Business History of Modern China

Dartmouth College | HIST XXXX

Fall 2025

Author

Yi Lu

Published

2025-09-06

About the Course

Basic Information

Time TBD
Classroom TBD
Instructor Yi Lu
Office Carson 205
Office Hour TBD
Phone 603-646-0156
Email

Course Description

By 2030, China is expected to become the largest economy in the world. Chinese companies have significantly altered the business environment domestically and are now aiming for a global presence. What insights can we gain about China — its people, government, and culture — from its evolving enterprises? This course examines modern China and its global influence through the lens of business. Through discussion of historical sources, case studies, and class visits, we delve into the factors driving China’s expansion, including: China’s place in the world economy; traditional family businesses; early efforts at state-led industrialization; legal and social frameworks for business; foreign investments, companies, and competition; the emergence of a Chinese business class; state-owned enterprises alongside private-sector competitors; and the influential roles of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and foreign companies in shaping modern China. We will also investigate the impact of the Communist Party and government (both local and national) on business and society. Will China lead? Has it peaked? By the end of this course, you will be equipped to make informed assessments.

Learning Goals

By the end of the class, you will be able to:

  • discuss key issues and broad trends shaping Chinese business history since 1800 and their present-day relevance;
  • evaluate scholarly arguments, policy decisions, and public debates concerning China and its relations with the world;
  • develop independent research skills using a diverse set of primary sources – texts, statistics, images, material objects, films, etc.;
  • communicate your arguments in a variety of media and formats, ranging from critical essay to op-ed to oral presentation.

Assessments

Participation

Your participation in class is essential for learning – not just for you, but also for your peers. The class promotes active learning and often includes work in pairs or small groups.

Issue Paper

In this assignment, you will write a short brief on an economic issue related to modern China. Topics may include:

  • industrial policies
  • rural economy
  • public health and human development
  • international trade
  • and more.

Whatever topic you choose, your paper should examine the history, trends, and their implications. More specifically, it should:

  • state the issue for consideration;
  • examine the historical context and its contemporary relevance;
  • indicate a recommendation for action;
  • provide supporting information relevant to the issue and recommendation;
  • list references for the supporting information and other resources.

Case Study Paper

For the final project, you will develop a teaching case that presents a critical business issue facing an entity – a person, an organization, or a location – related to China. They do not need to be based in China; foreign individuals, companies, or agencies dealing with China are also acceptable. Whatever your case study, you paper should:

  • go beyond the immediate example to identify underlying topics and to contextualize them in the Chinese / global history;
  • serve as a teaching resource that generates lively classroom debate in which participants present and defend their analysis and prescriptions.

You should base your paper on careful library research and oral interviews with relevant stakeholders (if needed). In addition to text, you may use video, audio, graphics, animation, and other media. The assignment includes two parts:

Task Requirement Due date
Proposal 2-3 pages, plus bibliography TBD
Presentation 5-10 mins TBD
Final draft 15 to 20 pages long TBD

Mid-term and Final Exams

In the mid-term and final exams, you will apply historical knowledge and reasoning skills that you have developed in the class to a new set of documents. The exams will be available on Canvas during the following periods:

Assessment Optional review session Start date End date
Mid-term TBD TBD TBD
Final exam TBD TBD TBD

Once you begin the written exam, you will have 90 minutes to write an essay based on ONE extract from the following selection of materials:

  • Primary sources: texts that were written in the time period you are asked about;
  • Secondary sources: texts written by later historians that explain the time period;
  • Multimedia sources: typically artworks – cartoons, posters, paintings, videos – from the time period.

While the documents will be new, their genre and context should be familiar to you through our class readings, lectures, and discussions. During the exam, you may consult your notes, our course readings, and the Internet (including AI tools), but you should cite them properly if you do so.

Final Grades

Your final grade will be calculated based on the following weighting:

Task Percentage
Participation 10
Issue paper 20
Case study proposal 5
Case study presentation 5
Case study paper 20
Mid-term exam 25
Total 100

Deadlines and Extensions

Due dates exist in the real world, and they exist in this course. But like real world deadlines, they are not ironclad. Use the listed dates to plan your work and stay motivated. If you need more time, you may submit one assignment without penalty up to 72 hours past the original deadline. You do not need to ask me for permission; you do not need to explain anything, either.

