Strategies of rural development in China experienced sharp changes in the policies for rural economic reform which began in the late 1970s. Contrary to the previous model of a "pure" socialist way of development, which argued for a single developmental path, the reform policies encouraged diversification. Peasant adaptation to the new situation is examined through the co-existence of three kinds of households, namely subsistence cropping households, cash cropping households and partial agricultural households. The thesis attempts to determine the characteristics associated with the different kinds of households by analyzing survey data collected from five townships in the Pearl River Delta of south China. It also attempts to bring out some theoretical implications of the Chinese experiences of rural development in the past forty years. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Lui, Ching Wu Lake. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-225). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.iii / 論文摘要 --- p.iv / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Background of the research --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2 --- Research Site --- p.7 / Chapter 1.3 --- Objective and significance --- p.12 / Chapter 1.4 --- Research Questions --- p.15 / Chapter 1.5 --- Map of the thesis --- p.16 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Literature Review --- p.19 / Chapter 2.1 --- Prevalent Theoretical Explanation on Household Division of Labor --- p.20 / Chapter 2.2 --- Theoretical Framework of this research --- p.29 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Research Methodology --- p.39 / Chapter 3.1 --- Sample --- p.39 / Chapter 3.2 --- Recruitment of Couples and Data Collection --- p.42 / Chapter 3.3 --- Issues in the Interviews --- p.44 / Chapter 3.4 --- Data Analysis --- p.48 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- Does Spousal Difference in Economic Resources vary Housework Distribution? --- p.52 / Chapter 4.1 --- Nature of housework --- p.52 / Chapter 4.2 --- Who does what and more? --- p.57 / Chapter 4.3 --- Earning and Housework Division --- p.70 / Chapter Chapter 5: --- Gender Ideology and Household Division of Labor --- p.73 / Chapter 5.1 --- Overview of Couples´ة Gender Ideology --- p.73 / Chapter 5.2 --- Couples with Traditional Gender Ideology and Household Division of Labor --- p.75 / Chapter 5.3 --- Sparks of Egalitarianism in Couples --- p.94 / Chapter Chapter 6: --- Gender Strategies of Couples in Housework Division --- p.102 / Chapter 6.1 --- Husbands´ة strategies --- p.103 / Chapter 6.2 --- Women´ةs compliance --- p.109 / Chapter 6.3 --- Women´ةs resistance --- p.117 / Chapter Chapter 7: --- "Children, In-laws and Doing Gender of Couples" --- p.125 / Chapter 7.1 --- How do children escalate the doing gender of husbands and wives? --- p.125 / Chapter 7.2 --- How do parent-in-laws and parents escalate the doing gender of husbands and wives? --- p.144 / Chapter Chapter 8: --- Undoing gender: Willing househusbands and Women's liberation? --- p.165 / Chapter 8.1 --- The Context of Undoing Gender --- p.165 / Chapter 8.2 --- Comparing Househusbands and Housewives: Is gender still relevant? --- p.167 / Chapter 8.3 --- Experimenting a Househusband's life: How to undo gender? --- p.177 / Chapter Chapter 9: --- Conclusion --- p.196 / Chapter 9.1 --- Key Findings --- p.196 / Chapter 9.2 --- Implications of the study --- p.201 / Appendix 1: Labor Force Participation Rates by Sex --- p.204 / "Appendix 2: Labor Force Participation Rates at Specific Ages by Sex, 1991," --- p.205 / Appendix 3: Household division of labor of married couples in 1987，1993 and 1995 --- p.206 / Appendix 4: Relative Share of Housework of Economically Active Men and Women --- p.207 / Appendix 5: Interview Schedule --- p.208 / Bibliography --- p.213

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences