Overview

Using first-hand material from Chinese archives that are no longer open to researchers, and bringing together a leading team of international scholars, this volume is a major contribution to the study of the People's Republic of China. Calling into question existing narratives on the foundational decade of the PRC, these essays present a nuanced consideration of China in the 1950s by integrating two periods that are often considered separately: the relatively 'happy' years 1949–1956 with the relatively 'unhappy' years from 1957 onwards. Exploring the challenges faced in constructing socialism, the transnational context, and early modes of PRC governance, the contributors highlight the ways in which China was shaped by diversity on all levels and scales in how socialism was enacted and experienced. These essays clearly demonstrate how the unevenness of Party control created discrepancies and variations between different regions and between the center and the locale.

Full Product Details

Author:   Anja Blanke (Freie Universität Berlin) ,  Julia C. Strauss (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) ,  Klaus Mühlhahn (Freie Universität Berlin)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.80cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.580kg
ISBN:  

9781009304108

ISBN 10:   1009304100
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   13 April 2023
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction: revolutionary transformations in 1950s China Julia C. Strauss, Anja Blanke and Klaus Mühlhahn; Part I. Revolution and the Transnational: Introduction to Part I Klaus Mühlhahn; 1. International relations and China's position in the socialist camp Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik; 2. Sino–Soviet anxiety: science and Chinese conditions in the PRC coal industry (1949–1965) Anna Belogurova; 3. Producing socialist bodies: transnational sports networks and athletes in 1950s China Amanda Shuman; 4. Asia's fourth Rome: cultural industries and cultural diplomacy in the international legitimization of the People's Republic of China, 1949–1953 Matthew D. Johnson; Part II. Domestic Governance: Inheriting empire, revolutionizing society: Introduction to Part II Julia C. Strauss; 5. Modalities of state building: bureaucracy, campaign, and performance in Sunan, 1950–1953 Julia C. Strauss; 6. The wilds of revolution: anti-localism and Hainanese women in the early People's Republic of China Jeremy A. Murray and Alexander J. Serran; 7. Reconstruction and solidification: restructuring of the 'peasant' status in the 1950s dispersal of Shanghai's urban population Ruan Qinghua; Part III. Legitimacy (Local) Agencies: Introduction to Part III Anja Blake; 8. Anxiety in the revolutionary turn: Shanghai film personnel in the 1950s Zhang Jishun; 9. Letters from the people: the masses and the mass line in 1950s China Aminda M. Smith; 10. Cadres, grain, and rural conflicts: a study of criminal cases in a village during the great leap forward Wenyu Jing; 11. How the CCP has failed to obtain control over China's collective memory on the 1950s Anja Blanke; 12. Postscript: rethinking China under Mao Klaus Mühlhahn.

Reviews

'Revolutionary Transformations brings together an impressive collection of Chinese and Western scholars to reassess the founding decade of the People's Republic of China-from the global to the national to the local level. Building on over two decades of new scholarship it brings to life a decade that saw triumph and tragedy and shapes China today.' Timothy Cheek, University of British Columbia 'Covering an astonishingly wide array of topics, from China's place in the socialist world to the coal industry, sports and movies, modalities of state-building, state-ordered relocation of urban populations, letters from common people to the PRC government, and more, this volume greatly enriches our appreciation of the diverse range of experiences that characterized China's revolutionary transformations.' Micah Muscolino, University of California, San Diego

Author Information

Anja Blanke is a Research Fellow at Zeppelin Universität. Julia C. Strauss is Professor of Chinese Politics at SOAS, University of London. Klaus Mühlhahn is President and Chair of Modern China studies at Zeppelin Universität.

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