The main purpose of this article is (1) to examine the basic theoretical issues of information society and (2) to reflect on the status of research regarding information society in China based on recent empirical evidence. Beginning with a review of general theories and an assessment of information society studies inside the country, it re-evaluates social realities in the Chinese context while emphasizing the diffusion of working-class information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the concomitant rise of a new social stratum, the information have-less. The article then explores the distinctiveness and universality of the Chinese model of information society in comparison with other models and developments in advanced information societies as well as the developing world. Particular attention is paid to the question of social innovation, the stratification of ICTs, and the interplay between the two.