The identity of Zhiqing
Subtitle: the lost generation
By: Weiyi Wu and Fan Hong
Contributors: Fan, Hong, 1957- author
Series: Routledge focus; Routledge contemporary China series -- 145; Routledge contemporary China series -- 145.
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 101
ISBN-13: 9781138933170
Subjects: Politics and government; Interviews; High school graduates; Youth; Group identity; Urban-rural migration; Social psychology; Identity (Psychology); Biography; History
Description: "Outside China, little is known about the process and implications of the Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside (UMDC) Movement, a Chinese state policy from 1967 to 1979 in which more than 16 million secondary school-leavers in different cities relocated to rural areas. The Movement shaped the lives of these young people and assigned them a shared group identity: Zhiqing, or the Educated Youth. This book provides new research on Zhiqing, who were born and brought up after the establishment of the People's Republic of China and regarded as a lost generation during the Cultural Revolution. Presenting a remembrance of their tortuous life trajectories, the book investigates their distinctive identity and self-identification. Unlike earlier historical approaches, it does this from a social psychological perspective. It is also unique in its use of first-hand materials, as individuals' memories and reflections collected by in-depth interviews are compiled and presented as Zhiqing's self-portrait. This innovative research offers an informative and profound induction of the topic and also contributes to the development of contemporary Chinese studies by laying the foundation for a specialized Zhiqing study. Combining rich empirical research with a strong theoretical perspective, this book will be invaluable to students and scholars of Chinese history, sociology, anthropology and politics"--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 89-95) and index.
Table of contents: title: Finding the "Lost Generation"; title: Linking Zhiqing's Life Trajectories to Social History; title: To the Wider World : Group-identity Configuration I (1967-1981); title: Drops of Water in the Ocean : Group-identity Configuration II (1980s-present); title: The Identity of Zhiqing : Approach and Conclusion.