If you need more extensions in the future, please email me and ask. If your requests become a pattern, I will work with you to explore any underlying issues and discuss ways to maintain your progress.

Note that this flexible deadline policy does not apply to the pop reading quizzes: they are not announced beforehand and must be completed in class. If you must miss a class due to compelling reason, please notify me in advance to discuss any make-up opportunities.

Textbooks

You do not need to purchase any books for this class. All readings are available, for free, on our Canvas website. Physical copies are on reserve at Baker-Berry Library.

Schedule

S01: Introduction: The Business of China

Bian, M. L. (2011). Interpreting enterprise, state, and society: A critical review of the literature in modern Chinese business history, 1978–2008. Frontiers of History in China, 6, 423–462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11462-011-0136-x
Kirby, W. C., & Zendell, E. M. (2014). From Beijing Jeep to ASC Fine Wines: The Story of an American Family Business in China.

S02: Shoots of Capitalism

Case study: Silver trade

Brook, T. (2009). Vermeer’s Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World (Reprint edition). Bloomsbury Publishing.
Flynn, D. O., & Giraldez, A. (2002). Cycles of Silver: Global Economic Unity through the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Journal of World History, 13, 391–427. https://doi.org/10.1353/jwh.2002.0035

S03: Great Divergence

Case study: Lower Yangtze Delta

Morck, R., & Yang, F. (2010). The Shanxi Banks (Working {{Paper}} 15884). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w15884
Huang, P. C. C. (1990). The peasant family and rural development in the Yangzi Delta, 1350-1988. Stanford University Press.

S04: Canton Trade

Case study: Macartney Embassy in China

Atwill, D. G., & Atwill, Y. Y. (2021). Sources in Chinese history : Diverse perspectives from 1644 to the present (Second edition.). Routledge.
Pomeranz, K. (2000). The great divergence : China, Europe, and the making of the modern world economy. Princeton University Press.

S05: Self-strengthening

Case study: Augustine Heard & Co and Wu Bingjian

  • Augustine Heard & Co.: Building a Family Business in the China Trade (Kirby et al., 2016)
  • Chapter 5, To Reorganize or to Be Recognized? Reconstituting Business in the Reconfigured World of Global Business (Wong, 2016, pp. 135–177)
Kirby, W. C., Eby, J. W., & Ji, J. S. (2016). Augustine Heard & Co.: Building a Family Business in the China Trade. 24.
Wong, J. D. (2016). Global trade in the nineteenth century: The house of Houqua and the Canton system. Cambridge University Press.

S06: Economic Patriots

Case study: Sheng Shihuai

Feuerwerker, A. (1958). China’s early industrialization: Sheng Hsuan-huai (1844-1916) and Mandarin enterprise. Harvard University Press.
Rowe, W. T. (2022). Economic transition in the nineteenth century. In D. Ma & R. von Glahn (Eds.), The cambridge economic history of china (pp. 48–86). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108348485.003

S07: Chinese Capitalism

Case study: Zigong, Sichuan

  • China Unincorporated: Company Law and Business Enterprise in Twentieth-Century China (Kirby, 1995)
  • Chapter 3, Fragmentation as a Business Strategy (Zelin, 2005, pp. 50–73)
Kirby, W. C. (1995). China Unincorporated: Company Law and Business Enterprise in Twentieth-Century China. The Journal of Asian Studies, 54, 43–63.
Zelin, M. (2005). The merchants of Zigong : Industrial entrepreneurship in early modern China. Columbia University Press.

S08: Homegrown Industrialists

Case study: Dasheng Cotton Mills

  • Enterprise Culture in Chinese History: Zhang Jian and the Dasheng Cotton Mills (Köll, 2010a)
  • Sun Yatsen, The international development of China, Program 1 and Conclusion (Sun, 1920)
Köll, E. (2010a). Enterprise Culture in Chinese History: Zhang Jian and the Dasheng Cotton Mills. 18.
Sun, Y. (1920). The international development of China. Commercial Press.

S09: Urban Consumerism

Case study: Nanjing Road, Shanghai

吳晗. (1934). 清華大學所藏檔案的分析. 中國近代經濟史研究集刊, 2(2), 255–269.
Yeh, W.-H. (2007). Shanghai splendor : Economic sentiments and the making of modern China, 1843-1949. University of California Press.

