Thirdly, the book is substantiated by a variety of angles. Whereas the story of one person alone can hardly cover all the social changes brought about during the past 30 years, the life stories of 30 people can reflect far more aspects of social-economic life in China. From the restoration of the national college entrance examination system, the return of educated youths from the countryside and the redressing of mishandled cases, through the implementation of the household contractual responsibility system in rural areas and the reform of the enterprise shareholding system, to the recent medical reform in rural areas, democratic management at the grassroots level, efforts to balance urban and rural development and to build the new socialist countryside, etc., the book tries to answer questions as to the impact of these strategic decisions and measures on ordinary people, not in the form of self-authoritative comments but with concrete, faithful records.

Fourthly, the book probes a number of sensitive issues. It does not blindly sing the praises of past achievements, but rather explores social problems through the grief, sorrow and pain of 30 individuals, including factory layoffs, the Three Gorges migrants, conflicts among different social groups, and the straitened conditions of peasant-turned industrial workers. The book is not for theoretical guidance, so there is no need to track down the causes of these problems or to actually find solutions. That leaves much leeway for further discussion or research.

Some foreign friends often ask me, "What, after all, has opening and reform brought to the Chinese people?" This book, I believe, will help to address those doubts to some extent.

Over recent years, the debate over whether to continue the reforms or not has surfaced from time to time. Some people think that, after thirty years, there is no reason to go much farther, and that any overhaul will mean the bankruptcy of some former policies. However, many who work in the fields of theoretical research, including myself, firmly maintain that the reforms have been very successful on the whole - the changes in the lives of the 30 individuals in the book have already proven this. Nevertheless, no policy can solve every problem in a single step. Take the main feature of the market economy, the enterprise shareholding system, for example. We used to argue a lot about whether to start that reform but found it somewhat premature to bring the system in line with established international practices, so we chose the "double-track operation system," whereby the incremental assets of state-owned enterprises would go public while their principal assets would remain temporarily out of circulation. Later, as the conditions matured and the disadvantages of the "double-track operation system" became all too apparent, we introduced a second shareholding reform to turn the "double tracks" into a "single track." This is what economists call "the split share structure reform."

It is said that the profound changes to Chinese society resulting from China's economic development during the past 30 years have exceeded those throughout the previous several thousand years. This remark is very interesting. Maybe it is improper to oversimplify the differences between periods of history, but the experiences acquired and accomplishments made in our successful transformation from the socialist planned economic system to the market economic system are evidently unparalleled. In fact, it is a constituent part of history. So long as we continue to be blessed with a broad vision, an open mindset and the entrepreneurial sprit of the past 30 years, China will amaze the world by creating even more miracles during the next 30 years. Despite hardships, we will remain true to our beliefs.

Being part of all that has happened over all these years, I have hardly stopped recollecting, witnessing and pondering. There is, indeed, a reservoir of memorable, soul-stirring tales to share. Although I may not agree with all the authors of this assortment of articles, they arouse a genuine feeling of "returning" to life itself with all its details and "commonplace" occurrences. However, this sort of returning does not make us any less happy or proud to be living in such a great era. I believe that readers will feel the same - you will admit that the book is more than worth reading although you may not agree with some statements and perspectives in it.

About the author

Li Yining, economist, Dean and Professor of the Division of Social Sciences of Peking University, Dean Emeritus of Guanghua School of Management, Member of the Standing Committee of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and Deputy Director of the Subcommittee of Economy of the CPPCC National Committee.