Rich in historical perspective on women and men in the context of economic development, this ethnography provides a unique window on rural China since the 1930s. Laurel Bossen uses her detailed knowledge to explore theories regarding such momentous changes as the demise of footbinding, the transformation and feminization of farming, the rise of family planning, and the question of missing daughters. Based on anthropological research conducted during the 1990s in Lu Village and informed by the classic 1930s study of the same village by Fei Xiaotong, China's most famous anthropologist, Chinese Women and Rural Development goes beyond the enduring myths and cardboard images of women as either victims or heroes. Highlighting women's work in a complex farming economy and their choices in marriage and family, the book portrays individuals confronting a variety of changes, ranging from drastic to gradual, in their daily lives. Bossen examines the economic, social, and political practices both upholding and altering the boundaries of gender in the face of shifting state and market forces over time. Throughout, Lu Village women defy stereotypes, yet their stories, rooted in the reality of Yunnan province, express the commonalities and continuities of gender in rural China.

宝森：

纽约州立大学阿尔巴尼分校博士。1984年以来一直执教于加拿大麦吉利尔大学，现为该系人类学副教授。其研究兴趣包括社会性别与发展、经济人类学、中国危及地马拉农村地区情况。早期研究和著述侧重于危危地马拉和中美洲，撰有《劳工的重新分工：危地马拉四个社区的妇女与经济选择》，并合编《征服的遗产：30年之后》。20实际80年代后，研究兴趣转到中国，从此执迷于中国农村的研究，七研究成果有：“妇女与发展”...