ABSTRACT
The astonishing scale of internal migration in China since the 1980s can be compared to only a few cases in world history. This migration gave birth to a vast number of peasant workers with family members left behind in rural communities. Dominant studies on migration mainly address the following: why people migrate, what impacts migration has brought about, and how to cope with these positive or negative effects. This review paper builds on this rich body of literature and engages with critical agrarian studies. A better understanding of rural-urban migration in China can be achieved by analyzing the historical emergence of a new (semi-) proletariat class through a study of the biopolitics of their migration. Based on this and the aforementioned discussion, we point to potential future studies as a conclusion.
