Harvard Contemporary China Series

The Harvard Contemporary China Series is designed to present new research that deals with present-day issues against the background of Chinese history and society. Books in this series will be published promptly enough to suit the the timeliness of the subjects, and economically enough to be affordable. The focus will be on interdisciplinary research. The intention is to convey the significance of the rapidly changing Chinese scene.

Below are the in-print works in this collection. Sort by title, author, format, publication date, or price »

1.Cover: After Mao: Chinese Literature and Society, 1978–1981

After Mao: Chinese Literature and Society, 1978–1981

Kinkley, Jeffrey C.

This is the first book in English to analyze the Chinese literary scene during the post-Mao thaw in government control. The seven contributors originally presented their research at a 1982 international conference at St. John’s University, New York.

2.Cover: The Political Economy of Reform in Post-Mao China

The Political Economy of Reform in Post-Mao China

Perry, Elizabeth J.
Wong, Christine

The motives behind the Chinese Communist Party’s policy changes and their effects upon the economy and political life of countryside and city are here analyzed by five political scientists and five economists. Their assessments of ongoing efforts to implement the new policies provide a timely survey of what is currently happening in China.

3.Cover: China’s Intellectuals and the State: In Search of a New Relationship

China’s Intellectuals and the State: In Search of a New Relationship

Goldman, Merle
Cheek, Timothy
Hamrin, Carol Lee

This book examines the troubled and changing relationship today’s intellectuals in China have to the state. It focuses primarily on the post-Mao years when bitter memories of the Cultural Revolution and China’s renewed quest for modernization have at times allowed intellectuals increased leeway in expression and more influence in policy-making.

5.Cover: Science and Technology in Post-Mao China

Science and Technology in Post-Mao China

Simon, Denis Fred
Goldman, Merle

Along with the political and economic reforms that have characterized the post-Mao era in China there has been a potentially revolutionary change in Chinese science and technology. Here sixteen scholars examine various facets of the current science and technology scene, comparing it with the past and speculating about future trends.

6.Cover: The Secret Speeches of Chairman Mao: From the Hundred Flowers to the Great Leap Forward

The Secret Speeches of Chairman Mao: From the Hundred Flowers to the Great Leap Forward

MacFarquhar, Roderick
Cheek, Timothy
Wu, Eugene

During two crucial years of the Cultural Revolution, Mao addressed various Party groups behind closed doors to explain the new policies and exhort compliance. These new, candid materials revise our understanding of how the policies developed and reveal not only the extent of Mao’s power but the startling flights his untethered thought could take.

7.Cover: Chinese Society on the Eve of Tiananmen: The Impact of Reform

Chinese Society on the Eve of Tiananmen: The Impact of Reform

Davis, Deborah
Vogel, Ezra F.

This volume documents the uneven decollectivization and decentralization of China’s economy in the post-Mao years and its consequences. It deals with the effects of the materialistic and individualistic reward system on both public and private life in the countryside and in urban settings and the new expectations that economic changes engendered.

9.Cover: From May Fourth to June Fourth: Fiction and Film in Twentieth-Century China

From May Fourth to June Fourth: Fiction and Film in Twentieth-Century China

Widmer, Ellen
Wang, David Der-wei

What do Chinese literature and film inspired by the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) have in common with media of the May Fourth movement (1918–1930)? This book demonstrates several shared aims: to liberate narrative arts from aesthetic orthodoxies, to draw on foreign sources for inspiration, and to free individuals from social conformity.

10.Cover: Engendering China: Women, Culture, and the State

Engendering China: Women, Culture, and the State

Gilmartin, Christina K.
Hershatter, Gail
Rofel, Lisa
White, Tyrene

This first significant collection of essays on women in China in more than two decades captures a pivotal moment in a cross-cultural—and interdisciplinary—dialogue. For the first time, the voices of China-based scholars are heard alongside scholars positioned in the United States.

