BOOK REVIEWS

Elizabeth Perry and Mark Selden eds., Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance

To present all the aspects of Chinese society from the angle of change, conflict and resistance is a huge and essential task. The book edited by Elizabeth Perry and Mark Selden performs it well. First of all because the authors brought together for the occasion share the perspective suggested by the book's editors. Neither apologists for, nor critics of the regime, they have in common an excellent knowledge of the field that leads them to a great modesty in the handling of concepts. This is perhaps the reason why the result is much more satisfying than many attempts at synthesis by “major writers”. The contributors are among the best experts, even though many of them are not particularly well known. The chapter by Jun Jing on the “protests about the environment in rural China” deserves special mention. This young researcher at Beida (Peking University), starting out from an observation that is obvious to any reader of the Chinese press, does not merely underline the terrible problems of pollution experienced in China: his analysis of the resistance movements organised by mere villagers when the authorities go too far in their persecution of Nature is genuinely creative. His very serious fieldwork allows him to present his readers with a highly detailed anthropological study of the resistance movements, and he does not hesitate to analyse all the repertoires of resistance summoned by these movements.

David Zweig's contribution helps put the positive effects of the development of village elections into perspective. Without any concessions to the idealism of the Carter Center's missionaries or to the sometimes exaggerated optimism of some American sociologists, the author demonstrates that these new institutions are hardly effective in resolving the conflicts caused by urbanisation, marketisation and deforestation. Through a thorough analysis of the articles in Minzhu yu fazhi (Democracy and The Legal System) dealing with the violation of the rights of farmers, Zweig shows that, despite the official line relayed by many experts, which emphasises the efforts made by the government to establish the “rule of law”, farmers practically never obtain satisfaction in the courts and are thus pushed to resort to illegal action such as collective protests (jiti shangfang) or civil disobedience to try to obtain compensation. The slightly esoteric title should not put the reader off. Zweig's contribution is quite fascinating.

Lee Ching Kwan, for his part, shows that Chinese workers are not as passive as the dominant discourse likes to affirm. Lee shows that since the beginning of the 1990s, workers' protests against government decisions that violate their rights, against restructuring and against the negative consequences of reforms, have not ceased. Wildcat strikes, petitions, and selective strikes are permanent elements in the repertoire of protests. But the government is vigilant, and tries by all means available to ensure that the movements do not spread beyond the danwei (work unit). And it is successful, for, despite growing discontent, there has been no major attempt to set up a free union since 1989. Lee Ching Kwan's contribution is interesting for it makes it possible to draw up a general picture of workers' protests. It is regrettable, however, that in contrast with the other articles brought together in this book, it is not based on filed studies, and that the author relies above all on secondary sources published in English. All the contributions that make up this book are worthy of mention, and the chapter by Hein Malee on migrant workers makes a good synthesis.

But this review would not be complete without a reference to Geremie Barmé's excellent contribution, which introduces, in his customarily lively style, the new generation of resisters that appeared at the very end of the 1990s, and especially his lines about Yu Jie, one of the best contemporary writers of zawen (essays).

This reviewer also recommends reading the highly synthetic introduction by the two editors, which spells out the project very clearly. The layout of the book is clear. Finally, Elizabeth Perry and Mark Selden are also to be thanked for having had the idea of preceding each contribution with a summary, which allows students from other fields than China studies, as well as all those who, without being experts, are interested in social change in contemporary China, to grasp the essential points of a book I would recommend to all students who wish to begin studying this country.

Translated from the French original by Michael Black