China in Comparative Perspective provides an overview of China based on empirical observation by field workers, as well as on historical documents, Chinese literary and philosophical texts and core theoretical frameworks in the social sciences. It enables readers to develop ways of putting the modern history, politics, economy and society of China into a framework in which China can be compared and contrasted with other countries. Topics covered include the rise of capitalism, post-socialist transformations, family and gender, nationalism, democracy, and civil society. Each chapter offers a comparison with other countries in East and South-Asia, Europe and the rest of the world, showing how analytic concepts have to be modified to avoid either Eurocentric or Sinocentric bias, and how ideas derived from Chinese sources and observations must be accommodated for complete understanding of the issues discussed. Written by two well-known anthropologists of China from the London School of Economics, Stephan Feuchtwang and Hans Steinmüller, this book is a comprehensive course for postgraduate students in Chinese and Asian studies, anthropology, sociology, political economy, politics and international relations.