ABSTRACT
Traditional Chinese society was characterized by the subordination of the young and women to the dominant patrilineal ideology and power structure. This chapter focuses on data collected from fieldwork conducted in Luohou village in Hebei province, Northgate village in Shandong province and Xiajia village in Heilongjiang province, over a period from 1989 to 1994. In the private domain, although they are less obedient to older people, many young men have shown a willingness to treat women in a more equal way, and young women are more active in defending their own rights at home. The Chinese Communist Party and the state played a determinant role in the formation of a youth culture, a process which can be examined in terms of politics, economics, and society. The work-point system in the collectives individualized the contributions made by each member of a household to the family economy, and thus fostered a consciousness of individual identity among the young.
