The Impact of Rural Reform on Economic and Social Stratification in a Chinese Village

Abstract

'Let some peasants get rich first' was one of the leading slogans of China's rural reforms, beginning in the early 1980s. After almost a decade, who has become rich? Who has benefitted the most? And what specific changes have resulted to the structure of social stratification in rural China? All of these questions become centrally important when we examine the consequences of rural reform. Many scholarly efforts have been made to answer these questions, but the overall picture of inequality and stratification in the past decade is still unclear.' The present study will offer an account of such shifts in inequality and stratification in one north China village since the rural reform. Instead of focusing on peasant income alone, I will also examine changes in economic position, political power, and social status, i.e., the three major dimensions of social stratification. I will begin with the general background of my survey and briefly describe the status groups in the previous hierarchy of the collectives. Then I will answer the question, 'who got rich first?' by presenting the results of the village