is a serious problem for villagers living in the region of the Yellow River. The Dragon King is venerated because he can dispense rain and save the community from drought (Chau, 2006, 79). The ritual operas of Aoshi in Shanxi were performed “to bring rain during droughts, to drive away disease, and to prevent fires, as well as to celebrate the New Year” (Johnson 2009, 71-72). The resurgence of popular folk practices and beliefs after 1980 was largely due to the lack of economic advances in most of rural China during the period of high socialism. As Stephen Jones points out, “In Shaanbei, as elsewhere in China, one may partly relate the persistence of pre-Communist belief systems (like worship of the gods and ceremonial practices) throughout these periods to the inability of modern governments to transform the environment. The largely agrarian society has remained poor and partially dependent on divine blessing, even since the 1980s when some parts of the area made clear economic progress.” (Jones, 2009, xix-xx). See also Hukou - system of household registration used in mainland China Ten-star household Urban society in the People's Republic of China Women's healthcare in the People's Republic of China Wokai - Organization that connects contributors worldwide with micro-entrepreneurs in rural China to help them start small businesses References Bibliography Yang, Dali. Calamity and Reform in China: State, Rural Society and Institutional Change since the Great Leap Famine. Stanford University Press, 1996. Society of China Agriculture in China Rural society in Asia