China and Capitalism: A History of Business Enterprise in Modern China (Understanding China: New Viewpoints on History and Culture) [Paperback]

David Faure (Author)

Book Description

Series: Understanding China: New Viewpoints on History and Culture | Publication Date: February 2006

Written by one of the most distinguished experts on China’s economic and business history, China and Capitalism provides a highly original yet clear and readable approach to the development of business in China from 1500 to the 1990s that sheds new light on the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese business today. The book is written to be accessible to people with little background in China or Chinese business practice.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Faure is a professor of history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and University Lecturer in Modern Chinese History at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 127 pages
• Publisher: Hong Kong University Press (February 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9622097847
• ISBN-13: 978-9622097841
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,667,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Illuminating.....startling...about the history of China economy and business firms since the modern era, April 3, 2010

By 

Hubert Shea (Shanghai, China) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: China And Capitalism: A History of Business Enterprise in Modern China (Understanding China: New Viewpoints on History and Culture) (Hardcover)

What distinguishes this book from others about China economy is that Professor Faure has maintained that China economy since the eighteenth century has lagged behind their western counterparts because the overall institutional environment instead of the influence of "Confucianism" does not fit into the modern form of capitalist economy.

Following North's proposition that economic development is highly constrained by the institutional environment in which entrepreneurs are embedded into formal and informal institutions, norms, and rules, Professor Faure has attempted to dispel the widely-held belief that Confucianism is either the 'fetter' or the 'engine' of of modern form of capitalist economy in modern China.

According to Professor Faure, the banking system was not very well established and there was a lack of industrial and commercial regulations to facilitate the emergence of sizeable firms in the Qing dynasty. He has further maintained that economic reform in China since 1978 is a result of institutional changes initiated by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) which have crafted an infrastructure of property rights conducive to economic development. The prominence of Marxist concept of residual value is also displaced by the concept of "new wealth generation" via entrepreneurship.

This book is relevant to readers who are interested in understanding institutional history of China economy and business firms in the modern and contemporary era