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.

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