effects of the system are still felt by millions of Chinese. The book will be of interest to a wide range of readers, not just those who specialise in Chinese social history. Contributors include two anthropologists, one historian, three political scientists, and three sociologists.

What is the social structure of Chinese society in the 21st century? How should China address the problem of migrant workers? How can China form a modern society? These key sociological issues are some of the topics this book covers. This book is a collection of the research articles and lectures that Dr. Lu Xueyi, the former Head of the Institute of Sociology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has published since the 1980s. The author discusses the social structure, social stratification, social construction, and development of contemporary Chinese society. Arguing that the gap between economic and social development has become the major social issue facing modern China, the author advocates paying close attention to the country’s social structure and the growth of the middle class. The book will be of interest for all scholars and students of Sociology and Chinese Studies.

This book is the third study done by the Research Group on Social Structure Change in Contemporary China, a group affiliated with the Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The group has focused on the process of development and change in contemporary Chinese social structure and come to the following conclusions.Contemporary China is transitioning from a traditional agricultural and rural society to a modern industrialized and urban society; from a highly centralized planned economy to a robust socialist market economic system. The entire society is undertaking an unprecedented evolution. During the three decades of reform and opening up, China has made brilliant achievements, never seen before in history. Now, China is in a critical period of reform and opening up, with very complex, far-reaching and closely intertwined social problems, which are also unprecedented.After deep and detailed analysis the Research Group believes that these problems cannot be resolved only by economic methods. In order to get to the roots of these social problems, China must develop new social policies, strengthen the social structure and carry out social system reform. The core purpose of the book is to recommend theories and methods on social structure to society and readers, and to investigate the development and change in China's social structure. We believe that social structure theory, a brand-new point of view to analyze the current situation, is capable of deciphering the social contradictions in China's development to some extent, as opposed to mere economic theory, which is inadequate to fully address the structural problems in China.

This book explores the social economic processes of inequality in nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century rural China. Drawing on uniquely rich source materials, Shuang Chen provides a comprehensive view of the creation of a social hierarchy wherein the state classified immigrants to the Chinese county of Shuangcheng into distinct categories, each associated with different land entitlements. The resulting patterns of wealth stratification and social hierarchy were then simultaneously challenged and reinforced by local people. The tensions built into the unequal land entitlements shaped the identities of immigrant groups, and this social hierarchy persisted even after the institution of unequal state entitlements was removed. State-Sponsored Inequality offers an in-depth understanding of the key factors that contribute to social stratification in agrarian societies. Moreover, it sheds light on the many parallels between the stratification system in nineteenth-century Shuangcheng and structural inequality in contemporary China.

The annual is a venue of publication for sociological studies of Chinese societies and the Chinese all over the world. The main focus is on social transformations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the mainland, Singapore and Chinese overseas.