Revolutionizing the Family: Politics, Love, and Divorce in Urban and Rural China, 1949–1968. By Neil J.  Diamant. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000. Pp. 340. $55.00.

2001 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 256-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Woo
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Rural China ◽  
University Of California ◽  
Family Politics ◽  
The Family

Revolutionizing the Family: Politics, Love, and Divorce in Urban and Rural China, 1949–1968. By Neil J. Diamant. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. 458p. $55.00.

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 232-233
Author(s):  
Vivienne Shue
Keyword(s):  
Rural China ◽  
Urban Society ◽  
University Of California ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Family Politics ◽  
State And Society ◽  
The Family ◽  
State Interventions ◽  
Shed Light

This is a thoroughly revisionist study, in the best sense of the word. Starting from the conviction that a close look at marriage and divorce in China can open "a wide window onto what might be called the `interface' between state and society" (p. 14), Diamant sets out to capture a better sense of the quality of "everyday interactions between citizen and state" (p. 15). He uses these observations to shed light on larger questions about the degree to which citizens in differ- ent social strata may have regarded the state as legitimate or illegitimate, as well as the extent to which state interventions designed to alter power relations in both rural and urban society were effective.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document