The Promise of the Revolution: Stories of Fulfillment and Struggle in China's Hinterland - Softcover

From the foreword by: Wright?s elegant study is a mixture of systematic data and intimate reportage. This terrific volume not only imparts knowledge, it also provides the reader great understanding of what Wright calls China?s 'search to find itself." -- David M. Lampton, The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies The Promise of the Revolution offers a window into a corner of China we rarely see. Daniel Wright's vivid portraits of the poor Guizhou peasants and migrants whose lives he shared offer an unforgettable contrast to our usual picture of China based upon go-go Shanghai and other coastal areas. -- Martin K. Whyte, Harvard University Wright has produced a masterly overview of what is arguably the most important issue in China today: growing regional economic disparity. Colorful and anecdotal, the book is the freshest and most accessible and well-balanced reportage available on interior China. While most scholars have focused on wealthy coastal regions like Shanghai and Beijing, this path-breaking work on poverty-stricken Guizhou Province is an invaluable addition to the field of China studies. -- Cheng Li, Hamilton College This book is an enjoyable read. Wright clearly has a knack for getting people to talk, and his reports on what people in Guizhou tell him are compelling. It should be read by all those interested in life in the Chinese hinterlands, and considered for the classroom by teachers from a range of disciplines. Indeed, the anecdotal structure of the book, its introduction of basic terms and issues when analyzing Chinese society, history, economy and geography, and its clear style of writing make it ideal as a classroom text. The China Journal Readers who want to know what life is like for ordinary Chinese outside of the big cities should delve into this slim, well-written, engaging, and eye-opening volume. The China Business Review A compelling narrative of life in interior China-a poor and backward part of China far from the lights and frenzy of the major cities. It is an account anyone interested in contemporary China should read. -- Joseph Fewsmith, Boston University; from the foreword From the foreword by: Wright's elegant study is a mixture of systematic data and intimate reportage. This terrific volume not only imparts knowledge, it also provides the reader great understanding of what Wright calls China's 'search to find itself.' -- David M. Lampton, The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

This engaging book sketches compelling portraits of contemporary life in Guizhou, one of China's poorest provinces, more than fifty years after the Communist revolution promised to change the lives of the country's rural and urban dwellers. Through an exploration of local history, economic disparity, migrant labor, village life, civil society, education, poverty, local governance, enterprise reform, the rebirth of religion, and the new-found wealth of a privileged few, this perceptive study allows readers a unique glimpse into the lives and perspectives of China's hidden majority.