Street Culture: Chengdu's Public Spaces, Lower-Class Society, and Local Politics (1870-1930)

Author: Wang Di
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: This is a history of the lower classes. In this book, we can experience the richness of daily life and the allure of street culture under microhistory, while also witnessing the grand narrative of political, economic, and social upheavals in modern China. When the historical stage has always been dominated by the discourse hegemony of the elite, this book offers a perspective from the bottom of society, from the anonymous masses who left no mark in history, to see the experiences of the people during reforms, revolutions, and social turmoil. It echoes the lament and heavy conclusion that they lost an old world but did not gain a new one. From the author's meticulous analysis of the relationship between public spaces and daily life of the lower classes, it is evident his deep concern for their fate. The author peels away the layers of historical veils, allowing later generations to see how the lower classes gradually lost their living space and cultural traditions under the dazzling banners and melodious slogans, while also revealing how the people took up the "weapons of the weak" to fight for their destiny. This book, with its academic significance, originality, in-depth research, refined methodology, strong arguments, and major contributions to urban history studies, won the biennial "American Urban History Association Best Book Award" in 2005.