Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of Tables, Figures, and Maps -- Preface -- 1. Introduction -- Distinct Features of the Process of Change -- Social Change -- 2. Zhen Settlements: Between Urban and Rural -- Preconditions for the Designation of Zhen -- Development of the Number of Zhen -- Definition and Development of the Urban Population in Zhen -- Perspectives on the Process of Urbanization and the Functions of Zhen -- 3. Field Research: Fieldwork Procedures and the Surveyed Zhen -- Methods in Our Fieldwork Procedures in 1993-1994 and 2000-2001 -- Empirical Problems, Especially During Our First Fieldwork Period, 1993-1994 -- The 1993-1994 and 2000-2001 Case Studies: Zhen Regional Conditions of Development -- 4. Settlements and Population -- Development of Settlements, Infrastructure, and Public and Commercial Institutions -- Development of Settlements, Land Utilization, and Infrastructure -- Public and Commercial Institutions -- Population Growth and Migration -- Development of Population and Migration in Chinese Zhen -- Population Development and Migration in the Selected Zhen -- Summary -- 5. Economic Structures and Economic Change -- Process of Privatization -- Nationwide Development -- Private Sector in the Regions Studied in 1993-1994 -- Structure of Ownership in Rural Areas in the Mid-1990s -- Summary -- Rural Collective and Private Enterprises -- Development and Regional Structure of Rural Enterprises -- Township and Village Enterprises -- Development and Situation of Zhen-Owned, Village-Owned, and Private Enterprises in the Analyzed Zhen -- Summary -- The Regional Labor Market in Relation to Rural Collective and Private Enterprises: Results from Our Case Studies, 1993-1994 and 2000-2001 -- The Rural Labor Market: Transition from Agriculture to Nonagrarian Sectors.

Development of Employment: Origin and Engagement of the Workforce -- Composition of the Workforce: Age, Gender, and Qualifications -- Situation of Employment, Social Security, and Living Conditions -- Summary -- 6. Finance System and Development of Rural Towns (Zhen) -- Introduction -- Local Budget and Taxes: An Overview -- Township- and Town-Level Revenues and Expenditures: Empirical Data of the Analyzed Zhen -- Structural Problems of the Towns' and Townships' Public Budgets -- Tax Agreement between Township/Town-Level and County/City-Level Governments -- Conclusion -- 7. Processes of Change in Administration and Politics -- Increasing Economic Factors of Politics: New Functions of the Local Bureaucracy -- Inflation of the Local Bureaucracy -- Economic Transformation of the Bureaucracy -- Administration at the County, Zhen, and Village Levels -- Cadre System -- Administration at the County Level -- Administration at the Zhen Level -- Administration at the Village Level -- Problems and Changes in the Traditional Party and Administrative Structures -- Problems of the Local Administrative Hierarchy: The Relationships among Counties, Zhen, and Villages -- County-Zhen Relationship -- Zhen-Village Relationship -- 8. Rise of a New Social Stratification and of New Local Elites -- Stratification -- New Local Elites -- Local Elites at the County Level -- Elites at the Zhen Level -- Elites at the Village Level -- Summary -- 9. Value Change and Interest Articulation -- Changing Attitudes, Values, and Ideology -- Attitudes of Staff and Workers in Enterprises at the Zhen Level -- Orientation Toward Traditionalism -- Increasing Potential for Protest and Conflict Among the Peasants -- Emergence of Interest Associations -- Significance of Associations -- Rise of New Interest Groups in China -- Associations at the County and Zhen Levels -- Summary.

10. Summary and Evaluation -- The Role of Zhen in the Economic Process of Development -- Stage and Chances for Zhen Development -- Zhen as Local Labor Markets -- Zhen and Rural Enterprises -- Local Administrative Structures -- Municipal Development and Land Use -- Processes of Social and Political Change -- Development of Ownership -- Economic Transformation of the Bureaucracy -- New Stratification, Change of Elites -- Retraditionalism and an Increasing Potential for Conflicts in Rural Areas -- Change of Values -- Interest Associations -- Communalism -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.