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A Discourse Analysis of 40 Years Rural Development in China

Author

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  • Ying Lu

    (Chair of Land Management, Department of Aerospace and Geodesy, School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 80333 Munich, Germany)

  • Walter Timo de Vries

    (Chair of Land Management, Department of Aerospace and Geodesy, School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 80333 Munich, Germany)

Abstract

Since the reform and opening-up policy of 1978, rural areas in China have experienced significant changes in spatial, social, economic, and environmental development. In this research, we aim to explore the changes in the discourses on rural development over the past 40 years. This can help to understand how problems are framed and why certain strategies are adopted at different times. We employ a quantitative approach and analyze keywords from 32,657 Chinese publications on rural development from 1981 to 2020. From the results, we distinguish eight development paradigms, including “household responsibility system”, “rural commodity economy”, “social market economy”, “sustainable development”, “Sannong”, “building a new socialist countryside”, “beautiful countryside”, and “rural revitalization”. We also interpret the discursive shifts in three aspects, i.e., actors, places, and activities. We argue that the key characteristic of current rural development discourse is the duality, which emerges between agricultural and non-agricultural industries, economic growth and environmental conservation, urban and rural development, top-down and bottom-up approaches, and modernist and postmodernist discourses.

Suggested Citation

  • Ying Lu & Walter Timo de Vries, 2022. "A Discourse Analysis of 40 Years Rural Development in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5206-:d:802296
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hongzhang Xu & Jamie Pittock & Katherine A. Daniell, 2021. "China: A New Trajectory Prioritizing Rural Rather Than Urban Development?," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-29, May.
    2. Ying Lu & Walter Timo de Vries, 2021. "A Bibliometric and Visual Analysis of Rural Development Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rui Qu & Zaewoong Rhee & Seung-Jong Bae & Sang-Hyun Lee, 2022. "Analysis of Industrial Diversification Level of Economic Development in Rural Areas Using Herfindahl Index and Two-Step Clustering," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-19, May.
    2. Ying Lu & Walter Timo de Vries, 2023. "Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Rural Development in China over the Past 40 Years," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-20, May.

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