This book investigates how the intersection of migration, labor, and urban transition reshapes the construction of masculinity among male migrant workers in contemporary China. Xiaodong Lin, a scholar specializing in gender and social change, utilizes qualitative research to examine the lives of rural-to-urban migrants. The work argues that the experience of leaving home and navigating urban labor markets forces a renegotiation of traditional filial roles and class identity. By analyzing these shifts, the author provides a framework for understanding how modernity influences the performance of manhood in a rapidly changing economic landscape.

Experts in Chinese sociology and gender studies recognize this text as a significant contribution to the understanding of internal migration patterns. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the depth of the author's ethnographic approach to the subject matter.