The individual and the state in China: being a graduate village official in rural southwest China

I conducted one year’s fieldwork by working as a graduate village official in a local government office in southwest rural China, which enabled me to observe at close range the workings of political power and official administration. After one year’s in-depth exploration, my materials include the following: state propaganda publications, observations of conversations among officials, interactions between subordinates and superiors, economic administrative processes in the development, local residents’ petitions to the office, and the case of Bo Xilai of CCP politburo.

These data have helped me think through the meaning of the workings of the state, power and bureaucracy, social interactions, the operation of Guanxi, the role of economic agencies, and Chinese individual politics.<br><br>My particular interest is individual politics. This politics differentiates itself from state politics to emphasize personal motivations and the freedoms of current individualization. Ideally, politics, economics and culture should work in harmony and map the proper meanings of modernization into daily life.