Kate Merkel-Hess – författare

Discussions of China's early twentieth-century modernization efforts tend to focus almost exclusively on cities, and the changes, both cultural and industrial, seen there. As a result, the communist peasant revolution appears as a decisive historical break. Kate Merkel-Hess corrects that misconception by demonstrating how crucial the countryside was for reformers in rural China long before the success of the communist revolution. In The Rural Modern, Merkel-Hess shows that Chinese reformers and intellectuals created a modernity that was not the foreign and new modernity of Shanghai and other cities, but instead one that captured the Chinese people's desire for an agenda for social and political change rooted in rural Chinese traditions and institutions. She traces efforts to remake village education, social and cultural life, economics, and politics, analyzing how these efforts contributed to a new, inclusive vision of rural Chinese political life.Merkel-Hess argues that as China sought to redefine itself politically and culturally, such rural reform efforts played a major role, and tensions that thus emerged between rural and urban ways deeply informed social relations, government policies, and subsequent efforts to create a modern nation during the communist period.

Discussions of China’s early twentieth-century modernization efforts tend to focus almost exclusively on cities, and the changes, both cultural and industrial, seen there. As a result, the communist peasant revolution appears as a decisive historical break. Kate Merkel-Hess corrects that misconception by demonstrating how crucial the countryside was for reformers in China long before the success of the communist revolution.   In The Rural Modern, Merkel-Hess shows that Chinese reformers and intellectuals created an idea of modernity that was not simply about what was foreign and new, as in Shanghai and other cities, but instead captured the Chinese people’s desire for social and political change rooted in rural traditions and institutions. She traces efforts to remake village education, economics, and politics, analyzing how these efforts contributed to a new, inclusive vision of rural Chinese life. Merkel-Hess argues that as China sought to redefine itself, such rural reform efforts played a major role, and tensions that emerged between rural and urban ways deeply informed social relations, government policies, and subsequent efforts to create a modern nation during the communist period.

The Beijing Olympics ensured that the world would be watching China in 2008, and the year turned out to be the most tumultuous and traumatic for the Chinese since the massive Tiananmen uprising of 1989. Crippling winter storms, riots in Tibet, the devastating Sichuan earthquake, and many other dramatic events—including the PRC edging out the United States to become the country with the most Internet users—grabbed international headlines. This innovative book, based on postings from the China Beat (the noted group blog/electronic magazine based at the University of California, Irvine) as well as works from other leading publications and completely new material, showcases the as-it-happened reports and commentaries of a mix of distinguished academics, high-profile journalists, and freelance writers, and up-and-coming young China specialists.China in 2008 takes the unique approach of bringing the timeliness of the blogosphere into book form, expanding and reflecting thoughtfully on stories in the news while retaining the eclectic, opinionated, and engaging feel of the China Beat. It will be invaluable reading for everyone with a keen interest in China today.Contributions by: Pallavi Aiyar, David Bandurski, Geremie R. Barmé, Nicole Barnes, Daniel Beekman, Susan Brownell, Pär Cassel, Leslie T. Chang, Yong Chen, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham, Xujun Eberlein, Kathryn Edgerton-Tarpley, Mary S. Erbaugh, James Farrer, Caroline Finlay, Howard W. French, Pierre Fuller, Anna Greenspan, Amy Hanser, Peter Hessler, Jeremiah Jenne, Paul R. Katz, Miri Kim, Richard Kraus, Haiyan Lee, Donald S. Lopez Jr., David Luesink, Liang Luo, Charlene E. Makley, Kate Merkel-Hess, Stephen Mihm, James Miles, Pankaj Mishra, Rana Mitter, Julia K. Murray, Timothy S. Oakes, Alex Pasternack, Kenneth L. Pomeranz, David Porter, Shakhar Rahav, Benjamin L. Read, Caroline Reeves, Eric Setzekorn, Angilee Shah, Xia Shi, Steve Smith, Donald S. Sutton, Paola Voci, Nicolai Volland, Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, Timothy B. Weston, Guobin Yang, and Lijia Zhang.