Guilty of indigence: The urban poor in China, 1900-1953

Research output: Book/ReportBook

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the early twentieth century, a time of political fragmentation and social upheaval in China, poverty became the focus of an anguished national conversation about the future of the country. Investigating the lives of the urban poor in China during this critical era,Guilty of Indigenceexamines the solutions implemented by a nation attempting to deal with "society's most fundamental problem." Interweaving analysis of shifting social viewpoints, the evolution of poor relief institutions, and the lived experiences of the urban poor, Janet Chen explores the development of Chinese attitudes toward urban poverty and of policies intended for its alleviation. Chen concentrates on Beijing and Shanghai, two of China's most important cities, and she considers how various interventions carried a lasting influence. The advent of the workhouse, the denigration of the nonworking poor as "social parasites," efforts to police homelessness and vagrancy--all had significant impact on the lives of people struggling to survive. Chen provides a crucially needed historical lens for understanding how beliefs about poverty intersected with shattering historical events, producing new welfare policies and institutions for the benefit of some, but to the detriment of others.

Original languageEnglish (US)
PublisherPrinceton University Press
ISBN (Print)9780691152103
StatePublished - Jan 24 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Arts and Humanities

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Guilty of indigence: The urban poor in China, 1900-1953'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this