Beyond Citizenship: Literacy and Personhood in Everyday China, 1900–1945.

"Beyond Citizenship: Literacy and Personhood in Everyday China, 1900–1945" by Di Luo is a social history book that explores how the acquisition of literacy transformed the lives of ordinary people in early 20th century China. The book focuses on literacy campaigns by both the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) targeting adult learners. It challenges the "nation-building/modernization narrative" that linked literacy to the strength of a country, arguing that literacy was more about everyday matters and individual empowerment than national identity. The book provides an overview of the policies and their impact at the grassroots level, as well as stories of actual readers and how reading affected their lives. [Extracted from the article]