Description
Book SynopsisWhile many have studied China's rise as an economic power, China itself does not exist solely in the economic realm. This study explores the moral sphere as a key to understanding how rural Chinese experience and talk about their lives in a period of rapid economic transformation.
Trade Review"Original and important contribution to the fast-growing literature on contemporary China ... Two thumbs up!" Journal Of China Quarterly "Commendable" Chinese Historical Review "Very well written, entertaining like a novel, but with an evident scholarly background." -- Dominique Tyl Chinese Cross Currents "Stories ... are told with care and compassion, allowing Oxfeld to develop a nuanced analysis of moral discussions in rural China." Asia Pacific World "Drink water is Oxfeld's insightful call to arms." Social Anthropology "A significant contribution to the anthropology of morality." -- David A. Palmer The China Journal
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Tables Notes on the Text Preface and Acknowledgments Part I. Morality in Rural China: Contexts and Categories 1. Moonshadow Pond: Moral Expectations and Daily Life 2. Liangxin Part II. Moral Discourse in Social Life 3. Weighty Expectations: Women and Family Virtue 4. Everlasting Debts 5. The Moral Dilemmas of Return Visits 6. Property Rights and Wrongs 7. "Money Causes Trouble" Conclusion: Ethnography and Morality Notes Chinese Character Glossary References Index
