The South China Silk District: Local Historical Transformation and World System Theory

The material in this book is framed and organized through the themes of world system’s theory – such as incorporation, commercialization of agriculture, industrialization, proletarianization, and the cyclical rhythm of the capitalist world-system. The whole range of sericulture is examined from the production process, the social and technical problems, and the motives of cultivators, to how this form of agriculture changed over time. This text, replete with concrete and historical detail, offers carefully researched data of interest to sociologists and sinologists, as well as those in anthropology, economics, political science, and history.