H-PRC is the H-Net presence of the PRC History Group, a network of scholars with interests in the history of the People’s Republic of China.  We define history broadly, to encompass a wide variety of disciplinary approaches, and we understand the history of the PRC to include eras prior to the official change of state power in 1949.

Recent Discussions

Discussion published by Fabio Lanza on Saturday, November 26, 2016

Use of the term "SOE"

I am writing an essay on the urban commune movement in Beijing and I am finding it difficult to distinguish, in writing, between large factories (state or collectively owned) and the small (female-staffed) factories created during the movement.
For the sake of brevity and clarity, I am tempted to use the term SOE (State Owned Enterprise) for the former, but I am aware that it came into currency in the reform era, so it might be misleading and anachronistic. I would obviously add a footnote on the usage.

Any thoughts or suggestions? 

 

Discussion published by Aminda Smith on Wednesday, November 9, 2016

A New 'Document of the Month' (November 2016)

The PRC History Group presents the latest installment in the Document of the Month series, curated by Michael Schoenhals.  View the entire series at prchistory.org.

When physical labor was still on the curriculum

"劳动是必修课"！——复旦大学外国留学生《守则》、《考勤制度》、《生活制度》等（1975年）
(click on the title to view the document)

Discussion published by Aminda Smith on Monday, October 31, 2016

New issues of Yesterday

The two latest issues of Yesterday are now available at http://prchistory.org/yesterday/

H-PRC members might be especially interested in issue #79, which includes a 20-page list of names (with short biographical sketches) of people in the Chinese film industry who died in the course of the Cultural Revolution (including actors, directors, script writers, translators, photographers, etc.).

 

 

Discussion published by Gail Hershatter on Sunday, October 16, 2016

Delia Davin (June 9, 1944-October 13, 2016): An Appreciation

           Delia Davin, a scholar who helped bring questions of gender to the center of China Studies, has died at home in Leeds, England after a long illness. She was Emeritus Professor of Chinese Studies in the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies at the University of Leeds.

Discussion published by Yi Wu on Thursday, October 13, 2016

Member Book, Yi Wu, Negotiating Rural Land Ownership in Southwest China: State, Village, Family

Dear colleagues,

With apologies for cross-posting, I am pleased to announce the recent publication of my book 

 Yi Wu, Negotiating Rural Land Ownership in Southwest China: State, Village, Family (A Study of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University).  University of Hawaii Press, 2016, 304 pages, ISBN: 978-0824846770.

Discussion published by Matthew Johnson on Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Call for proposals, "Sights and Sounds of the Cold War in the Sinophone World," Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Washington University in St. Louis, March 25-26, 2017

Sights and Sounds of the Cold War in the Sinophone World

March 25-26, 2017

 

Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Washington University in St. Louis

Discussion published by Macabe Keliher on Friday, October 7, 2016

Everyday life in Maoist China

Dear colleagues,

My colleague is creating a course on everyday life under totalitarlian/authoritarian regimes and is looking for suggestions on Maoist China - either about ordinary peoples’ experiences or on things like the cult of personality, etc. A point of comparison in the Soviet context would be Sheila Fitzpatrick’s Everyday Stalinism.

Thanks,

Macabe Keliher
Assistant Professor
Department of History
West Virginia University
http://ssrn.com/author=2489790

Discussion published by Jeremy Brown on Monday, October 3, 2016

Grants in Modern Chinese History and Chinese Archaeology from the Esherick-Ye Family Foundation

The Esherick-Ye Family Foundation is pleased to announce its inaugural competition for small grants of up to $5,000 to support projects in modern Chinese economic, social, and political history; or Chinese archaeology.

Grants will support travel to China for research or field work.   Grants are available for graduate students and untenured faculty for projects on modern Chinese history and for undergraduate and graduate students as well as untenured faculty in archaeology.

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