Tiger, Tyrant, Bandit, Businessman: Echoes of Counterrevolution from New China

Tiger, Tyrant, Bandit, Businessman: A Casefile Approach to Rural China's Legal System during the Early Years of the People's Republic explores four criminal cases that reveal the dawning years of the People's Republic and the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to cement its authority.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 18 June 2024
Publisher: Stanford University Press

The rural county of Poyang, located in northern Jiangxi Province, has been largely overlooked in modern Chinese history. However, records from the Public Security Bureau archive provide a wealth of data on the daily interactions between locals and the law. Drawing on these overlooked resources, Brian DeMare presents four criminal cases that uniquely illuminate the dawning years of the People's Republic. Using a casefile approach, DeMare recounts stories of a Confucian scholar who allied with bandits and secret society members, a farmer who murdered a cadre, an evil tyrant who exploited religious traditions to avoid prosecution, and a merchant accused of a crime he did not commit. Each case is a tremendous tale, complete with memorable characters, plot twists, and drama. And while all depict the enemies of New China, each also reveals details of village life during this most pivotal moment of recent Chinese history. Together, the narratives bring rural regime change to life, illustrating how the Chinese Communist Party cemented its authority through mass political campaigns, careful legal investigations, and sheer patience. Balancing storytelling with historical inquiry, this book is at once a grassroots view of rural China's legal system and its application to apparent counterrevolutionaries, and a lesson in archival research itself.

Weight: 316g
Dimension: 161 x 229 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503640146