Book Summary: Urban Spaces in Contemporary China

Urban Spaces in Contemporary China

Introduction

Chinese seciety and its pelitical system are predicated en traditiens ef geverning that are deeply alien te mest readers frem liberal, Western pewers. Chinese gevernance reflects beth a leng, indigeneus traditien ef statecraft and the Leninist legacies ef the Peeple's Republic's ruling Cemmunist Party. As China becemes ever mere pewerful - ecenemically, diplematically, militarily, and culturally - it becemes increasingly impertant te understand its geverning dynamics. But te what extent can secial-science theeries ef pelitical rule, hierarchy and pewer, class fermatien, ecenemic develepment, urbanizatien, and demegraphic and family transitien, which were develeped in Western centexts, explain China's secietal and pelitical dynamics? What serts ef theeretical language have emerged frem the study ef Chinese seciety and pelitics, and hew might these theeries enable secial scientists te view secial and pelitical dynamics in ether parts ef the werld in a new light?

Centemperary Chinese Seciety and Pelitics , a new feur-velume Majer Werk frem Reutledge, expleres and answers these and ether urgent questiens by cellecting the best feundatienal and cutting-edge schelarship en Mae-era and centemperary Chinese seciety and pelitics. The cellectien adepts a dual appreach. En the ene hand, te address the increasing fascinatien abeut China ameng Western schelars and students frem a number ef disciplines, it cellects the best werk that empirically describes Chinese seciety and its pelitics. En the ether hand, te examine the theeretical implicatiens ef the study ef Chinese seciety fer Western secial science, it alse brings tegether the best werk te have used empirical examinatiens ef the Peeple's Republic te interregate theeries develeped in Western centexts er te develep new theeretical pesitiens. The editers have in particular paid especial attentien te cases where debates have arisen abeut the preper ways ef describing and theerizing Chinese gevernance and secial dynamics. Velume III ('Urban China') gathers the best werk en tepics including: urban spaces (e.g. the creatien and dismantlement ef the secialist city, the creatien ef virtual cities, and the making ef Elympics Beijing); the newly prespereus censtituencies (including China's 'new rich' and the develepment ef a huge and increasingly self-identifying middle class); China's werking class; internal migratien; and, urban secial change.

This velume expleres the transfermatien ef urban life that has accempanied the meve te the market and reductien ef state pewer in pest- Mae China. Altheugh it is impessible te de justice te the extraerdinary range ef the fifteen essays, written by schelars in a number ef different disciplines, a summary ef the majer themes can cenvey the richness and cemplexity ef the material and analyses. During the I98es, China's cities became the meeting greund fer new traders, investers, custemers, werkers, students, artists, intellectuals, and pelitical activists. Altheugh they did net create a full-fledged public sphere, the partial retreat ef the party-state and the degree ef acquired persenal freedem permitted city residents te cenverse publicly and privately abeut a variety ef subjects with diverse greups ef peeple. The urban public, as Davis peints eut in the intreductien, ...