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More Than Half the Sky: Women and Urban Neighbourhood Workshops in China, 1958–1978

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2019

Hanchao Lu
Hanchao Lu*
Affiliation:
School of History and Sociology, Georgia Institute of Technology. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

From the Great Leap Forward (GLF) of 1958–1960 onwards, China's urban neighbourhood workshops and services mostly hired women. The GLF marked the beginning of a large-scale and irreversible trend towards near universal employment of women in China's cities. By the end of the Mao era, about 42 per cent of women working in industry were employed in “collectives” that were largely developed from urban neighbourhood industry. This article takes Shanghai as a case study to examine this type of employment for women in China. It documents the origin and development of the institution, explores the nuances of state–labour interactions at its site, and argues that as far as the enduring effects of women's participation in the workforce are concerned, the disastrous GLF was indeed the initiator and in this respect may well be seen as a blessing in disguise.

摘要

摘要

从 1958–1960 年的大跃进开始，中国城市的街道社区工厂和服务设施主要雇佣妇女劳工。大跃进开启了中国城市妇女大规模走出家庭参加工作的先河；自此之后，妇女就业的潮流不可逆转。到毛泽东时代结束时，约 42% 的中国工业界的女性职工受雇于从街道社区作坊发展出来的 “集体事业”。本文以上海的里弄生产组为个案，研究此种类型的中国妇女就业。作者以档案文件等原始资料为基础，陈述中国城市街道集体事业的起源与发展，引领读者深入上海街坊邻里，探寻国家政权与妇女劳工的微妙关系，并指出就城市妇女参加工作的长期影响而言，灾难性的大跃进运动实际上却起了始作俑者的积极作用，可谓塞翁失马，焉知非福。

Keywords

Great Leap Forwardwomen's labourneighbourhood organizationsMaoismShanghai大跃进妇女劳动力城市居民委员会毛主义上海
Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 243 , September 2020 , pp. 757 - 779
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Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London 2019

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