article

The new outlook of rural China: Kaishienkung revisited after half a century

Royal Anthropological Institute newsletter : RAIN (48) • Published In 1982 • Pages: 4-8

By: Fei, Xiaotong.

Abstract
In this lecture the author looks back at his past episodes of fieldwork in Kaixiangong and a recent five-day visit there, reporting on changes that had occurred over 45 years, including the early years of hunger and floods, the Second World War, communist liberation, collectivization, the Cultural Revolution, and the New Economic Policies. He attributes the village's economic expansion and increased standard of living to the egalitarianism that came with collectivization in 1958 and the individual responsibility system implemented under the New Economic Policy of 1978. Furthermore, he underscores the importance of rural industry, which he had consistently championed as a source of income in addition to agriculture.
Subjects
Domesticated animals
Housing
Production and supply
Income and demand
Ownership and control of capital
Cooperative organization
culture
Han Chinese
Region
Asia
Sub Region
East Asia
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard; 2019
Field Date
1981
Coverage Date
1936-1981
Coverage Place
Kaixiangong (Kaihsienkung), Wujiang, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Notes
Fei Hsiao-tung
LCCN
85643233
LCSH
Villages--China--Yangtze River Valley
Yangtze Valley--Economic conditions