The People's Peking Man: Popular Science and Human Identity in

The People's Peking Man: Popular Science and Human Identity in Twentieth-Century China

In the 1920s an international team of scientists and miners unearthed the richest evidence of human evolution the world had ever seen: Peking Man. After the communist revolution of 1949, Peking Man became a prominent figure in the movement to bring science to the people. In a new state with twin goals of crushing â€œsuperstitionâ€ and establishing a socialist society, the story of human evolution was the first lesson in Marxist philosophy offered to the masses. At the same time, even Maoâ€™s populist commitment to mass participation in science failed to account for the power of popular cultureâ€”represented most strikingly in legends about the Bigfoot-like Wild Manâ€”to reshape ideas about human nature.

The Peopleâ€™s Peking Man is a skilled social history of twentieth-century Chinese paleoanthropology and a compelling culturalâ€”and at times comparativeâ€”history of assumptions and debates about what it means to be human. By focusing on issues that push against the boundaries of science and politics, The Peopleâ€™s Peking Man offers an innovative approach to modern Chinese history and the history of science.
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Country USA
Brand University of Chicago Press
Manufacturer University of Chicago Press
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 24 halftones
ReleaseDate 2008-12-01
UnitCount 1
Format Illustrated
EANs 9780226738604

Country	USA
Brand	University of Chicago Press
Manufacturer	University of Chicago Press
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	24 halftones
ReleaseDate	2008-12-01
UnitCount	1
Format	Illustrated
EANs	9780226738604

The People's Peking Man: Popular Science and Human Identity in Twentieth-Century China

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