Foreword -- Preface -- Introduction -- : basic institutions of the Chinese societies -- The Chinese society in pre-reform China -- The institutional changes in post-reform China -- Socioeconomic changes in the Chinese societies -- Chinese family and kinship : yesterday and today -- Chinese women and education : better off in post-socialist China? -- Emergence of the Chinese new middle class -- Governmentality and conspicuous consumption pattern -- Sociocultural changes in the Chinese societies -- Institutionalization of Guanxi (connections) -- Consumerism, the pursuit of beauty, and medical tourism -- The legacy of leftover ladies -- Masculinity crisis in post-reform China -- Caught up in corruption in post-reform China -- Popular culture, media, and society in post-reform China -- Conclusion.