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In the decades following the introduction of Communist Party rule in Shanghai in 1949, the city's economy, infrastructure and links with the world all atrophied. However, the past decade has seen far-reaching economic reforms implemented to recreate Shanghai as a cosmopolitan, world financial and trade centre. This book focuses on the lives of local residents and their perceptions of their changing city, and presents an evocative series of ethnographic perspectives of the city's shifting sociological landscape in this period of transition.
List of contents
Acknowledgements Illustrations Notes on the Text Preface: Ethnography of a City Introduction: Historical Background to Shanghai 1. Opening the Door, Crossing the Stream: Representations and Metaphors of Reform in Contemporary Shanghai 2. Global and Intra-National Cultural Flows: Renegotiating Boundaries and Identities in Contemporary Shanghai 3. The Walls Within: Shanghai Inside Out 4. Consuming Shanghai: Hairy Crabs, Ghosts, and Christmas Trees 5. Share Dealers, Trading Places and New Options in Contemporary Shanghai 6. Concluding Impressions Notes Glossary of Chinese Terms Bibliography Index
About the author
Jos Gamble trained as an anthropologist at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He has visited China on many occasions since 1984, and has lived in Shanghai for over four years. Dr Gamble is now a Lecturer in Asia Pacific Business in the School of Management of Royal Holloway, University of London. He is currently researching British retail operations in the Asia Pacific region.
Summary
This book presents a richly nuanced series of ethnographic perspectives of Shanghai's shifting sociological landscape during a period of far-reaching economic and social transformation.
Additional text
'The best English language work to date on Shanghai in the post-1978 era ... a very impressive first book with much to offer in terms of both data and insight.' - China Quarterly
