Description: Catastrophe and Contention in Rural China by Ralph A. Thaxton, Jr Thaxton analyzes how the local Communist Party agents of the Mao-led central government imposed the famine of the Great Leap Forward on one rural village, how villagers remember this traumatic experience, and how they engaged in resistance to escape the famine and the predatory rule it reflected. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description This book documents how Chinas rural people remember the great famine of Maoist rule, which proved to be the worst famine in modern world history. Ralph A. Thaxton, Jr., sheds new light on how Chinas socialist rulers drove rural dwellers to hunger and starvation, on how powerless villagers formed resistance to the corruption and coercion of collectivization, and on how their hidden and contentious acts, both individual and concerted, allowed them to survive and escape the predatory grip of leaders and networks in the thrall of Maos authoritarian plan for a full-throttle realization of communism – a plan that engendered an unprecedented disaster for rural families. Based on his study of a rural villages memories of the famine, Thaxton argues that these memories persisted long after the events of the famine and shaped rural resistance to the socialist state, both before and after the post-Mao era of reform. Author Biography Ralph A. Thaxton, Jr., is a Professor of Politics and the Chairman of the East Asian Studies Program at Brandeis University. He is the author of Salt of the Earth: The Political Origins of Peasant Protest in China (1977) and China Turned Rightside Up: Revolutionary Legitimacy in the Peasant World (1983). He was named a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of California Berkeley Center for Chinese Studies (1974-5) and a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study (2002) and has won numerous prizes and fellowships, including a Harry Frank Guggenheim Fellowship, a Chang Ching-kuo Foundation International Fellowship, and the United States Institute of Peace Fellowship. Table of Contents Introduction; 1. The Republican era and the emergence of Communist leadership during the anti-Japanese war of resistance; 2. The ascent of the vigilante militia: the violent antecedents of Maos war; 3. The onset of collectivization and popular dissatisfaction with Maos yellow bomb road; 4. The mandate abandoned: the disaster of the great leap forward; 5. Strategies of survival and their elimination in the great leap forward; 6. The escape from famine and death; 7. Indignation and frustrated retaliation: the politics of disengagement; 8. The market comes first: the economics of disengagement; 9. Persistent memories and long-delayed retaliation in the reform era; Conclusion. Review "This book is a major achievement. Based on more than 20 years of field research, it paints a vivid picture of how the Great Leap Forward was experienced in one village. It shows that enforcement of policies disastrous for villagers precipitated bitter conflicts between peasants seeking to protect their customary family entitlements and brutal and cruel cadres who did the bidding of a regime blinded by utopian dreams, hubris and fanaticism. Thaxton places this rivetting story in the context of the history of the village from the l930s on and of the decades since the collapse of the Leap. This enables him convincingly to show that violence and brutality were deeply embedded in earlier revolutionary processes. And it enables him to argue provocatively that the legacies of Great Leap abuses continue to inform the mentalities of villagers to this day." -Thomas P.Bernstein, Professor emeritus, Columbia University "Having gained extraordinary access to hitherto unavailable sources in rural China, Ralph Thaxton has written a path-breaking book which continues a career of important scholarship aimed at exploring the vicissitudes of popular responses to painful traumas and cruel local officials. A major work." -Edward Friedman, University of Wisconsin "Catastrophe and Contention in Rural China offers an all-too-rare picture of what it was like for peasants to survive the Great Famine caused by the Great Leap. Thaxtons volume is an iconic and deeply arresting account of mass starvation, trauma and suffering, but also of endurance and resistance. This is a work of real importance that will be influential with China scholars and scholars of catastrophe and resistance generally. A strong achievement!" -Arthur Kleinman, Harvard University "This is a remarkable study of a Chinese village and county, based on in-depth on-site research. The farmers in this region experienced the darker side of the Chinese revolution, and Ralph Thaxtons devastating, intriguing account vividly brings to life their trials and travails from the 1950s up into the post-Mao reform era." -Jonathan Unger, Director, Contemporary China Center, Australian National University Promotional Thaxton argues that the memory of the great famine under Mao shaped villagers resistance to the socialist state. Review Quote "This is a remarkable study of a Chinese village and county, based on in-depth on-site research. The farmers in this region experienced the darker side of the Chinese revolution, and Ralph Thaxtons devastating, intriguing account vividly brings to life their trials and travails from the 1950s up into the post-Mao reform era." -Jonathan Unger, Director, Contemporary China Center, Australian National University Promotional "Headline" Thaxton argues that the memory of the great famine under Mao shaped villagers resistance to the socialist state. Description for Bookstore Thaxton analyzes how the local Communist Party agents of the Mao-led central government imposed the famine of the Great Leap Forward on one rural village, how villagers remember this traumatic experience, and how they engaged in resistance to escape the famine and the predatory rule it reflected. Description for Library Thaxton analyzes how the local Communist Party agents of the Mao-led central government imposed the famine of the Great Leap Forward on one rural village, how villagers remember this traumatic experience, and how they engaged in resistance to escape the famine and the predatory rule it reflected. Details ISBN0521897491 Short Title CATASTROPHE & CONTENTION IN RU Publisher Cambridge University Press Series Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics Language English ISBN-10 0521897491 ISBN-13 9780521897495 Media Book Format Hardcover Year 2008 Imprint Cambridge University Press Subtitle Maos Great Leap Forward Famine and the Origins of Righteous Resistance in Da Fo Village Place of Publication Cambridge Country of Publication United Kingdom DOI 10.1604/9780521897495 UK Release Date 2008-05-05 AU Release Date 2008-05-05 NZ Release Date 2008-05-05 Author Ralph A. Thaxton, Jr Pages 406 Publication Date 2008-05-05 Alternative 9780511756085 DEWEY 330.95118 Illustrations 2 Maps; 8 Halftones, unspecified Audience Professional & Vocational We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:168655819;
Price: 233.77 AUD
Location: Melbourne
End Time: 2025-01-25T03:21:15.000Z
Shipping Cost: 13.16 AUD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
Returns Accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
ISBN-13: 9780521897495
Book Title: Catastrophe and Contention in Rural China
Number of Pages: 406 Pages
Publication Name: Catastrophe and Contention in Rural China: Mao's Great Leap Forward Famine and the Origins of Righteous Resistance in Da Fo Village
Language: English
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Item Height: 240 mm
Publication Year: 2008
Type: Textbook
Item Weight: 710 g
Subject Area: Political Sociology
Author: Ralph A. Thaxton, Jr
Item Width: 160 mm
Format: Hardcover
