Deep China

Deep Chinainvestigates the emotional and moral lives of the Chinese people as they adjust to the challenges of modernity. Sharing a medical anthropology and cultural psychiatry perspective and engaged in different research experiences, the authors delve into intimate and sometimes hidden areas of personal life and social practice to observe and narrate the drama of Chinese "individualization." The essays explore the remaking of the moral person during China's profound social and economic transformation, unraveling the shifting practices and struggles of contemporary life. These include sexuality, blood donation and trade, mental illness, suicide, HIV/AIDS, urban spatial politics, and the rise of individualism. Combining ethnographic and clinical findings, the book expands our understanding of China far beyond political, economic, security, and technology issues, and provides a fresh and focused examination of both the lived experiences of the Chinese people and their evolving quest for meaning.