The Chinese Lifestyle
Alfonso Sanchez-Romera, "The Chinese Lifestyle "
English | ISBN: 1032289570 | 2023 | 196 pages | EPUB | 702 KB
English | ISBN: 1032289570 | 2023 | 196 pages | EPUB | 702 KB
The research presented in this book explores the formation of the middle class in contemporary urban China.
Including case studies on middle-class professionals living in Beijing, this book analyses how social and economic changes to Chinese society create a middle-class lifestyle and new forms of distinction with a particular focus on the social construction of identity. Looking through the lens of individuals’ perception of life trajectories and ideological taxonomies generated within the framework of post-Maoist China, the book uncovers the role that the Chinese middle-class play in a state-sponsored discourse and where the distinctions identifying the middle-class lifestyle produce inequality, transfer privilege, and disadvantage in contemporary urban China. It goes on to question hegemonic discourses on class, arguing that a middle-class identity is progressively constructed in urban China not only though consumption practices, but through the experience of non-individualistic activities in both the public and private spheres.
Read more