Institutional changes in rural China caused by the economic reforms of the post-Mao era have led to a new pattern of state-society interaction in the rural polity. Central to this is the spectacular rise of a group of managerial elites. Contrary to economic predictors, this has been accompanied by the development of an interdependence between these managers and the state. This book provides an analysis of the new state-society relationship and demonstrates the complexity and fluidity involved in institutional development and market transformation.