"Superbly researched and tightly conceptualized. Covering the 110 years before the successful communist revolution in 1949, Perry's study gently modifies several generations of received wisdom about Chinese labor activities. . . . She combines the social scientist's passion for order with the historian's eye for compelling anecdote. . . . The result is a sophisticated, provocative, and entertaining piece of work that profoundly alters our understanding of Chinese labor."--American Historical Review