We have now completed our examination of the distribution of wealth in rural China. We have found that approximately ten years after the inauguration of the rural reforms in 1978-i-eforms which tremendously enlarged the scope of market forces--the distribution of rural wealth remains remarkably equal. As a measure of accumulated value, wealth changes more slowly of course than flows of income. Other scholars have argued convincingly that income inequality has worsened during the rural reforms. 1 As wealth holdings have become more privatized, their distribution has deteriorated as well, yet not as drastically as many scholars may have surmi.;ed. We have been somewhat surprised ourselves by the extent of wealth equality.