Introduction: population as politics -- Problematique: governmentalization of population -- The Mao era: from soft birth control to hard birth planning -- The Deng era: rising enforcement of hard birth planning -- The Jiang era: deepening reform of hard birth planning -- The Hu era: from comprehensive reform to social policy -- The shifting local politics of population -- Restratifying Chinese society -- Remaking China's politics and global position -- Conclusion: Lenin, Foucault, and the governance of population in China.