The Chinese Exodus: Migration Urbanism and Alienation in Contemporary China

This book offers a sociological analysis as well as a theological discussion of Chinas 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 Chinas integration into the global economy. Informed by sociology 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. In China market forces encouraged by a watchful communist state create a double demoralizing effect in the political as well as economic realm. Their dire consequences are acutely felt by the creation of millions of left-behind children in rural areas or migrant children in urban enclaves of poverty. Lawyers NGO workers and other good Samaritans who try to help lift up institutional bias have encountered tremendous challenges. Christians outreach to this urban underclass has been ongoing but less effective due to the suppression of civic space. As Chinas Great Migration accompanied the growth of urban Christianity these migration-led social problems invite theological reflections on social justice urbanism alienation and hope.