Happy Lunar New Year from the USC US-China Institute!
Making A Rural Modern In Early Twentieth Century China
Kate Merkel-Hess, Assistant Professor of History and Asian Studies at Pennsylvania State University, gives a talk on modernizing rural China.
Where
China became a majority urban country only in 2011, and the trend toward urbanization will deepen in the next decade as the government fulfills its plans to move rural populations into cities, razing villages and relocating villagers to suburban high rises. This shift is the end of a story that originated in the 1920s and 1930s, when intellectuals began what turned out to be an almost century-long challenge to the urban nature of modernization, positing, in its place, a rural modern. This alternate vision of modernity got its start among the thousands of Chinese reformers who ventured into the countryside to try to effect rural reconstruction and, in so doing, make a new people. This talk explores not only how reformers imagined remade people and their communities, but also the shifts in rural reconstruction models as government and international interest in the reforms grew, and what had been largely independent or local efforts at reform were increasingly entangled with the developmental state.
Featured Articles
We note the passing of many prominent individuals who played some role in U.S.-China affairs, whether in politics, economics or in helping people in one place understand the other.
Events
Ying Zhu looks at new developments for Chinese and global streaming services.
David Zweig examines China's talent recruitment efforts, particularly towards those scientists and engineers who left China for further study. U.S. universities, labs and companies have long brought in talent from China. Are such people still welcome?