Table of Contents for Tiger, Tyrant, Bandit, Businessman
The Setting: The County by the Lake
This chapter provides an introduction to Poyang County, with an emphasis on its history, the problem of controlling a vast and populated rural society, and the rivalry between the Communist and Nationalist parties.
1.Casefile 1: Bandits, Big Swords, and the Rebel Scholar
This chapter investigates the deadly alliance between outlaws and secret society men that tried and failed to root out newly arrived Communists. Through a narrative reconstruction of their failed attack, we see how the Communists blurred the lines between outlaws, Nationalists, and counterrevolutionaries.
2.Casefile 2: Big Tiger, Tyrant of the Mountain
This chapter explores the downfall of Big Tiger, a local thug charged as an evil tyrant by the Communists in the first years of the People's Republic of China. His story reveals much about rural life, both before and after the arrival of the Communists. We see how the Nationalists relied on unpaid men such as Big Tiger to control the countryside, allowing him to engage in significant corruption. His arrest provides an inside view of the new legal system, including the ways in which the identity of the accused could shift to meet political needs.
3.Casefile 3: The Case of the Bodhisattva Society
This chapter investigates the case of a runaway landlord who went undercover for the Public Security Bureau to bring two criminal landlords to justice. Because the criminal landlords were relying on local religious beliefs to convince their neighbors to help shield them from the new regime, this chapter delves into rural Buddhist practice. We also see an inside view of the Public Security Bureau and how they framed their work as they hunted for counterrevolutionaries.
4.Casefile 4: Merchant Zha Goes to Court
This chapter recreates the trials and tribulations of Merchant Zha, a hapless businessman who ran afoul of the legal system of the People's Republic of China. His early life introduces readers to banking and commerce in the countryside. His troubles with the law highlight the power of local cadres and the inside workings of the PRC legal system.
A Few More Words in Closing
This concluding chapter offers readers a chance to rethink how history is told, by viewing the previous casefiles as a unified whole. This perspective highlights how the Communists brought the power of the state to the grassroots through a punishing combination of mass campaigns, legal trials, and sheer patience.