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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 339.470951 EAN: 9780520216402 Edition: 1 ISBN: 0520216407 Label: University of California Press Manufacturer: University of California Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 379 Publication Date: January 20, 2000 Publisher: University of California Press Studio: University of California Press Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: After decades of egalitarian, restricted consumption, residents of China's cities are surrounded by a level of material comfort and commercial hype unimaginable just ten years ago. In this first in-depth treatment of the consumer revolution in China, fourteen leading scholars of Chinese culture and society explore the interpersonal consequences of rapid commercialization. In the early 1980s, Beijing's communist leadership advocated decollectivization, foreign trade, and private entrepreneurship to jump-start a stagnant economy, while explicitly rejecting any notion that economic reforms would promote political change. However, by the early 1990s the reforms in the marketplace not only produced double-digit growth but also enabled ordinary citizens to nurture dreams and social networks that challenged official discourse and conventions through millions of daily commercial transactions. Using participant observation, contributors to this book describe and analyze a wide range of these changing consumer practices: luxury housing, white wedding gowns, greeting cards, McDonald's, discos, premium cigarettes, bowling, and more. Average Rating:
 Rating: - If you're interested in Chinese studies...There are some definite highs and lows in Deborah Davis' book (lows being the very first chapter on housing developments and an entire chapter devoted to greeting cards), but the book gives a very in-depth analysis of the effects rapid consumption in urban areas has had on the daily life of urban Chinese citizens. Davis selects essays that show changes in culture, like the essays regarding McDonald's, discos, and bowling. Davis even shows us consumption patterns in the more marginal cultures of China. ... Read More Rating: - An insight into the sociology of consumption in ChinaThe consumer revolution in China is a relatively recent phenomena with the former state controlled society slowly moving to a capitalist market where the individual is beginning to exercise choice in his/her consumption decisions. Chinese consumer behaviour is therefore a relatively unchartered area and this collection of studies by 14 authors provides a socio-political context for a range of consumer practices. The studies range from a semiotic analysis of advertising for luxury housing in Shanghai to ... Read More 
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