Product Description

This new book provides an accessible and wide–ranging introduction to the main features of Chinese society. Drawing on a wealth of material, the author offers a fresh understanding of a unique society that has undergone continuous transformation and upheaval throughout the twentieth century.

Understanding Chinese Society looks in all its richness at the society with the largest population on earth. In order to explore long–term change and continuity, the book examines China from pre–revolutionary times to today′s rapidly modernising society, although the focus is on recent change. Particular attention is paid to China′s cultural traditions and hierarchical relationships in familial and wider social settings, and their fate in the modern world. Successive chapters investigate changes in the relations of rural and urban sectors of society; in the structure of families; in political and economic power; in cultural hegemony, education and the media; and in patterns of social inequality. A final chapter asks whether Chinese society is becoming more complex and differentiated in the course of modernisation and considers recent debates on the growth of civil society and democratisation.

This book will be indispensable for anyone studying Chinese society, Asian societies and comparative sociology.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #553706 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 280 pages

Review
"Stockman examines the world′s most populous nation beginning with pre–revolutionary times, and turns his focus on today′s rapidly modernizing society. Especial attention is paid to the fate of cultural traditions in the industrial and post–industrial world." Reference and Research Book News

"Textbooks on China are readily available, but this book makes its mark by integrating sociological theories with the investigation of social change in China ... Stockman has an ability to combine various works into a coherent discussion of a specific topic ... The issues Stockman addresses will be ones that interest students in Western universities." The China Journal

"A book for readers who may not have a detailed and complex understanding of Chinese history." Political Studies

"Norman Stockman′s book fills the gap between undergraduate sociology textbooks, which pay little attention to China, and a specialist research literature on China, which is often inaccessible to students." Times Higher Education Supplement

"A valuable base work offering important background information for any further research and more detailed study of contemporary Chinese society. Moreover, for all its analytical and theoretical import, Understanding Chinese Society never loses its accessibility. Though intended primarily for sociology students, it in fact can also be a useful reference book for any student studying modern and/or contemporary Chinese politics" History Now

"This is a book that one can recommend to students with the certainty that they will not be led astray by it in any important respect." Times Higher Education Supplement

From the Back Cover
Understanding Chinese Society looks in all its richness at the society with the largest population on earth. In order to explore long–term change and continuity, the book examines China from pre–revolutionary times to today′s rapidly modernising society, although the focus is on recent change. Particular attention is paid to China′s cultural traditions and hierarchical relationships in familial and wider social settings, and their fate in the modern world. Successive chapters investigate changes in the relations of rural and urban sectors of society; in the structure of families; in political and economic power; in cultural hegemony, education and the media; and in patterns of social inequality. A final chapter asks whether Chinese society is becoming more complex and differentiated in the course of modernisation and considers recent debates on the growth of civil society and democratisation.

This book will be indispensable for anyone studying Chinese society, Asian societies and comparative sociology.

About the Author
Norman Stockman is Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Aberdeen.

Customer Reviews

Chinese society laid bare!
China, still in the process of its second period of modernisation, and the progress of its multi-faceted society are desribed simply and succintly in this book by Stockman. Look no further for a basic overview of what is happening in today's China from every perspective - from economics, social status, culture, politics, the people and their changing situations. Highly recommended together with Joy Hendry's 'Understanding Japanese Society' as an introductory insight into an large area of the globe soon to make a large impact on the rest of us.

very hard to read
Although the book deals with the main points about China and its society. I found it extremely hard to read.
This book would not work as an introduction to China. It seems you already need to know what you are reading in order to know what it is talking about.
I found myself re-reading some passages over and over again because I just couldn't concentrate on the book due to its style.
Frankly, I think there are many books that deal with the subject better.