Social structure changes in Central China

Author: Hu Shunyan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-10-01
Features: Hanchuan City is located in central China. Since the reform and opening-up, its social structure has undergone tremendous changes. As a county-level city in central China, the process of social structural transformation in Hanchuan City is representative. Therefore, the "Research Group on Social Structure Transformation in China" of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences selected Hanchuan as a survey site for the county-level city study of social structure transformation in China. Hanchuan City: A Survey of the Social Class Structure of a Central County-Level City is the outcome of this survey. Hanchuan City: A Survey of the Social Class Structure of a Central County-Level City includes one main report and 33 sub-reports. The reports provide a detailed description of the changes in Hanchuan's social class structure over the past 20 years since the reform and opening-up, offering a comprehensive analysis of the transformation of its social classes. Based on occupational classification, production asset ownership, and employment status, the report divides Hanchuan's population into nine classes: the managerial class, the private enterprise owner class, the professional class, the self-employed class, the commercial and service class, the worker class, the peasant class, the unemployed class, and the non-labor force class. The report defines the status and characteristics of each class. It argues that the reform and opening-up have brought profound changes to Hanchuan's society and have also led to structural changes in its social class structure. The original social structure has undergone significant differentiation, with new social classes gradually emerging. The differences in social, economic, lifestyles, and interest identification among various classes have become increasingly clear, indicating the emergence of a new social class structure. The research project on "social structure transformation in Hanchuan" lasted for two years, with over 100 researchers participating in the survey work. A total of more than 2,000 questionnaires and interview records were collected. This survey is also the largest-scale social structure survey conducted in Hanchuan in the past 20 years. From Hanchuan City: A Survey of the Social Class Structure of a Central County-Level City, we can not only gain a comprehensive understanding of the transformation of Hanchuan's social structure since the reform and opening-up but also catch a glimpse of the broader process of social structure transformation in China.