An Intensive Reading of Classical Works of Chinese Rural Society History, edited by Professor Chang Jianhua, has been published
This book was published by Shanghai Education Press in August 2020. Professor Chang Jianhua points out in the preface of the book, “The countryside is the foundation of traditional Chinese society. In the face of rapid urbanization and modernization, the nature of the countryside is disappearing and changing rapidly, and rural governance has become a major practical problem. From how to deal with the "Three Rural Issues" of agricultural development, rural stability and farmers' income, to the "New Socialist Countryside Construction", all show the importance of the countryside, involving many issues such as industry, residence, community and social change. To think and solve the realistic problems, we need to have a historical understanding. Understanding the countryside in the history can be regarded as a way, which is of practical significance for the study of rural history. Of course, the study of rural history has more important academic value. Rural history itself is a part of history. We have selected academic papers on rural history that focus on society and life and compiled them to meet the needs for students, teachers, researchers and the public. The selection of essays gives consideration to three aspects: one is the macroscopic works illustrating academic research and viewpoints, the other is the papers of different periods, and the third is the works of famous masters at home and abroad. These famous scholars have profound thinking and profound research, presenting us with a variety of features of traditional Chinese society and countryside.”
It is worth mentioning that the authors who write the guide all have the experience of studying in Nankai University, and most of them has participated in the academic activities of The Chinese Social History Research Center of Nankai University for many times. Professor Xia Yan is an expert in medieval social history. He has been visiting Aichi University and Waseda University in Japan. He has a deep understanding of Japanese academia. Professor Diao Peijun of the Department of History, Xiamen University studied the rural corvee system in the Song Dynasty under the tutorship historian Professor Qi Xia, and he introduced the thesis of Mr. Zhou Teng Jizhi on the rural system in the Song Dynasty. Xu Zhena and her colleague Zhang Chuanyong from Suzhou University of Science and Technology have been studying social history for several years andthey each have their own specialty. Luo Yanchun, associate professor, Faculty of History and Culture of Tianjin Normal University, studies regional social history and historical anthropology, and reviews Mr. Shi Jianya's paper with her own thought.