Chinese Women and Rural Development 
Subtitle: Sixty Years of Change in Lu Village, Yunnan
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.; Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: February 2002
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 393
ISBN-13: 9780742511071
Subjects: Rural communities; Social & cultural anthropology; Women's studies; 20th century; Postwar period, 1945 to c 2000; Social conditions; Lucun (Yunnan Sheng); Social Science; Women in rural development; Sociology; China; Ethnic Studies - General; Feminism & Feminist Theory; Social Science / Ethnic Studies; Sociology - General; Sex role; Women
Description: "Rich in historical perspective on women and men in the context of economic development, this ethnography provides a unique window on rural China since the 1930s. Laurel Bossen uses her detailed knowledge to explore theories regarding such momentous changes as the demise of footbinding, the transformation and feminization of farming, the rise of family planning, and the question of missing daughters. Based on anthropological research conducted during the 1990s in Lu Village and informed by the classic 1930s study of the same village by Fei Xiaotong, China's most famous anthropologist, Chinese Women and Rural Development goes beyond the enduring myths and cardboard images of women as either victims or heroes. Highlighting women's work in a complex farming economy and their choices in marriage and family, the book portrays individuals confronting a variety of changes, ranging from drastic to gradual, in their daily lives. Bossen examines the economic, social, and political practices both upholding and altering the boundaries of gender in the face of shifting state and market forces over time. Throughout, Lu Village women defy stereotypes, yet their stories, rooted in the reality of Yunnan province, express the commonalities and continuities of gender in rural China." -- Publisher's description.