"At the dawn of the twentieth century, China's sovereignty was fragile at best. In the face of international and domestic upheaval, young, urban radicals - desperate for reforms that would save their nation - clamored for change, championing Western-inspired family reform and promoting free marriage choice and economic and emotional independence. But what came to be known as the New Culture Movement had the unwitting effect of fostering totalitarianism.

In this book, Susan Glosser examines how the link between family order and national salvation affected state-building and explores its lasting consequences.".

"Historians have largely characterized the family reform of the New Culture Movement in China as a significant attempt at democracy. In a departure from the old ways, individuals selected their own spouses, pursued their choice of work and education, and lived on their own. But, Glosser effectively argues that the replacement of the authoritarian, patriarchal, extended family structure with an egalitarian conjugal family was a way for the nation to preserve crucial elements of its traditional culture.".

"In 1911, the Qing dynasty collapsed; the republic established in its stead fell apart in less than five years, leaving the country mired in the chaotic era of the warlords. Supporters of the New Culture Movement aimed to restore national equilibrium through a reform of the family order. But in ensuing decades, Nationalists, Communists, and reform-minded entrepreneurs promoted their own version of the conjugal family while continuing to maintain the connections between family and state.

Glosser's comprehensive research shows that in the end, family reform paved the way for the Chinese Communist Party to establish a deeply intrusive state that undermined the legitimacy of individual rights."--BOOK JACKET.