The author of this book is economist He Qinglian. As early as 1998, the manuscript began to circulate on the Internet. In 2005, it was published by a publishing house in mainland China and was immediately banned. The materials cited in the book discuss many aspects of China's social and economic issues today and are regarded as a representative interpretation of China's reforms by independent intellectuals. The author said that the book answers a question: What consequences has economic reform brought to China?
Wukan is a village in Luwei City, under the jurisdiction of Shanwei City, Guangdong Province. From 2011 to 2016, Wukan villagers have continued to fight to protect their land and fight for villagers' rights. Facing strong pressure from the government, some even paid with their lives. In the process, the villagers had elected their own villagers' committee by one person, one vote to practice their democratic rights. Although the protests were eventually suppressed, the impact was far-reaching. Ai Xiaoming rushed to the scene at the beginning of the Wukan incident and left this precious record.