Peasants no more? Social change in the countryside

The rural peasantry provided the backbone of Chinese rural society pre-1949. In many respects their subsequent fate lies at the heart of the transformation of China’s countryside. However, the nature of this fate is not without controversy and is open to various interpretations. This chapter seeks to capture the multifaceted evolution of the peasantry, in part attempting to answer the question of whether there remains a readily recognisable rural peasant class in modern China. It provides an account of the evolution of rural society from pre-revolutionary times through the rule of Mao Zedong to the reform era and beyond. Key features of Chinese society and economy are analysed. In this chapter, the hukou system is discussed, differentiating between rural and urban households and the different rights associated with them. An assessment is provided of the impact of the Household Responsibility System (HRS), in which individual households have use rights over farmland. This addresses the evolution of policy reforms, which have contributed to the ongoing differentiation of the peasantry. The various ways in which the peasantry is now viewed in China are discussed, setting the scene for the ensuing multiple narratives of rural China presented in the book.