China's Society and Culture

For millennia, scholars have been drawn to China’s society and culture, sparking curiosity among monks and thinkers from Eastern cultures, as well as explorers and traders from the Middle East and the West. As it has evolved over time, China has remained a central figure in the world’s imagination.

This volume explores society and culture of China undertaken by scholars across generations and disciplines. It studies broad ranging themes including gender, sexuality and identity; society and the state; art, cinema, literature and popular culture; and Asian societies in comparative perspective. Going beyond theoretical dogmas, the contributors employ diverse methodological frameworks to offer unique and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Dedicated to Patricia Uberoi, an eminent Sociologist and an esteemed scholar of China Studies, this book examines a range of social, cultural and political ideas, institutions and practices. The book will be an important reading for scholars and students of Chinese Studies in general and Chinese Society and Culture in particular. It will also interest those concerned with Area Studies, East Asia, India-China relations, international relations, and sociology.

Sabaree Mitra is Professor of Chinese in Jawaharlal Nehru University and Honorary Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), New Delhi. Her teaching and research have spanned the fields of contemporary Chinese literature and criticism, Chinese cultural history, gender issues, India-China cultural relations and regional interaction. Her latest publication is an edited volume titled China’s May Fourth Movement: New Narratives and Perspectives (Routledge, 2023). She is the Editor of the ICS quarterly journal, China Report, published by Sage.

Usha Chandran is Assistant Professor, Centre for Chinese Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies. She holds a PhD in Chinese from Jawaharlal Nehru University; her research interests include gender issues in China and comparison with India, interface between gender, language, literature and popular culture, women’s subjectivity and socio-cultural dimensions in literature and Chinese society. Her latest publication is Gender Discrimination at Work in Urban China (Routledge 2025).