S10: Developmental State

Case study: Mantetsu in Manchukuo

Chen, H. (2015). Daughter of good fortune : A twentieth-century Chinese peasant memoir. University of Washington Press.
Hirata, K. (2024). Making Mao’s Steelworks: Industrial Manchuria and the Transnational Origins of Chinese Socialism (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009382281

S11: China’s Destiny

Case study: Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang, K., & Jaffe, P. J. (2013). China’s destiny and Chinese economic theory. Global Oriental.
Coble, P. M. (2023). The collapse of Nationalist China : How Chiang Kai-Shek lost China’s Civil War (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press.

S12: Leaning to One Side

Case study: Stalin

Shen, H. (2018). Building a Digital Silk Road? Situating the Internet in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. International Journal of Communication, 12(0), 19.

S13: Land Reform

Case study: Long Bow Village

Hinton, W. (1967). Fanshen: A documentary of revolution in a Chinese village. Monthly Review Press.

S13: Planned Economy

Case study: Rong Yiren and his family

Köll, E. (2010b). The Rong Family: A Chinese Business History. 13.
Naughton, B. (2018). The Chinese economy: Adaptation and growth (Second edition.). The MIT Press.

S14: Third Front

Case study: Panzhihua, Sichuan

Kinzley, J. C. (2012). Xinjiang at the Center. In N. Standen (Ed.), Demystifying China: New Understandings of Chinese History. Rowman & LIttlefield.
Meyskens, C. F. (2020). Mao’s third front: The militarization of Cold War China. Cambridge University Press.

S15: Market Maoists

Case study: Wanxiang Group

Abrami, R. M. (2008). Wanxiang Group: A Chinese Company’s Global Strategy. 19.
Kelly, J. M. (2021). Market Maoists: The communist origins of China’s capitalist ascent. Harvard University Press.

S16: Special Economic Zones

Case study: Huaqiangbei, Shenzhen

  • Huaqiangbei: The Epitome of Industry Development and Transformation in Shenzhen (Zhang & Qian, 2019)
  • Chapter 1, The Myth of Shenzhen (Du, 2020)
Zhang, Y., & Qian, W. (2019). Huaqiangbei: The Epitome of Industry Development and Transformation in Shenzhen.
Du, J. (2020). The Shenzhen experiment: The story of China’s instant city. Harvard University Press.

S17: Capitalism without Democracy

Case study: Deng Xiaoping

de Bary, Wm. T., & Lufrano, R. (Eds.). (2001). Sources of Chinese Tradition: From 1600 Through the Twentieth Century. Columbia University Press.
Gewirtz, J. (2022). Never Turn Back: China and the Forbidden History of the 1980s. Harvard University Press.

S18: Trading with the Enemy

Case study: Coca Cola

Kraus, C. (2019). More than Just a Soft Drink: Coca-Cola and China’s Early Reform and Opening. Diplomatic History, 43(1), 107–129. https://doi.org/10.1093/dh/dhy060
Ingleson, E. O. (2024). Made in China : When US-China interests converged to transform global trade. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674296800

S19: Rival Partner

Case study: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited

Kirby, W. C. (2020). The Business of China. 11.
Kirby, W. C., Chan, B., & Mchugh, J. P. (2020). Huawei: A Global Tech Giant in the Crossfire of a Digital Cold War. 35.
Wu, J. (2022). Rival partners : How Taiwanese entrepreneurs and Guangdong officials forged the China development model (S. Mosher, Trans.). Harvard University Asia Center.

S20: Start-up Nation

Case study: Dorm99.com

Kirby, W. (2008). The Challenges of Launching a Start-Up in China: Dorm99.com. 22.
Tsai, K. S. (2002). Back-alley banking: Private entrepreneurs in China. Cornell University Press.

S21: Capitalism Without Democracy

Case study: Google

  • Chapter 1, “The Myth of China’s Democratic Capitalists” (L. L. Tsai, 2007)
  • Google’s Dragonfly: The Ethics of Providing a Censored Search Engine in China (Bó & Xu, 2020)
Tsai, L. L. (2007). Accountability Without Democracy : Solidary Groups and Public Goods Provision in Rural China. Cambridge University Press.
Bó, E. D., & Xu, G. (2020). Google’s Dragonfly: The Ethics of Providing a Censored Search Engine in China.

