A rare window for the English speaking world to learn how scholars in China understand and interpret central issues pertaining to women and family from the founding of the People’s Republic to the reform era.

Explores the social and cultural significance of Chinese communist legal practice in constructing marriage and gender relations in the turbulent period from 1940 to 1960.

Until now our understanding of marriage in China has been based primarily on observations made during the twentieth century. The research of ten eminent scholars presented here provides a new vision of marriage in Chinese history, exploring the complex interplay between marriage and the social, political, economic, and gender inequalities that have so characterized Chinese society.

The year after its founding in 1949, the People¿s Republic of China began its campaign to overturn the traditional marriage system. In order to reach audiences of limited literacy, the Chinese government produced and distributed inexpensive "comic books" to farmers and workers. Li Fengjin: How the New Marriage Law Helped Chinese Women Stand Up is a lively example of this early PRC propaganda. Written in graphic novel format, the pamphlet tells the story of the injustices the young woman Li Fengjin faced under the the old marriage system, and the freedom she finally achieved with the help of the Chinese Communist Party and its marriage law. The pamphlet is essentially a facsimile of the original, but also includes an insightful introduction, useful explanatory notes, a select bibliography, and the text of the 1950 marriage law. The translation is true to the tone of CCP propaganda. Li Fengjin provides an interesting and informative overview of an important moment in modern Chinese history, with graphics that grab student interest.