The Underworld of Rural China. Research on Rural Gangs on China’s Jianghan Plain and Dongting Lake Plain.

This book aims to provide the readers a better understanding of rural China through the particular perspective of the rural underworld. It proposes new concepts to describe social changes of rural China by comparing the contemporary rural society with the acquaintance society—the classic model for depicting the traditional Chinese society. The author’s down-to-earth fieldwork has revealed that, with a permeating gang influence, the society of rural China has actually changed in nature. Such change in social nature is summarized as “the estrangement of acquaintances” or “moral ambiguity”. As a result of the rural gangster’s unlawful acts of lining their pockets with national resources, rural China is going through “rural governance involution.” In short, this book develops new models and concepts to establish a comprehensive scientific conceptual system for explaining social reality. With hard-to-come-by information and a prudent and multi-faceted analysis on a neglected topic, this book gradually reveals to the readers the true picture of rural China.

Index

Front Matter Pages i-xxiii
Research Topic and Approach Pages 1-24
The Acquaintance Society and Reciprocity-Based Behavior Pattern Pages 25-49
The Rise of Gangs and the Acquaintance Society Pages 51-81
The Renaissance of Rural Gangs and the Acquaintance Society Pages 83-115
Changes and Predicament in the Public Security System Pages 117-146
Rural Gangs and Public Order Pages 147-171
Rural Gangs and Interpersonal Relationships Pages 173-188
Rural Gangs and Village Governance Pages 189-213
The Changing Behavior Pattern and Moral Ambiguity Pages 215-231
A Supplementary Chapter: Rural Gangs and Grassroots Governance Pages 233-260
Back Matter Pages 261-287

Published by Springer 2023

Chen Baifeng is Professor of School of Law, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China. His research interest is in jurisprudence, legal sociology and grassroots governance. He has published 6 academic monographs and over 100 journal articles in Social Sciences in China, Chinese Journal of Law, China Legal Science, Sociology Studies and CASS Journal of Political Science. He has undertaken over a dozen of research projects sponsored by China’s National Natural Science Foundation, Ministry of Education and the Fok Ying Tung Foundation. He was named “Changjiang Scholar” by the Ministry of Education of China and “Hubei Young and Middle-aged Expert with Major Contributions”. He was nominated for “the Top 10 Young and Middle-aged Jurists” by the 8th Form of Chinese Young Jurists. He was given the MOE Award for Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement in Institution of Higher Education, Hubei Award for Outstanding Achievement in Social Sciences, China Award for Outstanding Achievement in Law, Dong Biwu Award for Young Scholars’ Outstanding Achievement in Law, the Wuhan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Social Sciences and the Award for China’s “Top Ten Outstanding Young Jurists” at the 9th Forum of Chinese Young Jurists.

Dell’autore leggi anche In dialogo con il prof. Chen Baifeng. Terra, società e diritto nella Cina rurale