{"product_id":"the-teahouse-under-socialism-the-decline-and-renewal-of-public-life-in-chengdu-19502000","title":"The Teahouse under Socialism: The Decline and Renewal of Public Life in Chengdu  19502000","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo understand a city fully  writes Di Wang  we must observe its most basic units of social life. In The Teahouse under Socialism  Wang does just that  arguing that the teahouses of Chengdu  the capital of Sichuan Province  are some of the most important public spacesperfect sites for examining the social and economic activities of everyday Chinese. Wang looks at the transformation of these teahouses from private businesses to collective ownership and how state policy and the proprietors response to it changed the overall economic and social structure of the city. He uses this transformation to illuminate broader trends in Chinas urban public life from 1950 through the end of the Cultural Revolution and into the post-Mao reform era. In doing so  The Teahouse under Socialism charts the fluctuations in fortune of this ancient cultural institution and analyzes how it survived  and even thrived  under bleak conditions. Throughout  Wang asks such questions as: Why and how did state power intervene in the operation of small businesses? How was \"socialist entertainment\" established in a local society? How did the well-known waves of political contestation and struggle in China change Chengdus teahouses and public life? In the end  Wang argues  the answers to such questions enhance our understanding of public life and political culture in the Communist state.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44946839961653,"sku":"ByrdShop_1501715496","price":81.73,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781501715495.jpg?v=1769968617","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-teahouse-under-socialism-the-decline-and-renewal-of-public-life-in-chengdu-19502000","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}