Ebook
This book offers a sociological analysis as well as a theological discussion of China’s internal migration since the marketization reform in 1978. It documents the social and political processes that encompass the experiences of internal migrants from the countryside to the city during China’s integration into the global economy. Informed by sociological analysis and narratives of the urban poor, this volume reconstructs the political, economic, social and spiritual dimensions of this urban underclass in China who made up the economic backbone of the Asian superpower.
“The Chinese Exodus is a moving description, based on
social science research and extensive personal interviews, of the
poverty, prejudice, and destruction of social bonds experienced by
those who have migrated from the rural areas of China to the
cities. But it’s more than that, and it’s the ‘more’ that makes Li
Ma’s discussion unusual and important. She interweaves her
descriptions of urban poverty and social disorientation in China
with a rich and passionate Christian theological interpretation of
those phenomena.”
—Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale University
“This profoundly important book provides an in-depth study of one
of the major crises in contemporary China: the tragic plight of the
large numbers of rural poor who have migrated to urban centers in
recent years. These folks experience difficult—indeed, in many
cases, unspeakable—hardships. Li Ma not only describes the contours
of their lives with impressive sociological insight, but she also
advocates on their behalf by making it clear that their plight
touches the very heart of God. I hope that this fine book moves
many human hearts—as it has moved mine!”
—Richard Mouw, Fuller Theological Seminary
“This book . . . exposes the unbearable burden upon
millions and millions of rural migrants . . . in the
former communist countries whose population lived mostly in the
countryside at the time of their opening and reform. Li Ma
. . . goes beyond the ‘scientific research’ of the
phenomena. Poverty, deprivation, and alienation can be described
and analyzed, but she points out convincingly that the root lies
deeper. Only with faith in God can migrants get internal freedom
and the sense of being equal before God.”
—Jingbei Hu, Tongji University
“In the past two decades China has witnessed the most massive
peacetime internal migration in the history of the world. Ma’s
groundbreaking study of China’s urban migrants combines careful
sociological research with deep theological reflection as she
responds to the biblical injunction to both ‘know the stranger’ and
‘welcome the stranger.’ Her penetrating analysis reveals the
paradox of those who, due to the entrenched discrimination of
China’s socialist system and the forces of capitalist domination,
live as immigrants in their own country.”
—Brent Fulton, President, ChinaSource
“What does it look like when a country with a history of class
division mixes communism and capitalism? China and the plight of
migrants cannot be understood without careful analysis, and this
book provides multiple key insights by placing the story of urban
migration, and the resulting effects on individuals, families, and
children, within economic, sociological, and theological
frameworks. The result is deep and profound understandings that
help us see the suffering, and some of the pathways for coming
alongside those who suffer injustice. It is a must resource for
understanding China today.”
—Jul Medenblik, President of Calvin Theological Seminary
“Li Ma captures voices of Chinese migrant workers that most of us
would otherwise never hear. To the outside world China’s material
gains and economic power are the image of the nation. Li Ma
presents the costs Chinese working people pay. Her voice challenges
the god of money.”
—Thomas Post, World Renew Team Leader-Asia
“The Chinese Exodus offers a comprehensive and poignant
account of Chinese migrant workers’ struggle and survival under
immense structural and cultural discriminations. Evoking prophetic
imaginations, Dr. Ma masterfully weaves together sociological
investigation, social theory, and theological insights to expose
the deep injustice of the present and to plant a subversive hope
for the future. She challenges us to dislodge our institutionalized
prejudices and proactively and creatively work to redeem and
restore what is broken and lost in our world.”
—Min-Dong Paul Lee, Wheaton College
Li Ma has a PhD in sociology from Cornell University. She is the Senior Research Fellow at the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. She is the coauthor with Jin Li of Surviving the State, Remaking the Church (Pickwick Publications, 2017).