The Teahouse under Socialism: The Decline and Renewal of Public Life in Chengdu, 1950-2000

To understand a city fully, writes Di Wang, we must observe its most basic units of social life. In The Teahouse under Socialism, Wang does just that, arguing that the teahouses of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, are some of the most important public spaces-perfect sites for examining the social and economic activities of everyday Chinese.

Wang looks at the transformation of these teahouses from private businesses to collective ownership and how state policy and the proprietors' re...