Chinese Women and Rural Development : Sixty Years of Change in Lu Village, Yunnan

By Laurel Bossen

Book Overview

Rich in historical perspective on women and men in the context of economic development, this ethnography provides a unique window on rural China since the 1930s. Laurel Bossen uses her detailed knowledge to explore theories regarding such momentous changes as the demise of footbinding, the transformation and feminization of farming, the rise of family planning, and the question of missing daughters.
Based on anthropological research conducted during the 1990s in Lu Village and informed by the classic 1930s study of the same village by Fei Xiaotong, China's most famous anthropologist, Chinese Women and Rural Development goes beyond the enduring myths and cardboard images of women as either victims or heroes. Highlighting women's work in a complex farming economy and their choices in marriage and family, the book portrays individuals confronting a variety of changes, ranging from drastic to gradual, in their daily lives. Bossen examines the economic, social, and political practices both upholding and altering the boundaries of gender in the face of shifting state and market forces over time. Throughout, Lu Village women defy stereotypes, yet their stories, rooted in the reality of Yunnan province, express the commonalities and continuities of gender in rural China.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0742511073
• ISBN13: 9780742511071
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.2" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Inequality and Social Change

I have used this book in an undergraduate anthropology course titled, "Gender, Class, Race-ethnicity and Development." Most students were juniors or seniors, but knew little or nothing about China. The book was very favorably received. Students were particularly interested in the chapters on footbinding and shamanism, not only because of their intrinsic interest, but especially because of the way that Bossen links these practices to longterm economic processes. They also felt that Bossen's transparency with regard to the complex steps she took to build her analysis gave them precious insight into social science methodologies. I recommend this book highly, not only for scholars of Asia and China or of women's and rural studies, but also for coursework that focuses more generally on questions about inequality and social change.