and the village enjoyed relative peace and prosperity during the subsequent two ecades. The stable collective economy provided a good base for the development of a new style of public life, centring on the promotion of collectivism and socialist values, and of a new social space whereby village youth of opposite sexes could meet together in various social activities ided that ideal for and women who purposely chose to stand at the outer edge of the audience and who paid more attention to each other than to the movie screen or basketball match. Working in the fields, however, offered the most frequent opportunities for young villagers to see, talk and work for many hours together among peers of the opposite sex, especially during the busy seasons of spring ploughing, summer hoeing and autumn harvesting The collectives were officially dismantled by the end of 1983, and by the following spring villagers found themselves tending numerous small plots of farmland, working with only family members. Many villagers recalled that initially it felt odd to work apart from other villagers. The youths particularly disliked this new type of family farming because, as one of them put it, it was ooP y: younger generation, which had grown up in the late 1980s and early ing and cold 1990s did not benefit from the land distribution in 1983 and thus became landless labourers in the village. They, more than other villagers, needed to seek jobs outside the community. As noted, the experience of working in cities has had a profound influence on their values and aspirations. This has created a generational gap in village society. A 20-year-old man relates My parents al ways tell me what I should do, how I should talk with people and what kind of family I should have in the future. This is all rubbish. They do not realize how pitiful their lives are and how little they know about the world. My father has never gone more than 200 kilometres away from the village, and my mother only visited the county seat twice. They probably know no more than thirty people outside the village, all of whom are our relatives. I've worked in five cities in the past three years, including Beijing, and I am acquainted with several hundred people. Yesterday my mother tried to teach me how to talk properly with a girl, because she is trying to find a wife for me in her parents' village. But she doesnt now that I had a girlfriend when I worked in Beijing and I know everything abo women. Isnt this funny! Once in the cities, young villagers frequently have encountered urban prejudices and stereotyping of peasants. To survive in this modern yet hostile urban setting, villagers have to rely on support from their own social networks. In Yan, "Rural Youth and Youth Culture in North Chir See. e.g., Pun Ngai, "Becoming Dagongmei(Working Girls): The Politics of Identity and Difference in Reform China", The China Journal, No 42(July 1999), pp 1-1836 THE CHINA JOURNAL, NO. 48 and the village enjoyed relative peace and prosperity during the subsequent two decades. The stable collective economy provided a good base for the development of a new style of public life, centring on the promotion of collectivism and socialist values, and of a new social space whereby village youth of opposite sexes could meet together in various social activities. Movies and basketball matches provided occasions that were ideal for courtship. As many villagers recalled, there were always a number of young men and women who purposely chose to stand at the outer edge of the audience and who paid more attention to each other than to the movie screen or basketball match. Working in the fields, however, offered the most frequent opportunities for young villagers to see, talk and work for many hours together among peers of the opposite sex, especially during the busy seasons of spring ploughing, summer hoeing and autumn harvesting. The collectives were officially dismantled by the end of 1983, and by the following spring villagers found themselves tending numerous small plots of farmland, working with only family members. Many villagers recalled that initially it felt odd to work apart from other villagers. The youths particularly disliked this new type of family farming because, as one of them put it, it was "boring and cold". A yet younger generation, which had grown up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, did not benefit from the land distribution in 1983 and thus became landless labourers in the village. They, more than other villagers, needed to seek jobs outside the community. As noted, the experience of working in cities has had a profound influence on their values and aspirations. This has created a generational gap in village society. A 20-year-old man relates: My parents always tell me what I should do, how I should talk with people and what kind of family I should have in the future. This is all rubbish. They do not realize how pitiful their lives are and how little they know about the world. My father has never gone more than 200 kilometres away from the village, and my mother only visited the county seat twice. They probably know no more than thirty people outside the village, all of whom are our relatives. I've worked in five cities in the past three years, including Beijing, and I am acquainted with several hundred people. Yesterday my mother tried to teach me how to talk properly with a girl, because she is trying to find a wife for me in her parents' village. But she doesn't know that I had a girlfriend when I worked in Beijing and I know everything about women. Isn't this funny!21 Once in the cities, young villagers frequently have encountered urban prejudices and stereotyping of peasants.2 To survive in this modem yet hostile urban setting, villagers have to rely on support from their own social networks. In 21 Yan, "Rural Youth and Youth Culture in North China", p. 80. 2 See. e.g., Pun Ngai, "Becoming Dagongmei (Working Girls): The Politics of Identity and Difference in Reform China", The China Journal, No. 42 (July 1999), pp. 1-18