Chinese visions of family and state, 1915-1953

At the dawn of the twentieth century, China's sovereignty was fragile at best. In the face of international pressure and domestic upheaval, young urban radicals—desperate for reforms that would save their nation—clamored for change, championing Western-inspired family reform and promoting free marriage choice and economic and emotional independence. But what came to be known as the New Culture Movement had the unwitting effect of fostering totalitarianism. In this wide-reaching, engrossing book, Susan Glosser examines how the link between family order and national salvation affected state-building and explores its lasting consequences. Glosser effectively argues that the replacement of the authoritarian, patriarchal, extended family structure with an egalitarian, conjugal family was a way for the nation to preserve crucial elements of its traditional culture. Her comprehensive research shows that in the end, family reform paved the way for the Chinese Communist Party to establish a deeply intrusive state that undermined the legitimacy of individual rights. "At the dawn of the twentieth century, China's sovereignty was fragile at best. In the face of international and domestic upheaval, young, urban radicals - desperate for reforms that would save their nation - clamored for change, championing Western-inspired family reform and promoting free marriage choice and economic and emotional independence. But what came to be known as the New Culture Movement had the unwitting effect of fostering totalitarianism. In this book, Susan Glosser examines how the link between family order and national salvation affected state-building and explores its lasting consequences.". "Historians have largely characterized the family reform of the New Culture Movement in China as a significant attempt at democracy. In a departure from the old ways, individuals selected their own spouses, pursued their choice of work and education, and lived on their own. But, Glosser effectively argues that the replacement of the authoritarian, patriarchal, extended family structure with an egalitarian conjugal family was a way for the nation to preserve crucial elements of its traditional culture.". "In 1911, the Qing dynasty collapsed; the republic established in its stead fell apart in less than five years, leaving the country mired in the chaotic era of the warlords. Supporters of the New Culture Movement aimed to restore national equilibrium through a reform of the family order. But in ensuing decades, Nationalists, Communists, and reform-minded entrepreneurs promoted their own version of the conjugal family while continuing to maintain the connections between family and state. Glosser's comprehensive research shows that in the end, family reform paved the way for the Chinese Communist Party to establish a deeply intrusive state that undermined the legitimacy of individual rights."--BOOK JACKET.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, China's sovereignty was fragile at best.
In the face of international pressure and domestic upheaval, young urban radicals-desperate for reforms that would save their nation-clamored for change, championing Western-inspired family reform and promoting free marriage choice and economic and emotional independence. But what came to be known as the New Culture Movement had the unwitting effect of fostering totalitarianism.
In this wide-reaching, engrossing book, Susan Glosser examines how the link between family order and national salvation affected state-building and explores its lasting consequences.
Glosser effectively argues that the replacement of the authoritarian, patriarchal, extended family structure with an egalitarian, conjugal family was a way for the nation to preserve crucial elements of its traditional culture. Her comprehensive research shows that in the end, family reform paved the way for the Chinese Communist Party to establish a deeply intrusive state that undermined the legitimacy of individual rights.

Frontmatter List of Tables and Figures (page vii) Foreword (page ix) Acknowledgments (page xv) Chronology (page xix) Introduction: Evolve or Perish (page 1) 1. Saving Self and Nation: The New Culture Movement's Family-Reform Discourse (page 27) 2. Making the National Family: The Statist Xiao Jiating (page 81) 3. Marketing the Family: You Huaigao and the Entrepreneurial Xiao Jiating (page 134) 4. Love for Revolution: Xiao Jiating in the People's Republic (page 167) Conclusion: The Malleability of the Xiao Jiating Ideal (page 197) Notes (page 201) Bibliography (page 249) Glossary (page 263) Index (page 267) At the dawn of the 20th century, China's sovereignty was fragile at best. In the face of international pressure and domestic upheaval, young urban radicals clamoured for change, championing Western-inspired family reform. This text examines the New Culture Movement and its lasting consequences Historians of the New Culture Movement have typically focused on either the movement's nationalism or its romantic individualism and portrayed participants' interest in family reform as an outgrowth of one of these two elements.