ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to answer two closely related questions: First, why did Chinese reforms begin, especially in Shanghai and the delta surrounding that city? Second, what maintained the cycle of reforms and reactions thereafter? The hypothesis is that local leaders wanted the changes. The book argues that changes in the basic structure of Chinese politics can generally be better accounted for by medium-term mass factors than by either short-term elite causes or cultural traditions. It describes an increasingly postrevolutionary situation in which the effective power of the People's Republic of China (PRC) state leadership has contracted to a space that is less extensive than is suggested by the symbols of organization charts or public verbiage. The book uses that logic when trying to show how the personal interests of local Chinese leaders affected the content of national reform.
