Oral Accounts: The Story of 'Firsts'

韩淑芳China Culture and History Press · ChinaOct 2024

Rating 3.8
Word count
199K words
Chapters
45
ISBN
9787520503204

Tags

Management Rural ReformInstitutional InnovationFirsts of ReformSocial TransitionSecurities TradingPioneering BreakthroughsPioneering SpiritOral AccountsDocumentary NarrativeSocial Observation

Summary

Spanning four decades of reform, from the hardscrabble explorations of the early years to staying true to the original aspiration and pressing forward, China has produced countless "firsts" amid the surging tide of reform: Xiaogang Village, the first village to reform rural China; the first breaking of the "iron rice bowl"; the first joint-stock company to go public; the first 110 emergency call service; the birth of the first stock exchange; the founding of the first futures exchange; the first beauty pageant; the first land auction; the issuance of the first UnionPay card; and the early days of the social security fund.

Editor's review

This book uses oral history to string together a number of "firsts" from the four decades of reform and opening up into a tangible thread: the red fingerprints in Xiaogang Village, the breaking of the "iron rice bowl," the first UnionPay card, the first stock exchange, and more are all entry points where the grand narrative settles back into individual memory. The accounts of those who were there preserve a sense of immediacy and detail; readers can see how institutional breakthroughs began with specific people and events, and feel the hardship and courage of the early explorations. It does not aim to be a panoramic general history but rather uses points to cover the whole, making it suitable for reading and reflecting in fragmented moments, and as a supplementary reader for understanding the reform process. For readers interested in contemporary history, social change, and oral history methods, this book offers plain yet warm material; as you read, pay attention to the echoes among different narrators and appreciate the historical conditions and subsequent impact behind each "first."

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Reading tips

  1. Start with the field in the table of contents you are most familiar with, then read in chronological order to build a sense of the thread.
  2. After finishing each "first," jot down in one or two sentences what problem it solved and what impact it left.
  3. You can read alongside a chronology of reform and opening-up, but do not insist that it match every oral detail exactly.
  4. When reading oral accounts from different sectors, note what the greatest resistance was when each "first" appeared.

About the publisher

China Culture and History Press China · Founded in 1980

China Culture and History Press has long devoted itself to modern and contemporary literature and culture-and-history reading matter, with publishing directions centered on classic works, social novels, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy, alongside culture-and-history periodicals such as Zongheng. Among the more than 1,500 titles in the collection, representative books include Zhang Henshui's Ti Xiao Yin Yuan, Lu Xun's Complete Classic Works (10 volumes) and Wild Grass, and Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof series and the boxed set of Lao She's Classic Works (10 volumes), while its author resources are concentrated on figures such as Zhang Henshui, Lu Xun, Lao She and Sima Qian. Its publishing character lies in solid editorial work on culture-and-history source texts and in issuing famous authors' works in sets, balancing the readability of individual texts with the systematic presentation of complete collections for focused reading and collecting. Beyond these directions, public information on the press's contemporary original publishing is limited, so it is not elaborated here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 《大潮》丛书
  3. 前言
  4. 第一章 初创：杀出一条血路
  5. 小岗村——中国农村改革第一村
  6. 第一家中外合资饭店的建设
  7. 第一次打破“铁饭碗”
  8. 第一次工程招标，开创“深圳速度”
  9. 外交部发言人制度的建立
  10. 第一家消费者协会的诞生
  11. 第一家股份制上市公司——飞乐音响
  12. 第一条农民自办铁路的修建
  13. 第一次集资办电
  14. 第二章 探索：摸着石头过河
  15. 第一部开发区“基本法”的产生
  16. 第一份股份合作企业章程的出台
  17. 广州天河区——第一个全面推行农村股份合作制改革的“试验区”
  18. 第一个110报警服务台的开通
  19. 第一家中外合资银行——厦门国际银行的诞生
  20. 第一家证券营业部——上海静安证交所始末
  21. 第一家证券交易所——深圳证券交易所的诞生
  22. 上海证券交易所的创办
  23. 第一家粮油期货市场的建立
  24. 见证新中国第一次选美
  25. 第一家开在境外的经贸窗口——香港雁荡有限公司
  26. 第一所中外合作办学的盲人特殊教育机构
  27. 第一次中外合作编演剧目——京剧与歌舞伎同台演出
  28. 第一家期货交易所——深圳有色金属交易所创办始末
  29. 第一个辞职下海的镇委书记
  30. 第一个国家级经济技术开发区——大连开发区的故事
  31. 新中国第一块土地拍卖
  32. 第一张银联卡的诞生
  33. 第三章 深化：不忘初心，砥砺前行
  34. 第一个保税区——外高桥保税区的成立
  35. 第一张金融商业日报的创办
  36. 第一家中外合资商业企业——第一八佰伴开业
  37. 第一个无形资产评估管理办法的出台
  38. 我国第一个自主设计建设的LNG项目落户
  39. 开办第一个股份制海外商城
  40. 第一个出口退税账户托管贷款政策的出台
  41. 第一个“阳光法案”诞生记
  42. 初设全国社会保障基金的台前幕后
  43. 第一次创建金融业廉政建设监控预警体系
  44. 第一个股指期货上市始末
  45. 鸣谢

FAQ

Is this book a complete general history? No. It is a compilation of oral accounts by many people who were there, centered on several "firsts" in reform and opening up. It is fragmentary documentary writing rather than a systematic general history laid out chapter by chapter. It is best treated as supplementary material to a general history, using specific stories to feel the atmosphere of the era and the immediacy of institutional breakthroughs.
Can I read it without a historical background? Yes, but it is advisable to first understand the basic timeline of reform and opening up; otherwise the causes and consequences of individual events may be hard to grasp. The book is mainly first-person accounts in plain language and does not rely on specialized terminology. When you encounter unfamiliar background, look up the relevant years and events as you go, and the reading will be smoother.
Are oral history materials reliable? The value of oral history lies in the firsthand memories and emotional details of those who were there, but personal recollection may contain errors or limited perspectives. When reading, you can compare the oral accounts with public historical sources, valuing their vividness while remaining cautious. As a compilation of materials, this book is better used to sense "how the people involved tell it" rather than as a substitute for rigorous historical verification.

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About the author

韩淑芳 Author

Han Shufang, about whom limited public information is available, has long been engaged in compiling books on history and urban culture, with 35 titles included in the collection. Her work centers on social life and urban memory in the Republican era. Representative titles include Mr. Cai Yuanpei Returns: Changing China Through Aesthetic Education, as well as city documentary works set around 1949, such as Nanjing: My 1949, Beiping: My 1949, and Guangzhou: My 1949. In addition, volumes in the Republican Anecdotes: Old City series, including Old Nanjing, Old Chengdu, Old Tianjin, and Old Harbin, recreate the atmosphere of old cities through anecdotes and everyday details. Her books are generally classified as biography, documentary literature, history, and culture, and are valued for their careful selection of historical material and readable narrative, appealing to general readers interested in modern urban history.