Social Stratification in Contemporary China

Theories, History and Structures
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-981-9233-27-4
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 223 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: Understanding China

This book discusses the historical formation, current situation, and future trend of China’s social stratification in the past 40 years of reform and opening up in all aspects. It analyzes the differences in China’s social structure from a structural perspective, categorizing them into four groups: urban areas, rural areas, medium-sized cities, megacities. These groups exhibit distinct differences in political, economic, and social aspects. The fragmentation among these four groups has led to significant imbalances in the distribution of resources. Resources owned by these different groups are difficult to flow freely and be allocated efficiently. Chinese social structure used to be an inverted “T-shaped” structure, but with the rapid development of Chinese society, Chinese society has now formed a triangle-shaped structure. To drive these changes, a modern transformation of the social structure is needed through multifaceted improvements such as the integration of migrant workers into the middle-class group and the industrial innovation and upgrading. This innovations also include new ways of organizing production in modern agriculture. Modern farmers can be highly skilled technicians in organic agriculture or managers of modern agricultural enterprises, equipped with scientific thinking and advanced skills. These changes are essential for achieving an olive-shaped society and promoting social equity and stability in China.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Li, Qiang

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Entwicklungsstudien
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Soziale Gruppen & Klassen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

An Overview of Social Stratification in China.- The Characteristics of China’s Social Stratification Structure.- Four Experiments in Social Stratification.- Analysis on the Evolution Trend of Modern Social Structure.- Changes of China’s Social Stratification Structure Since Reform and Opening-up.- Political Stratification and Economic Stratification.- Holistic Social Aggregate” and “Fragmented” Interest Groups.- The Four Interest Groups in Chinese Society.- How to Measure Social Stratification?.- The Transition of Social Structure from “Inverted T-Shaped” to “±-Shaped”.- The “Four Worlds” of Social Stratification in China.

Über Autor(innen)

Qiang Li, born in Beijing in 1950. He used to be the president of the Chinese Sociological Association and the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tsinghua University. His research fields involve social stratification and social mobility, urban sociology, applied sociology, community research, etc. He is also a member of the Social Science Committee of the Ministry of Education, a member of the Advisory Committee for State Informatization (ACSI), the convener of the 6 and 7 Sociology Discipline Review Group of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, etc., and serves as an editorial board member of various academic journals. He has authored more than 20 books such as Multiple Urbanization and China’s Development,Ten Lectures on Social Stratification, Migrant Workers and Social Stratification in China, and published more than 270 academic papers. He has been awarded the title of “National Model Teacher”, and has been awarded the first prize for outstanding achievements in humanities and social science research in higher education institutions of the Ministry of Education.