Restless China

This compelling book explores the explosive pace of change in China and how its citizens are grappling with a dramatically new world, both in the public and private spheres. There is enormous popular pride in the ascension of China to the rank of global superpower and general satisfaction in the material benefits that the poor as well as the rich have been gaining from an expanding economy. But there is also great restlessness, anger about structural injustice and political corruption, and a search for new forms of spirituality and ethics to replace a collapsing moral order. The question "What does it mean, in the new day, to be Chinese?" lurks just beneath the surface. This unique interdisciplinary book frames this central issue through an innovative set of case studies on such cutting-edge topics as reality dating shows, countercultural invented language, star bloggers, faith healers, and subversive jokes.

Perry Link is Emeritus Professor of East Asian Studies atPrinceton University and Chancellorial Chair for Teaching Across Disciplines, University of California, Riverside.Richard P. Madsen is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego. Paul G. Pickowicz is Distinguished Professor of History and Chinese Studies at the University of California, San Diego, and inaugural holder of the UC San Diego Endowed Chair in Modern Chinese History.

Restless China: An Introduction Perry Link, Richard P. Madsen, and Paul G. Pickowicz Part I: Legacies Chapter 1: When Things Go Wrong: Accidents and the Legacy of the Mao Era in Today's China Jeremy Brown Chapter 2: "The Only Reliability Is That These Guys Aren't Reliable!": The Business Culture of Red Capitalism X. L. Ding Chapter 3: Political Humor in Postsocialist China: Transnational and Still Funny Paul G. Pickowicz Part II: A New Electronic Community Chapter 4: From Grass-Mud Equestrians to Rights-Conscious Citizens: Language and Thought on the Chinese Internet Perry Link and Xiao Qiang Chapter 5: Han Han and the Public Yang Lijun Chapter 6: Are You the One?:The Competing Public Voices of China's Post-1980s Generation Shuyu Kong Part III: Values Chapter 7: The Sacred and the Holy: Religious Power and Cultural Creativity in China Today Richard P. Madsen Chapter 8: An Invisible Path: "Urban Buddhists" in Beijing and Their Search for Meaning David Moser Chapter 9: Chinese Youth: Hot Romance and Cold Calculation William Jankowiak Part IV: Global Standards Chapter 10: A Collapsing Natural Environment? Su Xiaokang and Perry Link Chapter 11: Awash in Money and Searching for Excellence: The Restlessness of Chinese Universities Hsiung Ping-chen Chapter 12: Food Safety and Social Risk in Contemporary China Yunxiang Yan