LAUSR

skills of an ethnographer whose insight lends depth to her evaluation of the local cultural setting. The monograph is full of nuanced micro events that enrich the discussion and, thus, our understanding of how family organization in northern China has shifted away from its long-standing patrilineal bias toward a more bilateral, if not tacit, natal or mother-centred preference. Shi provides a thorough review of the changes in China’s birth control population polices, highlighting the factors that contribute to China’s overall fertility decline. The one-child policy has changed the way children are raised, and it has contributed to undermining long-standing Chinese norms. This is especially evident in the reworking of the meaning of filial piety that is increasingly seen as something parents must earn by giving their time and resources and being emotionally involved rather than simply assuming their right to obedience and care. These sociological and demographic changes are manifested in today’s ‘modern Chinese family’. In sum, this is a persuasive and eloquent study of the changing gender roles in Chinese society. It is a ground-breaking account of the cultural transformation of northern Chinese society whose people have come to re-evaluate kinship bonds and to value a daughter over a son. This is the kind of book that opens up new vistas. Full of surprises, it is ethnography as it should be.