Felix Wemheuer is Chair Professor of Modern China Studies at the University of Cologne. He belongs to a new generation of Western scholars who are rewriting the history of Maoist China. His publications include Famine Politics in Maoist China and the Soviet Union (2014).

'Thoughtful, informed by a wealth of Chinese-language sources, and analytically penetrating, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand Maoist China. The social history of the Mao years is one of the most exciting new fields of Chinese history, and this book gives a comprehensive account of that period from one of its most impressive analysts.' Rana Mitter, University of Oxford

• Introduction; 1. Chinese society under Mao: classifications, social hierarchies and distribution; 2. New democracy and the making of new China (1949–52); 3. The transformation to state socialism (1953–7); 4. The great leap into famine (1958–61); 5. The post-famine years: from readjustment to the socialist education campaign (1962–5); 6. The rebellion and its limits: the early cultural revolution (1966–8); 7. Demobilization and restoration: the late cultural revolution (1969–76); 8. Legacies and continuities of the Mao era in reform China.

Felix Wemheuer is Chair Professor of Modern China Studies at the University of Cologne. He belongs to a new generation of Western scholars who are rewriting the history of Maoist China. His publications include Famine Politics in Maoist China and the Soviet Union (2014).

'Thoughtful, informed by a wealth of Chinese-language sources, and analytically penetrating, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand Maoist China. The social history of the Mao years is one of the most exciting new fields of Chinese history, and this book gives a comprehensive account of that period from one of its most impressive analysts.' Rana Mitter, University of Oxford

• Introduction; 1. Chinese society under Mao: classifications, social hierarchies and distribution; 2. New democracy and the making of new China (1949–52); 3. The transformation to state socialism (1953–7); 4. The great leap into famine (1958–61); 5. The post-famine years: from readjustment to the socialist education campaign (1962–5); 6. The rebellion and its limits: the early cultural revolution (1966–8); 7. Demobilization and restoration: the late cultural revolution (1969–76); 8. Legacies and continuities of the Mao era in reform China.