S22: Agents of Growth

Case study: Datong, Shanxi

  • The Chinese Mayor (Zhou, 2015)
  • Who Wants to Be a Communist? Career Incentives and Mobilized Loyalty in China (Dickson, 2014)
  • Juking the Stats? Authoritarian Information Problems in China (Wallace, 2016)
Zhou, H. (2015). Datong [Documentary, {{Drama}}, {{News}}]. Zhaoqi Films.
Dickson, B. J. (2014). Who Wants to Be a Communist? Career Incentives and Mobilized Loyalty in China. The China Quarterly, 217, 42–68. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741013001434
Wallace, J. L. (2016). Juking the Stats? Authoritarian Information Problems in China. British Journal of Political Science, 46(1), 11–29. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123414000106

S23: Infrastructure State

Case study: China Railway Construction Corporation

  • China Railway Construction Corporation: Attaining Globalization via High-Speed Rail (Cao et al., 2018)
  • Introduction (Ma, 2022)
Cao, H., Lin, Y., & Wei, W. (2018). China Railway Construction Corporation: Attaining Globalization via High-Speed Rail.
Ma, X. (2022). Localized Bargaining: The Political Economy of China’s High-Speed Railway Program. Oxford University Press.

S24: Communist Spirit

Case study: Maotai

  • Maotai: How China’s ‘Firewater’ Became the World’s Most Valuable Liquor Brand (The Wall Street Journal, 2024)
  • Chapter 2, Red Roulette (Shum, 2021)
  • Introduction, China’s Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption (Ang, 2020)
The Wall Street Journal. (2024). How China’s “Firewater” Became the World’s Most Valuable Liquor Brand WSJ The Economics Of.
Shum, D. (2021). Red roulette : An insider’s story of wealth, power, corruption and vengeance in today’s China. Scribner.
Ang, Y. Y. (2020). China’s Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption. Cambridge University Press.

S25: Belt and Road

Case study: Sri Lanka

  • Chinese Infrastructure Investments in Sri Lanka: A Pearl or a Teardrop on the Belt and Road?
  • Work Together to Build the Silk Road Economic Belt and The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (Xi, 2017)
  • Fragmented Motives and Policies: The Belt and Road Initiative in China (Ye, 2021)
Xi, J. (2017). The Governance of China: II (Vol. 2). Foreign Languages Press.
Ye, M. (2021). Fragmented Motives and Policies: The Belt and Road Initiative in China. Journal of East Asian Studies, 21(2), 193–217. https://doi.org/10.1017/jea.2021.15

S26: New Productive Forces

Case study: Huawei

Kirby, W. C., Chan, B., & Lau, D. H. (2020). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited: A Global Company’s China Strategy (B). 19.
PRC State Council. (2015). Notice of the State Council on the Publication of Made in China 2025.
Naughton, B. (2021). The Rise of China’s Industrial Policy, 1978 to 2020. Academic Network of Latin America and the Caribbean on China.

S27: “Low-Quality Population”

Case study: Meituan

赖祐萱. (2020). Delivery Workers, Trapped in the System. In Chuang.
Qin, H. (2009). China’s Low Human Rights Advantage. China Rights Forum, 1, 85–89.
Rozelle, S., & Hell, N. (2020). Invisible China: How the Urban-Rural Divide Threatens China’s Rise. University of Chicago Press.

S28: Conclusion: Unfinished Business

Case study: US-China trade war

  • China’s Economy Has Peaked. Can Beijing Redefine its Goals? (Wright, 2024)
  • Who Wins and Who Loses in the US-China Trade War? (Y. Huang, 2022)
Wright, L. (2024). China’s Economy Has Peaked. Can Beijing Redefine its Goals? China Leadership Monitor, Fall 2024(81).
Huang, Y. (2022). Who Wins and Who Loses in the US-China Trade War? In 26. Who Wins and Who Loses in the US-China Trade War? (pp. 239–249). Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674287495-027

Course Policies

Communicating with Me

Email

The best way to reach me. I will answer within a working day, but expect slower turnarounds in the evening or on weekends.

Canvas

All readings and assignments will be posted there. For the most up-to-date information about the class, please enable email notification and subscribe to our course calendar.

Secure Communication

This class is committed to academic freedom and welcomes diverse views. Unfortunately, it does not operate in a legal void. Chinese laws, such as the 2021 National Security Law in Hong Kong, assert extrajudicial jurisdiction: they can criminalize non-citizens of mainland China and Hong Kong, even if they reside outside their borders.

