ABSTRACT
The restructuring of the Chinese economy and its subsequent rapid development have had a profound social impact at the county level and below. 1 New social classes and categories have been generated – most obviously private entrepreneurs; managers of the new forms of enterprises owned by rural communities or by other state sector enterprises; and a range of professionals including lawyers, psychologists, and merchant bankers – to service the increased needs of the economy and the associated social complexity. 2 At the same time, local political elites have had to adjust and adapt to their rapidly changing social and economic environments, including losing their monopoly of high status. 3
