Wreck of the Pequod

You Can’t Understand Modern China Without Looking at the History of Land Reform

I always end my courses on modern China with two final messages for my students: go to China, and when you go, be sure to visit the countryside.

That second message is much needed. Today we know China as a nation of sprawling megacities. My adopted hometown of New Orleans wouldn’t even crack the list of the top 150 Chinese cities by population. But there still exists ample beauty in a vast, diverse countryside, especially in remote villages that have managed to find a way avoid the sledgehammer of modernity.