Using first-hand material from Chinese archives that are no longer open to researchers, and bringing together a leading team of international scholars, this volume is a major contribution to the study of the People's Republic of China. Calling into question existing narratives on the foundational decade of the PRC, these essays present a nuanced consideration of China in the 1950s by integrating two periods that are often considered separately: the relatively 'happy' years 1949–1956 with the relatively 'unhappy' years from 1957 onwards. Exploring the challenges faced in constructing socialism, the transnational context, and early modes of PRC governance, the contributors highlight the ways in which China was shaped by diversity on all levels and scales in how socialism was enacted and experienced. These essays clearly demonstrate how the unevenness of Party control created discrepancies and variations between different regions and between the center and the locale.

‘Revolutionary Transformations brings together an impressive collection of Chinese and Western scholars to reassess the founding decade of the People’s Republic of China—from the global to the national to the local level. Building on over two decades of new scholarship it brings to life a decade that saw triumph and tragedy and shapes China today.’

Timothy Cheek - University of British Columbia

‘Covering an astonishingly wide array of topics, from China’s place in the socialist world to the coal industry, sports and movies, modalities of state-building, state-ordered relocation of urban populations, letters from common people to the PRC government, and more, this volume greatly enriches our appreciation of the diverse range of experiences that characterized China’s revolutionary transformations.’

Micah Muscolino - University of California, San Diego