This book examines contemporary rural development in China from a historical perspective and contends that the economic resilience has had much to do with the rural economy, weaving together the methods of historical comparison, multilevel analysis and case study. It examines the recent transformation of Chinese agriculture and rural industry, along with related issues such as labor migration and urbanization. In addition, it is built on the author's years of field research in Wujin county in Jiangsu province and Aohan county in eastern Inner Mongolia.