Overview

This comprehensive volume analyzes Chinese birth policies and population developments from the founding of the People's Republic to the 2000 census. The main emphasis is on China's 'Hardship Number One Under Heaven': the highly controversial one-child campaign, and the violent clash between family strategies and government policies it entails. Birth Control in China 1949-2000 documents an agonizing search for a way out of predicament and a protracted inner Party struggle, a massive effort for social engineering and grinding problems of implementation. It reveals how birth control in China is shaped by political, economic and social interests, bureaucratic structures and financial concerns. Based on own interviews and a wealth of new statistics, surveys and documents, Thomas Scharping also analyzes how the demographics of China have changed due to birth control policies, and what the future is likely to hold. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of modern China, Asian studies and the social sciences.

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9781138176829

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Reviews

'This is a fascinating book, rich with information and insights ... an important contribution to our understanding of the demography of China. I recommend it not only to demographers interested in China but also to anyone insterested in the details of the formulation and enforcement of government policies.' - Population Studies 'Scharping's book proves to be a very important work on topics of Chinese fertility, birth control, eugenics, public policy and development, migration, population, and ethnicity.' - China Information

'This is a fascinating book, rich with information and insights ... an important contribution to our understanding of the demography of China. I recommend it not only to demographers interested in China but also to anyone insterested in the details of the formulation and enforcement of government policies.' - Population Studies 'Scharping's book proves to be a very important work on topics of Chinese fertility, birth control, eugenics, public policy and development, migration, population, and ethnicity.' - China Information 'It will become the standard work on a very important subject.' - Medical History 'The accomplishment here is impressive ... this volume will serve as a valuable reference work.' - Population and Development Review 'The strength of the book, the first of its kind in English, is that it deals comprehensively with Chinese population policy issues. It contains a detailed description of state population policies since 1949, and Scharping's elaboration on the formulation of population policies and practical implementation is sound.' - The China Journal 'This is a fascinating book, rich with information and insights ... an important contribution to our understanding of the demography of China. I recommend it not only to demographers interested in China but also to anyone insterested in the details of the formulation and enforcement of government policies.' - Population Studies 'Scharping's book proves to be a very important work on topics of Chinese fertility, birth control, eugenics, public policy and development, migration, population, and ethnicity.' - China Information

'This is a fascinating book, rich with information and insights ... an important contribution to our understanding of the demography of China. I recommend it not only to demographers interested in China but also to anyone insterested in the details of the formulation and enforcement of government policies.' - Population Studies 'Scharping's book proves to be a very important work on topics of Chinese fertility, birth control, eugenics, public policy and development, migration, population, and ethnicity.' - China Information

<strong>'This is a fascinating book, rich with information and insights ... an important contribution to our understanding of the demography of China. I recommend it not only to demographers interested in China but also to anyone insterested in the details of the formulation and enforcement of government policies.'</strong> - <em>Population Studies</em> <strong>'Scharping's book proves to be a very important work on topics of Chinese fertility, birth control, eugenics, public policy and development, migration, population, and ethnicity.'</strong> - <em>China Information</em>

Author Information

Thomas Scharping is Chair for Modern Chinese Studies at the University of Cologne, Germany. He has published widely on modern China, including Floating Population and Migration in China: The Impact of Economic Reforms (Hamburg: 1997) and the documentary collection The Evolution of Regional Birth Planning Norms in China 1954-97 (for the Journal Chinese Sociology and Anthropology, Armonk: 2000).

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