Closer attention to tribute may help us reach an understanding of how the state is reproduced both as a system and an idea.
Paper long abstract:
In an Shenzhen former rural village, the school's transfer to the state following urbanisation is locally interpreted as both an expropriation by the state and a gift to the state. I make two related points: the main point is that closer attention to tribute may help us reach an understanding of how the state is reproduced both as a system and an idea; my secondary point is that the distinction between government and state plays an important role in understanding how state power is conceived of as non-negotiable and at the same time, contestable within its own limits.