An excavation of the sociocultural, economic, and political history of everyday commodities

The growth of markets and consumerism in China's post-Mao era of political and economic reform is a story familiar to many. By contrast, the Mao period (1949-1976)-rightly framed as a time of scarcity-initially appears to have had little material culture to speak of. Yet people attributed great meaning to materials and objects often precisely because they were rare and difficult to obtain. This first volume devoted to the material history of the period explores the paradox of material culture under Chinese Communist Party rule and illustrates how central materiality was to individual and collective desire, social and economic construction of the country, and projections of an imminent socialist utopia within reach of every man and woman, if only they worked hard enough.

Bringing together scholars of Chinese art, cinema, culture, performance, and more, this volume shares groundbreaking research on the objects and practices of everyday life in Mao's China, from bamboo and bricks to dance and film. With engaging narratives and probing analysis, the contributors make a place for China's experience in the history of global material culture and the study of socialist modernity.

An excavation of the sociocultural, economic, and political history of everyday commodities

About the Author

Jennifer Altehenger is associate professor of Chinese history and Jessica Rawson Fellow in Modern Asian History at the University of Oxford and Merton College. She is author of Legal Lessons: Popularizing Laws in the People's Republic of China, 1949-1989. Denise Y. Ho is associate professor of history at Yale University. She is author of Curating Revolution: Politics on Display in Mao's China.

Reviews

"In addition to the variety of subjects covered, the richness of the book - and the pleasure derived from reading it - lies in the wide range of sources used: Party publications, popular media, general magazines, professional journals, comic books, technical manuals, as well as guidebooks, texts written by intellectuals, propaganda posters, films or customs regulations. The reader travels from rural to urban China, from construction sites to restaurant kitchens, from cinemas to car factories. This book confirms how important it is for historical research to draw on a wide variety of sources to capture the depth of everyday life."

* China Quarterly *



Book Information
ISBN 9780295750859
Author Jennifer Altehenger
Format Paperback
Page Count 264
Imprint University of Washington Press
Publisher University of Washington Press
Weight(grams) 396g