One Child - The Story of China’s Most Radical Experiment

Aug 2, 2026

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The narrative traces the origins and long-term consequences of China’s one-child policy, launched in 1980 through a Communist Party open letter that functioned as an order. It weighs the policy’s stated aims—lifting a vast population out of poverty and accelerating development—against coercive methods such as forced sterilizations and abortions. The account also examines how the policy shaped demographic outcomes: an older population, gender imbalance, and shrinking labor supply, while questioning the extent to which population planning drove China’s rapid economic growth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages262

Reading Time6 h 43 min

AccessFree to download

Prologue

After the Quake

And the Clock Struck 8/8/08

Cassandra and the Rocketmen

The Population Police

Little Emperors, Grown Up

Welcome to the Dollhouse

Better to Struggle to Live On, Than Die a Good Death

The Red Thread Is Broken

Babies Beyond Borders

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Notes and References

Index

[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Title Page Contents Copyright Dedication Author ’s Note Prologue After the Quake And the Clock Struck 8/8/08 Cassandra and the Rocketmen The Population Police Little Emperors, Grown Up Welcome to the Dollhouse Better to Struggle to Live On, Than Die a Good Death The Red Thread Is Broken Babies Beyond Borders Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes and References Index About the Author [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Copyright © 2016 by Mei Fong All rights reserved For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to [trade.permissions@hmhco.com](trade.permissions@hmhco.com) or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016. [www.hmhco.com](www.hmhco.com) The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows: Names: Fong, Mei, author. Title: One child : the story of China’s most radical experiment / Mei Fong. Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015037254| ISBN 9780544275393 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780544276604 (ebook) | ISBN 9780544815582 (pbk. (international edition)) | ISBN 9780544815605 (trade paper) Subjects: LCSH: China—Population policy. | Family planning—Government policy—China. | Family size—Government policy—China. | Families—China. | China—Social conditions—2000– | China—Social policy—21st century. Classification: LCC HB 3654.A3 F66 2016 | DDC 363.9/60951—dc23 LC record available at [http://lccn.loc.gov/2015037254](http://lccn.loc.gov/2015037254) [Cover photograph](Cover photograph) © Alex Mares-Manton/Asia Images/Corbis v2.1215 [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) To anyone contemplating the cost of parenthood [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) AUTHOR’S NOTE Whenever it made grammatical sense, I have tried to make a distinction between “China” and “Chinese,” since one can be ethnically Chinese but not a citizen of the People’s Republic of China. In representing Chinese names, I’ve usually placed the family name first, though there are exceptions—mine being one. Readers may also note that I’ve used English translations for some Chinese names—for example,“Moon Lotus”—and not for others. I’ve done so to help Western readers distinguish various Chinese characters in books, since unfortunately in Romanized script many Chinese names can sound alike. In some older interviews I conducted, I failed to get accurate translations of the subjects’names at the time and do not venture to guess. A last note on statistics. China sources such as Xinhua or the country’s Bureau of Statistics have been used as indicators but should not be taken as gospel. (Even China’s Premier Li Keqiang reportedly said China’s GDP figures are “man-made.”) The wise reader would assume that official numbers may be deflated when such figures have negative implications for China’s prestige—such as fatalities or pollution indicators—and possibly inflated in cases where overstatement may benefit authorities—for example, GDP growth. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) PROLOGUE In the midst of the Cold War, China’s rocket scientists came up with an ambitious plan that had nothing to do with missiles, or space exploration, or weaponry of any kind. It concerned babies. On September 25, 1980, China’s Communist Party unveiled this plan through an open letter that asked members to voluntarily limit their family size to one child. The request was, in truth, an order. Thus began the one-child policy, the world’s most radical social experiment, which endured for thirty-five years and continues to shape how one in six people in this world are born, live, and die. Like crash dieting, the one-child policy was begun for reasons that had merit. China’s leadership argued the policy was a necessary step in its Herculean efforts to lift a population the size of the United States’ from abject poverty. B

FAQs

When and how was China’s one-child policy introduced?

On September 25, 1980, China’s Communist Party unveiled the plan via an open letter asking families to voluntarily limit themselves to one child, described as functioning as an order.

What negative side effects does the text attribute to the one-child policy?

It highlights coercive abuses such as forced sterilizations and abortions, which later drew strong global condemnation.

According to the text, what demographic risks did the policy create?

It rapidly produced a population that is too old and too male, and it shrank the future working-age population needed to support aging citizens.

Aug 2, 2026

Upload by Liam