This is the second volume of a two-volume social history of Hankow. The first volume, Hankow: Commerce and Society in a Chinese City, 1796-1889, emphasizes the dynamism of late imperial commerce, relations to the hinterland, and corporate institutions. Here, the focus is on the people of Hankow, in all their ethnic diversity, occupational variety, constant mobility, and social bonds.

Introduction. Part I. The City: 1. City people -- 2. Urban space -- Part II. Community: 3. Popular welfare -- 4. Public goods and public services -- Part III. Conflict: 5. Structures of conflict -- 6. Dangerous classes and laboring classes -- 7. True believers -- Part IV. Control -- 8. Forces of order -- 9. Crisis and response -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Selected bibliography -- Character list -- Index.