Between Families and Institutions: Mental Health and Biopolitical Paternalism in Contemporary China

In contemporary China, people diagnosed with serious mental illnesses have long been placed under the guardianship of their close relatives who decide on their hospitalization and treatment. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, Ma examines how ideological, institutional, and technological processes shape families’ complicated involvement in psychiatric care.

• | Author: Zhiying Ma
• | Publisher: Duke University Press
• | Publication Date: Apr 30, 2025
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781478031741
• | ISBN-10: 1478031743