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Whither Rural China? A Case Study of Gao Village

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2017

Mobo Gao*
Affiliation:
University of Adelaide. Email: mobo.gao@adelaide.edu.au.

Abstract

This case study of Gao Village has two aims: to provide an update on Gao Village since 1997, when Gao Village (Gao 1999, 2014) leaves off, and to ponder the future direction of rural China. The article begins with an update on the development of Gao Village from the late 1990s up to 2015, dealing with several major thematic topics such as demography, family and marriage, living standards, education and health care. Using empirical evidence gathered during several years of fieldwork as background, the paper then moves on to discuss the future direction of rural China. This second part covers the current intellectual and policy debate on two crucial issues: land ownership and urbanization. The paper concludes that the Chinese state is still undecided on a grand narrative: whether to travel further in the direction of full-scale capitalism or whether to retain some kind of socialist collectivism.

摘要

本文是高家村的个案研究。《高家村: 共和国农村生活素描》讲述了高家村从 1949 年到 1999 年的变迁。本文一方面旨在更新高家村从 1999 年以来的状况。这些状况主题包括: 人口, 收入, 民工及城乡差别, 教育, 卫生健康。 农作和环境。本文另一方面在综述高家村实际发展现状和问题的基础上探讨中国农村特别是中南部中国农村的前景和发展方向。为了达到这个目的, 本文讨论了城镇化, 村社前途, 和农村土地所有权问题上的争议和政策后果。特别是在农村土地所有权的问题上, 本文着重分析了自由资本主义, 小农经济家庭农作和马克思主义三家主要思想的争论和政策后果。

Type
Section on Rural China
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London, 2017 

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