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What were the constraints attributing to the slow development of private bourgeoisie capital development in China at that time? |
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See answer below. |
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the transformation of private into public ownership sped up. In 1956, Rong Yiren handed his family business over to the country. From 1978, he applied his experience in business operations to assist the country in reforming and opening up. From March 1993 to March 1998, he served as Vice President of the People’s Republic of China.
In 1931, Sung Sing Cotton Mill was at its height, with nine factories countrywide, a total of 460,000 spindles, 4,757 looms, and more than 30,000 employees. In 1932, its actual owned capital reached 18 million Chinese yuan with total assets of over 64 million Chinese yuan.
Hengde Oil Mill was founded by Pu Wenting (浦文汀) in 1918. In the 1930s it grew into the largest oil mill in the non-Japanese-occupied areas. Dacheng Sugar Mill was founded by Jiang Yibin (江義彬) in 1927. It was the first domestic mill to make sweets in various colours and invent rock sugar. Beyond running their businesses, many industrialists during the Republican period engaged in charity as well. For instance, Jiang founded and once served on the board of directors of the Shanghai Protectory for Child Refugees.
During the Republican period, Fan’s chemical business was represented by three companies: Chiuta Refinery (founded in 1914), Yongli Alkali Company (founded in 1918), and the Huanghai Research Society for Chemical Industry (founded in 1922). Chiuta Refinery, the earliest, provided abundant capital, technology, and talent for the establishment of the two later companies.
In 1929, Chen Xiqing (陳希慶) established Fujian Paper Mill Company Limited (“Fujian Paper Mill” for short). The mill was put into operation in 1932. With more than 180 workers, this largest mill in Fuzhou could produce approximately three tonnes of paper per day. With its growing output and quality, the mill’s products sold well in Tianjin (天津), Shanghai (上海), Hangzhou (杭州), Guangzhou (廣州), Chaozhou (潮州), and other cities. Before the outbreak of the War of Resistance, they were even exported to Southeast Asia. The mill suspended its production during the War of Resistance and the subsequent civil war. The threat of wars was a major issue confronting all industrialists during the Republican period.
Changji Shipping Company was founded by He Ren’an in 1925. The company once won over the Japanese shipping companies to regain control of navigation rights in North China. By 1937, it owned over 20 ships of various sizes and set up branches and warehouses in Tianjin, Shanghai, and other port cities. With a number of shipping routes under its management in North China, he was acclaimed as the “Shipping King of North China”. The War of Resistance officially erupted nationwide after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (盧溝橋事變, or July 7th Incident) in 1937. In response to the Government’s call, he sank seven of his company’s vessels to block the channel at Jiaozhou Bay (膠州灣) in Shandong, clogging the path of the invading Japanese warships and enabling the successful evacuation of Chinese military and administrative personnel. As a result, the company was put completely out of business. Only after the end of the War of Resistance in 1945 did it gradually resume operations.
In May 1948, Yu Dawei (俞大維), the Minister of Transportation and Communication of the ROC, awarded a medal and a certificate of merit to He Ren’an for his contribution during the War of Resistance. The certificate says: “In accordance with the Ministry’s rules for granting medals and certificates of merit, this Class-I Level-2 medal is hereby awarded to He Ren’an, General Manager of Qingdao Changji Shipping Company, for his outstanding contribution in terms of shipping during the War of Resistance. This certificate is to be kept by He Ren’an.” His daughter He Yufen (賀郁芬) later commented: “This honour came at a huge cost. It is given in return for my father’s sacrifice of nearly all his wealth. It is nearly impossible to describe the sorrow and hardship of that sacrifice in words.”
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What were the constraints attributing to the slow development of private bourgeoisie capital in China at that time? |
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In modern world history, private bourgeoisie capital, which is free from governmental or foreign intervention, has constituted a determining factor in countries’ capitalistic development. It has been crucial to a nation’s ability to prosper and to improve its civilians’ lives. The modern capitalist systems of Europe, the United States, and Japan all matured by virtue of strong private bourgeoisie capital. However, this was not the case in China. In China, the development of private bourgeoisie capital, or capitalism in any form, was primarily barred by the autocratic imperial system and the powerful landlord class. Western Europe, meanwhile, thrived with the Renaissance and Age of Discovery in the early 15th century, gradually starting down the path of capitalism. The Industrial Revolution that followed enabled the Western world to develop strong private capital and a full-fledged capitalist system. In the early Ming dynasty (明代), which was at least half a century before the Age of Discovery, Chinese explorer Zheng He (鄭和) launched seven long-range westward voyages. Yet unlike European expeditions, these journeys were to strengthen the imperial authority and acquire rare and valuable objects for the emperor’s pleasure instead of expanding capital per se. In the mid-Ming dynasty, trade and craft industries flourished in the regions of south Yangtze River (長江) and along the coastal areas of China, planting the sprouts of capitalism. Late Ming dynasty novels such as The Plum in the Golden Vase (《金瓶梅》) and Instruction Stories to Enlighten the World (《喻世明言》) depict social life in the Ming dynasty against the backdrop of the Song dynasty (宋代). However, the regime change in the late Ming and early Qing dynasty (清代) inflicted endless battles and catastrophic massacres in such as Jiading (嘉定) and Yangzhou (揚州), damaging China’s wealthiest regions including those south to the Yangtze River. Although the Qing dynasty experienced prosperity during the reigns of the Emperors of Kangxi (康熙), Yongzheng (雍正), and Qianlong (乾隆), as imperial power expanded outward, the country only became more enclosed. This consolidated the traditional peasant mode of production characterised by land monopolies with landlords leasing plots to peasants. Under these circumstances, capitalism had no room to develop. Then in the late Qing dynasty, China’s economy was manipulated by foreign control and capital when the feudal regime was amid decline. The country was reduced to a semi-colony. In addition, the Qing government was reluctant to reform itself. This limited the level of development from the Self-Strengthening Movement, the Hundred Days Reform, and other new policies, and private bourgeoisie capital thus had trouble advancing. National unity achieved by the Northern Expedition and the transient spring brought by World War I ushered in a brief golden period for China’s national bourgeoisie capital. Following that, however, were the War of Resistance, then the post-war rapid rise of bureaucratic capital, the civil war between Kuomintang of China (中國國民黨) and the Chinese Communist Party (中國共產黨), and the dominance of public ownership after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. All these made it impossible for private bourgeoisie capital to expand. The longstanding containment of private bourgeoisie capital is a major cause underlying China’s long-term weakness in modern times. |
