Native Place, City, and Nation

Book excerpt: "A new look at China's urban culture during the early twentieth century. Erasing the dichotomy between tradition and modernity, the author examines the relationship between native-place sentiments and an emerging national identity."--Susan Mann, author of "Local Merchants and the Chinese Bureaucracy, 1750-1950" "Bryna Goodman's work on native-place associations is one of the most important studies of Chinese social history to have appeared in the last ten years. It melds an ingeniously researched ethnography with a convincing narrative of urban history. The result is a highly original approach to the development of the modern Chinese city."--Philip A. Kuhn, author of "Soulstealers: The Chinese Sorcery Scare of 1768"