Study Of Contemporary Chinese Household Registration System Changes

Peasant development is one of the most important problems in the course of China's modernization; the core of the matter is how to make peasant modernized. Though the China population's rate of natural increase has changed low after putting into effect the birth control in 1980's,the socioeconomic structure of population makes very slow progress. Population quantity slow increase is necessary in the course of modernization; but more important is to make population quality improve, to make socioeconomic structure of population modernized.System or institution is not neglected among the modem transformation of socioeconomic structure of population; system or institution is a necessary tie between society and person, as society being basis person being subject in the course of transformation. System or institution on the basis of certain kind of socioeconomic background restricts society operation and standards person action. Sociological researcher of modem development paying attention to non-economic factor must not neglect to study system and institution.In this article making use of development sociological theory and method using institution economical theory and method for reference, basing on the household registration in the Chinese history, the author systematically examines how the household registration (hukou) system in contemporary China to take shape and to change, especially pays more attention to the changes from pre-reform to reform-era in socialist China.This article begins with a brief review of the household registration system in history, tracing the birth and changes of the household registration system in pre-reform socialist China that further reinforced the existing rural-urban inequality and largely eliminated peasants'migration to cities. It then provides an overview of state policies and institution on the household registration specially on population migration movement since 1978.Further, using the positive data gotten through social investigation in changle county the author studies income, right, social mobile and marriage between peasant and townspeople.Facing the (re)emergence of such an unprecedented large mobile population, the Chinese government has not abandoned the household registration system. It has modified this old system by introducing a new method of temporary registration that allows migrants to work in the cities on a temporary basis on the one hand, and refuse to grant migrants the rights and benefits by urbanites on the other. This new practice give local authority heightened (re)regulation to migrants, but give problem to floated population.Though the household registration system has reformed in contemporary China, It must be reformed further in order to meet the need of setting up market economic system and making socioeconomic structure of population modernized.