Songhua Hu

Family Background and Life Chances in Urban China: 1950-1996 Songhua Hu

This book presents empirical evidence from a nationally representative dataset from urban China and demonstrates the impact of family background on the attainment of education, communist party membership and occupation. The book makes two main arguments. First, it argues that China's socialist revolution was a manifestation of elite competition. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members who joined the revolution before 1949 were from relatively well-off families. After the dust of the socialist revolution subsided, China embarked on a journey whereby supporters of the CCP were rewarded and dissenters punished in the name of social equality. Second, the book traces the life chances of individuals from various families (new elite families, party member families, old elite families, and humble families). Using rigorous statistical analysis, the author claims that social equality was elusive despite the tremendous effort of state intervention by the CCP. With elite families competing to get ahead, humble families were robbed of the promised equality of a socialist state.