Business Expansion and Structural Change in Pre-War China

Content

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pp. v-vi

List of Illustrations

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pp. vii-viii

List of Tables

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pp. ix-x

Acknowledgements

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pp. xi-xiii

Romanization and Measures [Includes Image Plates]

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pp. xv-xl

In this book, Chinese people, companies, organizations, and places appear, wherever possible, under their chosen names in English. Where their chosen English names are not known, their names in Chinese are transliterated in pinyin spelling, except in citations from English sources. Romanization of both Chinese and Japanese names, unless from English citations, are begun with surname, followed by their initials. Unless specified, all f�gures...

1. Introduction

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pp. 1-10

In the last 25 years, China has witnessed a period of rapid economic development. Not only has trade grown, foreign direct investment increased, and the number of factories multiplied but the institutional framework for business has also begun to alter. From the 1980s on, the government..

2. Chinese Business Institutions in a New Historical Environment

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pp. 11-25

The period 1920-1937 can be seen as part of an era of transformation following the late nineteenth century, witnessing the introduction of business institutions of foreign origin. These institutions not only provided a new framework for Chinese business operations but also...

3. The Making of a Business Empire, 1920-1937

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pp. 27-48

The impact of expansion on business structure cannot be understood without identifying the major operations of the businessman and his strategies to achieve such an expansion. Liu Hongsheng's businesses began in the 1910s in coal distribution and wharf operations. In 1920, he established the first group of industrial enterprises, a...

4. The Legacy of the Comprador System: Coal Distribution and Wharf Operations

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pp. 49-76

When Liu Hongsheng became the comprador of the Shanghai Agent of the Chinese Engineering and Mining Company (later the Kailan Mining Administration) in 1911 , he became part of the larger comprador system operating under the Western inf1uence in China. Like other compradors, Liu also ran his own businesses, including coal...

5. Business under Corporate Structure: The Shanghai Portland Cement Works

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pp. 77-98

In 1920, the Shanghai Portland Cement Works (hereafter referred to as Shanghai Cement) was formed as a joint-stock limited company. This chapter discusses the problems of business expansion that Liu Hongsheng encountered within the...

6. Market, Monopoly, and the State: The Match-Manufacturing Enterprise

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pp. 99-123

In the 1920s, market competition intensified. Liu Hongsheng's match-manufacturing enterprise responded by using tactics such as takeovers and mergers. However in the 1930s, while negotiations and takeovers continued, Liu formed a cartel to reduce competition,...

7. The Attraction of Banking: The China Development Bank

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pp. 125-154

Previous chapters have discussed the role of the accounts office in the expansion process of Liu Hongsheng's business empire. As shown, it played almost no crucial managerial function in each enterprise but its financial connections with them are clear. In this chapter, we focus on the appraisal of the problem of financing in the whole business...

8. Conclusion: Zhangfang, Nucleus of Chinese Business

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pp. 155-165

This study examines the relationship between business expansion and the structure of business in pre-war China through a major case study, Liu Hongsheng's enterprises during the 1920s and 1930s. In particular, it asks what kind of structural changes would have taken place in Chinese business in expansion in the institutional context of republican...

Notes

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pp. 167-234

Selected Bibliography

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pp. 235-255

Glossary

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pp. 257-268

Index

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pp. 269-283