Fei Xiaotong

4.5853 learners

Based on immersive firsthand fieldwork in Kaihsienkung, a tight-knit village on China’s Taihu Lake, *Peasant Life in China* by Fei Xiaotong delivers a vivid, unfiltered portrait of rural Chinese life in the 1930s. More than just a snapshot, this seminal work unpacks the village’s economic backbone—centered on rice farming and the once-thriving silk industry, which collapsed amid global economic depression and outdated production methods. It dives into intricate social structures shaping daily life: extended family dynamics, arranged marriages, patrilineal inheritance, and tight bonds of kinship and neighborhood. Fei also examines tensions between tradition and modernity, from mismatched school reforms to the cooperative silk mill experiment aimed at reviving the local economy. By focusing on one small community, he fills a critical gap in macro-level studies of China’s economy, offering tangible insights into rural poverty, land tenure issues, and the fragile link between villages and urban centers. This classic remains essential for understanding the roots of China’s rural challenges and the quiet resilience of its peasant population.

Hu Sheng

4608 learners

Breaking free from traditional dynastic chronologies, *Two Thousand Years* offers a panoramic, cross-dynastic analysis of over 2,000 years of Chinese feudal autocracy. By focusing on core institutional and social dynamics rather than isolated events, the book unpacks the evolution of imperial power—from Qin Shi Huang’s centralized authority to the extreme autocracy of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It delves into the symbiotic yet contradictory relationship between the monarchy and the bureaucratic system, the transformation of military institutions from aristocratic privilege to professional armies, and the harsh realities of peasant life tied to land and exploited by both the state and landlords. The work also examines recurring peasant uprisings, their role in challenging dynasties, and their ultimate failure to break the feudal cycle, alongside complex, often violent interactions between Han Chinese and northern nomadic groups. Ultimately, it reveals the inherent contradictions of feudal rule that led to its inevitable collapse, providing readers with a deep understanding of China’s historical continuity and complexity.