Trading Networks, Economic Institutions and Capitalism in China’s Longue Durée Perspective

中華貨殖論壇 Public Lectures on History and Business in China 2015-16

CUHistPL_Poster15-16_0122(J)

This presentation will examine the links between the operating practices of Chinese regional trading groups, China’s endogenous financial institutions, and the mind-set of wealthy merchants in order to explore why China, despite impressive growth, was not genuinely interested in a capitalist type of economic development during the critical period of the 18th and 19th centuries. Instead of focusing exclusively on quantitative data, which are, in the case of China, scarce, incomplete, and seldom meet normative standards, the purpose of this paper is to identify a set of economic institutions and commercial practices that have played a crucial role in China over the long term. By analysing several groups of merchants that have often been considered separately in the literature, this paper will delineate the economic actors’ strategies, business culture, and operating modes. The emergence of interregional trading networks in China was supported by both formal and informal financial institutions: native banks, remittance firms, money shops, and a sophisticated network of pawnshops were able to issue small loans against collateral, ranging from agricultural crops to jewels. The lack of financial innovation, however, seems to have been a crippling weakness. While capital accumulation does not seem to have been the objective of these trading networks, a multi-faceted approach is necessary to better explain their overall impact on both Chinese economic and social organisation.

Speaker

François Gipouloux
Emeritus Research Director, National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS, France)

Moderator

David Faure (科大衛 )
Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Date

29 February 2016 (Monday), 7:00 pm-8:30 pm

Venue

Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor,
Hong Kong Central Library, 66 Causeway Road,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

More information

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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