Gao village revisited : the life of rural people in contemporary China

The personal stories of the Gao villagers demonstrate and are related to changes in China. This is a close study of Gao Village twenty years after the author, an anthropologist and native of Gao village, wrote his original ethnography Gao Village. It combines ethnographic analysis, personal vignettes, and a number of fascinating stories, which presents a convincing yet complex picture of how Gao villagers interact with the outside world. With his sympathetic and insider's approach, the author argues that rural Chinese display great entrepreneurship and inner strength of selfimprovement; they are active contributors to China's economic boom. “This is a close ethnographic look at the world of Gao villagers twenty years after the author, an anthropologist and native of Gao village, wrote his original ethnography. Through a look at Gao villagers, including the ethnographer's own family and extended kin, we are able to see the decline of agriculture and the integration of rural people into an urban economy. We get an indepth look at how rural people have prospered in this informal economy, but we also see them confronting new sources of stress and strain even as their material living standard rises.” –Ellen Oxfeld, Middlebury College “This sequel to Gao's earlier work (1999) about his home village in Jiangxi Province is an engaging and digestible short course on contemporary China's rural economy. The anecdotes from observation and personal knowledge of the lives of Gao villagers reflect Gao's critical, often wry perspective; some of the best chapters are those that profile the lives of Gao villagers'entrepreneurial vicissitudes in a relatively unregulated market environment.” –Ann Hill, Dickinson College Cover Half Title Page Full Title Page Copyright Contents Preface The Gao Family Tree 1_Introduction: Why Gao Village? 2_A Critical Overall View of China since the Late 1990s 3_A Brief Survey of Gao Village since the Late 1990s 4_The Resourcefulness and Entrepreneurship of the Rural Chinese 5_Gao Wenshu: From Troublemaker to Entrepreneur 6_Gao Changxian, Gao Mingxia, and the Background of Their Hotel Business 7_The Gao Family Clan and Its Hotel Businesses 8_The Poor in Gao Village: Gao Lati 9_The Real Estate Boom and Gao Changqi, the Entrepreneur Rubbish Collector 10_Change and Continuity Conflicts of Values 11_The Reach of the State in Gao Village 12_The Reinvention of Tradition and the Impact of Lineage Identity on Local Governance 13_The Future of Gao Village and Rural China Appendix Glossary Bibliography Index Back Cover 1. Introduction : why Gao Village? -- 2. A critical overall view of China since the late 1990s -- 3. A brief survey of Gao Village since the late 1990s -- 4. The resourcefulness and entrepreneurship of the rural Chinese -- 5. Gao Wenshu : from troublemaker to entrepreneur -- 6. Gao Changxian, Gao Mingxia, and the background of their hotel business -- 7. The Gao family clan and its hotel businesses -- 8. The poor in Gao Village : Gao Lati -- 9. The real estate boom and Gao Changqi, the entrepreneur rubbish collector -- 10. Change and continuity : conflicts of values -- 11. The reach of the state in Gao Village -- 12. The reinvention of tradition and the impact of lineage identity on local governance -- 13. The future of Gao Village and rural China Combines ethnographic analysis, personal vignettes, and a number of fascinating stories to present a convincing yet complex picture of how Gao villagers interact with the outside world, twenty years after the publication of his original ethnography of Gao Village.