Due to the political sensitivity of some class materials, some of you may not feel safe to participate in class. I discourage self-censorship, but I need to protect your privacy and safety.

To create an open and safe intellectual space, you may submit oral remarks or written assignments by emailing me directly; I will read them and/or repost them on our Canvas site without identifying your name. For added anonymity, you may also:

  • Print out your remarks and drop them under my office door (Carson 205) or in my department mailbox, located on the third floor of Carson Hall;
  • Submit them via our Secure Comments Form on Google.

These anonymous submissions may be featured in class, but your participation will not be credited.

Technology Use

Device Use

You can use all gadgets for note-taking and reading, but please mute all sound notifications and refrain from non-academic uses.

Generative AI

This course welcomes ethical use of artificial intelligence. You may use generative AI models for a variety of tasks, including:

  • Generating ideas
  • Summarizing, rephrasing, and synthesizing information
  • Proofreading, editing, and revision

Large language models do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of information that they generate. You are responsible for your AI usage, including any inaccurate, biased, offensive, or unethical content.

The college’s Academic Honor Principle still applies: You may not submit work, in any form, that is not your own, without acknowledgment of the source. This includes AI tools.

For every assignment you submit with machine input, you must clearly indicate which part of the work is machine-generated. Additionally, you should complete an AI Usage Form and answer the following questions:

  • What prompt(s) did you use?
  • How did you use AI?
  • Which model(s) did you use?
  • What output(s) did you receive? Did you ask follow-up questions?
  • How did you revise the original response(s)?
  • What did you learn?

For more information on what constitutes plagiarism, please refer to the section below on academic honesty.

Recording and Data Storage

To protect everyone in the class, do not make a recording in any medium without written consent of all those participating. Additionally, you may not share any course materials – from readings to written assignments – with any individual or entity beyond the class without prior permission.

Students with accommodations approved by the Student Accessibility Services may be authorized to record class lectures, discussions, lab sessions, and review sessions and take pictures of essential information, and/or be provided class notes for personal study use only.

Supporting You

There are additional resources on campus to help you succeed in the class, including:

Libraries and Museums

We have reference librarians to support your learning and research:

Our librarians are available in person, by email, and via appointments for research consultation, reference questions, or purchase requests.

Academic Resources

Throughout the term, you will find the following offices on campus useful for your academic development:

  • Writing Center: Peer-to-peer tutoring to help you become a better writer
  • Academic Skills Center: One-on-one support and peer tutoring sessions to boost your study skills, from reading to note-taking
  • Undergraduate Deans Office: Your dean helps you make the most of your own strengths and connects you to Dartmouth resources for student support of all types.

Student Accessibility and Accommodations

Students requesting disability-related accommodations and services for this course are required to register with Student Accessibility Services (SAS; Apply for Services webpage; ; 1-603-646-9900) and to request that an accommodation email be sent to me in advance of the need for an accommodation. Then, students should schedule a follow-up meeting with me to determine relevant details such as what role SAS or its Testing Center may play in accommodation implementation. This process works best for everyone when completed as early in the quarter as possible. If students have questions about whether they are eligible for accommodations or have concerns about the implementation of their accommodations, they should contact the SAS office. All inquiries and discussions will remain confidential.

Religious Observances

If you have a religious observance that conflicts with your participation in the course, please meet with me as soon as possible—before the end of the second week of the term at the latest—to discuss appropriate course adjustments.

Title IX Information

Sex and gender-based discrimination, sex and gender-based harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, etc., are not tolerated in our community.

For more information regarding Title IX and to access helpful resources, visit Title IX’s website (sexual-respect.dartmouth.edu).

Please be aware that as a faculty member, I am required to share disclosures of sexual or gender-based misconduct with the Title IX office.

Mental Health and Well-being

Dartmouth’s academic environment is challenging, our terms are intensive, and classes are not the only demanding part of your life. Please reach out to me if you are experiencing challenges that are impacting your participation in this course; we can work together to develop a plan to support your success.

There are a number of resources available to you on campus to support your wellness, including: the Counseling Center which allows you to book triage appointments online, the Student Wellness Center which offers wellness check-ins, and your undergraduate dean. The student-led Dartmouth Student Mental Health Union and their peer support program may be helpful if you would like to speak to a trained fellow student support listener.  If you need immediate assistance, please contact the counselor on-call at (603) 646-9442 at any time.

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