Chinese Workers: A New History / Edition 1

by Jackie Sheehan

Overview

Jackie Sheehan traces the background and development of workers clashes with the Chinese Communist Party through mass campaigns such as the 1956-7 Hundred Flowers movement, the Cultural Revolution, the April Fifth Movement of 1976, Democracy Wall and the 1989 Democracy Movement. The author provides the most detailed and complete picture of workers protest in China to date and locates their position within the context of Chinese political history. Chinese Workers demonstrates that the image of Chinese workers as politically conformist and reliable supporters of the Communist Party does not match the realities of industrial life in China. Recent outbreaks of protest by workers are less of a departure from the past than is generally realized.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415172066
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/24/1998
Series:	Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia , #2
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Preface, Acknowledgements, Introduction, 1. Chinese labour under ‘New Democracy’, 1949–55, 2. Contradictions among the people, 1956–7, 3. ‘Hard work and plain living’, 1958–65, 4. ‘To rebel is justified’: workers in the Cultural Revolution 1966–9, 5. ‘Long live the people’: unrest and dissent, 1969–76, 6. ‘Others are your masters’: dissent, democracy and reform, 1976–84, 7. ‘Let the whole nation know the workers are organized’, 1984–94, 8. Conclusion, Notes, Bibliography, Index

Editorial Reviews

Sheehan (history, U. of Keele) traces the background and development of workers' clashes with the Chinese Communist Party. He discusses the 1956-57 Hundred Flowers movement, the Cultural Revolution, the April Fifth movement of 1976, Democracy Wall, the 1989 Democracy Movement, and organizing efforts that continue through the 1990s. He places the protests within the context of Chinese political history, and argues that the image of Chinese workers as politically conformist and reliable supporters of the Communist Party does not match the reality of industrial life in the country. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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