The Identity of Zhiqing: The Lost Generation

Outside China, little is known about the process and implications of the Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside (UMDC) Movement, a Chinese state policy from 1967 to 1979 in which more than 16 million secondary school-leavers in different cities were relocated to rural areas. The Movement shaped the lives of these young people and assigned them a shared group identity: Zhiqing, or the Educated Youth.

This book provides new research on Zhiqing, who were born and brought up after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and regarded as a lost generation during the Cultural Revolution. Presenting a remembrance of their tortuous life trajectories, the book investigates their distinctive identity and self-identification. Unlike earlier historical approaches, it does this from a social psychological perspective. It is also unique in its use of first-hand materials, as individuals’ memories and reflections collected by in-depth interviews are compiled and presented as Zhiqing’s self-portrait. This innovative research offers an informative and profound induction of the topic and also contributes to the development of contemporary Chinese studies by laying the foundation for a specialized Zhiqing study.

Combining rich empirical research with a strong theoretical perspective, this book will be invaluable to students and scholars of Chinese history, sociology, anthropology and politics.

"1122553644"
The Identity of Zhiqing: The Lost Generation

Outside China, little is known about the process and implications of the Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside (UMDC) Movement, a Chinese state policy from 1967 to 1979 in which more than 16 million secondary school-leavers in different cities were relocated to rural areas. The Movement shaped the lives of these young people and assigned them a shared group identity: Zhiqing, or the Educated Youth.

This book provides new research on Zhiqing, who were born and brought up after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and regarded as a lost generation during the Cultural Revolution. Presenting a remembrance of their tortuous life trajectories, the book investigates their distinctive identity and self-identification. Unlike earlier historical approaches, it does this from a social psychological perspective. It is also unique in its use of first-hand materials, as individuals’ memories and reflections collected by in-depth interviews are compiled and presented as Zhiqing’s self-portrait. This innovative research offers an informative and profound induction of the topic and also contributes to the development of contemporary Chinese studies by laying the foundation for a specialized Zhiqing study.

Combining rich empirical research with a strong theoretical perspective, this book will be invaluable to students and scholars of Chinese history, sociology, anthropology and politics.

32.49 In Stock
The Identity of Zhiqing: The Lost Generation

The Identity of Zhiqing: The Lost Generation

by Weiyi Wu, Fan Hong
The Identity of Zhiqing: The Lost Generation

The Identity of Zhiqing: The Lost Generation

by Weiyi Wu, Fan Hong

eBook

$32.49  $42.95 Save 24% Current price is $32.49, Original price is $42.95. You Save 24%.

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers


Overview

Outside China, little is known about the process and implications of the Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside (UMDC) Movement, a Chinese state policy from 1967 to 1979 in which more than 16 million secondary school-leavers in different cities were relocated to rural areas. The Movement shaped the lives of these young people and assigned them a shared group identity: Zhiqing, or the Educated Youth.

This book provides new research on Zhiqing, who were born and brought up after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and regarded as a lost generation during the Cultural Revolution. Presenting a remembrance of their tortuous life trajectories, the book investigates their distinctive identity and self-identification. Unlike earlier historical approaches, it does this from a social psychological perspective. It is also unique in its use of first-hand materials, as individuals’ memories and reflections collected by in-depth interviews are compiled and presented as Zhiqing’s self-portrait. This innovative research offers an informative and profound induction of the topic and also contributes to the development of contemporary Chinese studies by laying the foundation for a specialized Zhiqing study.

Combining rich empirical research with a strong theoretical perspective, this book will be invaluable to students and scholars of Chinese history, sociology, anthropology and politics.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781317391913
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Publication date: 03/02/2016
Series: ISSN
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 110
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Weiyi Wu is a postdoctoral research fellow at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Her research interests cover youth studies, life course, identity and global mobility, with a cultural studies approach.

Fan Hong is Professor of Asian Studies of Bangor University, UK. She is academic editor of The International Journal of the History of Sport. Her research interests are in the areas of culture, politics, gender and sport and she has published extensively in these fields, including the books Footbinding, Feminism and Freedom: the Liberation of Women’s Bodies in Modern China (1997) and Communists and Champions: the Politicisation of Sport in Modern China ((2013).

Table of Contents

1. Finding the "Lost Generation" 2. Linking Zhiqing’s Life Trajectories to Social History 3. To the Wider World: Group-identity Configuration I (1967-1981) 4. Drops of Water in the Ocean: Group-identity Configuration II (1980s-present) 5. The Identity of Zhiqing: Approach and Conclusion

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews