Growing up in post-reform China, Li Ma (Mary) has always been intrigued by issues of social change around her in that extraordinary country. First-hand witness of social inequality and demoralization made her interested in pursuing social science research after finishing her English literature thesis on the social context of female writers in Victorian England. She studied for a master's degree in Sociology at the University of Oxford, which opened a door to more curiosities. Then she earned a PhD in sociology from Cornell University.

At her doctoral dissertation stage, Mary experienced a deep personal conversion to the Christian faith. Finishing her doctoral project on China's integration into global economy and urban poverty, her research began to include not only market transition, social change, but also Christianity in China.

Nowadays Mary's wider scholarship extends to the intersections of social sciences, Chinese politics, world history and Christian theology. You can find updated information about her recent projects on this research blog: https://theologyandsocietyblog.wordpress.com

Apart from her scholarly works in English, she is also an author and columnist for journals and new media in the Chinese language.

This book offers a sociological analysis as well as a theological discussion of China's internal migration since the marketization reform in 1978. It documents the social and political processes that encompass the experiences of internal migrants from the countryside to the city during China's integration into the global economy. Informed by sociological analysis and narratives of the urban poor, this volume reconstructs the political, economic, social and spiritual dimensions of this urban underclass in China who made up the economic backbone of the Asian superpower.