Center for Chinese Rural Studies(CCRS), which is established to meet the requirements of solving the problems of peasants and rural areas, is problem-guided and characterized with politics. It is a comprehensive academic research institution on rural problems.
The history of CCRS can be dated back to 1980s when Zhang Houan and his colleagues, the members of the lab for politics research in Central China Normal University, started their research on rural grassroots government system. In 1990, the Center for Rural Grass-Roots Regime Studies was set up. Its director was Zhang Houan and vice-director Xu Yong. In 1990s, the research field of the central was expanded from rural politic to economic, education and rural society. According to this condition, the central was renamed as Center of Rural Studies of Central China Normal University in 1995. In May 2000, the center was upgraded and renamed as Center for Chinese Rural Studies at Central China Normal University (CCNU), assessed as one of One Hundred Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences in Universities by the China Ministry of Education.
The main research of CCRS cover rural politics research, rural economic research, rural education research and rural society research, and it also attaches great importance to the rural grass-roots regime, villagers` self-Government, reform of rural tax and fee system, innovation of microcosmic economic organization and recognition on the rural society and so on so forth.
Also the center is still the only Center that specializes at rural studies in today’s China’s universities. Its function is to promote, organize and coordinate Chinese rural Studies among the higher education institutions nation wide. Its mission is to advance Chinese rural studies as a leading research center, to training experts for rural studies as a training center, to foster academic linkages and academic exchange among scholars at home and abroad, to become a source of national consultancy to government and to serve as a resource center for those who seek to understand rural China. The center involves researches on the rural grass-roots regime, the Villagers` Self-Government, the public management in country, the development and management of rural economic, the innovation of rural economic system, the changes of rural society, the social security and social welfare in country, the development of education in country, etc.
CCRS has qualified faculty as its backing: 1): 15 of the members all specialize in this field, among them there are eight professors, eight have obtained their Doctor Degree and seven are the mentor of the doctorate students. The incumbent director of CCRS is Professor Xu Yong who together with another leader in CCRS have been awarded as “the Cross-century outstanding talented person”; professor Lei haizhang is one of the commenter in the Comment group of State Council Study Committee, and Cao yang, Zeng xinju are the experts with prominent contributions at provincial level. 2): The 17 Concurrent job researchers are also outstanding talents in this area. Five of them are professors and 4 are associate professors, besides, eight of them have taken the doctorate. 3): 6 other renowned experts who don’t work in CCNU also contribute a lot for CCRS. The faculties are well co-coordinated as the experience of the senior experts complements with the perceiving ability of the younger. The CCRS `s research is insisting on “face to society, face to the countryside, face to basic level" and making deep investigation and experiment in a long-term. In recent years, CCRS has made some remarkable progress in the field as well as excited virtuous social effects. Since the establishment of the center, it has undertaken over 60 projects from provincial to national level, and succeeded national key items. The article Stability and the Development of Politics in Chinese Countryside is awarded as “A good book” by Central Committee of the CCP propaganda department; Villagers` Self-Government in rural China won the 2nd prize of the third session of humanities outstanding award of Ministry of Education, and 1st prize in Hubei province. The investigations and researches on the industrialization of agriculture, the labor force shifts and the rural education done by CCRS also provide much reliable reference for the government department’s decision-making. Some of its achievements also cast positive influence to the state legislation work.
CCRS also stretches out for more communications and gains more and more international influence. There have been visiting-scholars from USA, UK, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Ireland and other countries visiting our center. And some prestigious scholars from US Stanford University and Canadian national University were invited to work as Concurrent job professors or researchers of CCRS. With the guide of the foreign experts, CCRS can study the rural problems from a higher and larger perspective of view. Since 2000, CCRS has been undergoing a series of base construction: 1), in science research aspect: it has undertaken 6 key base project proposed by Ministry of Education and the achievements are fruitful. 2), in aspect of cultivating the talents: there are 4 more doctorate and master centers added to foster more specialists.3), in policy consultation aspect: many reports with great value have been submitted to concerning department and obtains the affirmation.4), in the aspect of academic changes: CCRS has conducted 4 large national and the international conferences and sponsored Chinese countryside research magazine. In 2000, set up the rural research website (www.ccrs.org.cn) which has thousands of logers each month.5), in academic management system aspect: CCRS has set up investigation and study bases in Shengzhen, Shangdong, Zhejiang as well as in its origin place Hubei. CCRS is and will continue to be a non-profit organization. It will carry its obligations to the end.
Academic Director: Lu Xueyi (Eighth session of National People's Congress Committee member)
Consultant: Professor Zhang Hou'an (the former Director)
Director: Professor Xu yong (member of the commenter in the Comment Group of State Council Study Committee)
Deputy-director: Professor Xiang Jiquan, Professor He Xuefeng
Faculties: Professor Cao Yang (Doctor of Economics), Professor Zeng Xinju(Doctor of Economics), Professor Sheng Jie (Doctor of Sociology), Professor Yu Jianrong, Gao Bingxiong and Zhang Lirong(Doctor of Politics), Professor Liu Xiaohong (Doctor of History), Wang Jingxiao(Lecturer), Liu Jinhai, Yuan Fangcheng and Liu Yiqiang (Assistant researcher)
Administrative secretary: Huang huixiang
File clerk: Wang Jing
Tel: +86-27-67865845, 67865189
Fax: +86-27-67865189
Add: Center for Chinese Rural Studies Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P.R.C
Postcode: 430079
Website: www.ccrs.org.cn
Email: newccrs@yahoo.com.cn
