Description: The last 30 years in China have witnessed tremendous changes, primarily as a result of the shift in focus by the state from class struggle to economic development. China soon eliminated the threat of famine and the rationing of food in the first decade of the reform era and increased its GDP per capita by 41% between 1978 and 2006. The average annual GDP growth rate during the same period is about three times the world average. Between 1981 and 2004 China had the largest poverty reduction in human history. Along with the fast economic development, there has been great change to the ethos of Chinese society from sacrificing life for the revolutionary cause to valuing life itself. This change, which is perhaps among the most significant in the transformation of contemporary China, has enormous bearings on the question of what is an adequate life in China now.
Review Quotes:
"What appeals to me most in this volume is the way in which the chapters together, but from very different perspectives, manage to highlight fundamental human issues regarding the governing of life and death in China, and Chinese people's search (and sometimes demand) for adequate lives. The chapters provide valuable insights into how governmental practices interchange with cultural norms; what people in China have come to regard as crucial for living adequate lives; and what they therefore expect from their government and from themselves as subjects. The book is easily accessible, with chapters that often include good definitions of key concepts and overviews of topics concerning governmentality in China. It should therefore make a welcome contribution not just to specialists but also to students at earlier stages of their studies." - Mette Halskov Hansen, University of Oslo, Norway; Asian Anthropology, Vol. 10 (2011)
'This is a complex book with complex papers, looking at many interesting domains of life and power in modern China. All the authors analyze political and ethical aspects of social phenomena in modern China in terms of the "Chinese moral experience".' - Lili Lai, Peking University; The China Journal (July 2013).