11.Cover: Zouping in Transition: The Process of Reform in Rural North China

Zouping in Transition: The Process of Reform in Rural North China

Walder, Andrew G.

Zouping offers important general lessons for the study of China’s rural transformation. The authors in this volume, all participants in a unique field research project undertaken from 1988 to 1992, address questions concerning the role of local governments as economic actors, market reform, and inequality.

12.Cover: The Paradox of China’s Post-Mao Reforms

The Paradox of China’s Post-Mao Reforms

Goldman, Merle
MacFarquhar, Roderick

China’s move to an open market economy ended the political chaos and economic stagnation of the Cultural Revolution and sparked an unprecedented economic boom. Yet this success came at the cost of a weakening central government, increasing inequalities, and fragmenting society. The essays here explore this contradiction.

13.Cover: Changing Meanings of Citizenship in Modern China

Changing Meanings of Citizenship in Modern China

Goldman, Merle
Perry, Elizabeth J.

This collection of essays addresses the meaning and practice of political citizenship in China over the past century, raising the question of whether reform initiatives in citizenship imply movement toward increased democratization.

14.Cover: Grassroots Political Reform in Contemporary China

Grassroots Political Reform in Contemporary China

Perry, Elizabeth J.
Goldman, Merle

Observers often note the glaring contrast between China’s economic progress and its stalled political reforms. This volume, written by experienced scholars, explores a range of grassroots efforts—initiated by the state and society alike—to restrain corrupt behavior and enhance the accountability of local authorities.

15.Cover: Popular Protest in China

Popular Protest in China

O'Brien, Kevin J.

Unrest in China, from the dramatic events of 1989 to more recent stirrings, offers a rare opportunity to consider how popular contention unfolds in places where speech and assembly are tightly controlled. The contributors to this volume argue that ideas inspired by social movements elsewhere can help explain popular protest in China.

16.Cover: One Country, Two Societies: Rural-Urban Inequality in Contemporary China

One Country, Two Societies: Rural-Urban Inequality in Contemporary China

Whyte, Martin K.

This timely and important collection of original essays analyzes China’s foremost social cleavage: the rural–urban gap.

17.Cover: Mao’s Invisible Hand: The Political Foundations of Adaptive Governance in China

Mao’s Invisible Hand: The Political Foundations of Adaptive Governance in China

Heilmann, Sebastian
Perry, Elizabeth J.

Observers have been predicting the demise of China’s Communist state since Mao’s death. Yet policymakers have managed the fastest sustained economic expansion in world history. This book shows that many contemporary techniques of governance have their roots in experimental policy generation and implementation dating to the revolution and early PRC.

18.Cover: Red Legacies in China: Cultural Afterlives of the Communist Revolution

Red Legacies in China: Cultural Afterlives of the Communist Revolution

Li, Jie
Zhang, Enhua

In Red Legacies in China, Mao-era legacies serve as a framework to examine the cultural productions and afterlives of the communist revolution in order to understand China’s continuities and transformations from socialism to postsocialism. Essays discuss arts, literature and film, language and thought, architecture, museums, and memorials.

19.Cover: Beyond Regimes: China and India Compared

Beyond Regimes: China and India Compared

Duara, Prasenjit
Perry, Elizabeth J.

China and India have been powerfully shaped by both transnational and subnational forces. Beyond Regimes explores local and global influences as they play out in the contemporary era with a focus on four intersecting topics: labor relations; legal reform and rights protest; public goods provision; and transnational migration and investment.

20.Cover: Evolutionary Governance in China: State–Society Relations under Authoritarianism

Evolutionary Governance in China: State–Society Relations under Authoritarianism

Hsu, Szu-chien
Tsai, Kellee S.
Chang, Chun-chih

An evolutionary framework is used to examine how the Chinese state relates with non-state actors across several fields of governance. This approach provides insight into the circumstances wherein the party-state exerts its coercive power versus engaging in more flexible responses or policy adaptations.

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