Jean-Louis Rocca is Professor at Sciences Po, France, and Researcher at the Center for International Studies, Sciences Po, France. A specialist of Chinese society, he is the author of A Sociology of Modern China (2015) and co-author (with Françoise Mengin) of Politics in China: Moving Frontiers (2002). Rocca is member of the editorial board of The China Quarterly.

• Introduction: Talking about the Middle Class .- 1. The Rise of the Social in China .- 2. The Making of an Ideal Class .- 3. The Making of a Lifestyle .- 4. Middle Class Politics .- Conclusion.

“A major contribution to the literature not only on the middle-class phenomenon in China, but also on the industrialized and industrializing world's understandings of class more generally. It will be useful reading for students on courses in China studies, sociology and politics, and should be mandatory for any researcher interested in social change in China, not only for its analysis and findings, but also for the richness of its source material and the sophistication of its methodology.” (David S. G. Goodman, China Quarterly Review, Vol. 231, September, 2017)“This important contribution is the best effort yet by Western social scientists in their continuous struggle to define what being middle class means in Chinese society. … A thoughtful book worthy of further consideration. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic levels/libraries.” (W. R. Jankowiak, Choice, Vol. 54 (11), July, 2017)