Rural-Urban Migration and Agro-Technological Change in Post-Reform China

Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-94-6372-973-4
Verlag: Amsterdam University Press

Buch, Englisch, Band 7, 306 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: New Mobilities in Asia

How do rural Chinese households deal with the conflicting pressures of migrating into cities to work as well as staying at home to preserve their fields? This is particularly challenging for rice farmers, because paddy fields have to be cultivated continuously to retain their soil quality and value. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and written sources, Rural-Urban Migration and Agro-Technological Change in Post-Reform China describes farming households' strategic solutions to this predicament. It shows how, in light of rural-urban migration and agro-technological change, they manage to sustain both migration and farming. It innovatively conceives rural households as part of a larger farming community of practice that spans both staying and migrating household members and their material world. Focusing on one exemplary resource - paddy fields - it argues that socio-technical resources are key factors in understanding migration flows and migrant-home relations. Overall, this book provides rare insights into the rural side of migration and farmers' knowledge and agency.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kaufmann, Lena

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Ethnologie Sozialethnologie: Familie, Gender, Soziale Gruppen
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Soziologie von Migranten und Minderheiten
• Naturwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

INTRODUCTION

Arguments and aims of the book

Agriculture and migration

From 'migrant worlds' to 'community of practice' worlds

Knowledge, repertoire, and agency

Accessing the rural-urban community of practice

Structure of the book

References

1. HOW THE PREDICAMENT AROSE

Modern agriculture in Anren County

De-collectivization and marketization

Abolition of the collective welfare system

The new urban economy and increased migration

References

2. RICE KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS IN TRANSITION

Transformation of agricultural knowledge transmission

Transformation of the repertoire of knowledge

Agricultural deskilling and extended knowledge repertoires

References

3. REFERENCE MODELS FOR TRANSMITTING KNOWLEDGE

Transmitting farming knowledge through proverbs

Educating the masses

Textualizing vernacular knowledge

Negotiating knowledge and farmer-state relationships

References

4. TECHNOLOGICAL CHOICE IN THE WAKE OF MIGRATION

Tilling with power ploughs and oxen

Harvesting with sickles and combine harvesters

Choosing harvesting technologies

Technological choice from a repertoire perspective

References

5. LAND-USE STRATEGIES

Sustaining intensive rice farming

De-intensifying rice farming

More than linear, more than technical

References

CONCLUSION: A SKILL PERSPECTIVE ON MIGRATION

Agency beyond resistance

Decision making beyond economic reasoning

Technology beyond linear progress

Migration beyond dichotomies

References

Appendix

I. Glossary

II. Solar terms

III. Song of the 24 Solar Terms

IV. Examples of proverbs and encoded knowledge

References

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Kaufmann, Lena
Lena Kaufmann is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of History and an associate lecturer at the Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, both at the University of Zurich. Trained as an anthropologist and sinologist, she spent nearly four years in China, researching migration in the city and countryside.